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What are Some Great Iced Tea Recipes?

Jessica Ellis
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 7,445
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As temperatures warm and skies brighten, thoughts may turn to refreshing food and drink that captures the essence of the season. What better to combat the heavy summer heat than a glistening pitcher of homemade iced tea? While it is simple to use a mix or toss a bunch of teabags in a glass jar, iced tea recipes allow you to use fresh, seasonal herbs, fruits and flowers to capture the taste of summer in a bottle.

One of the most cool and refreshing iced tea recipes calls for a simple herb you may have sitting in your garden. Mint, a low-growing, ruffle-leafed plant, offers cool minty flavor. Boil about two handfuls of mint in water, and add a few simple herb tea bags such as chamomile. Allow the tea to steep about 15-20 minutes, or longer for a stronger flavor.

Pour your mint tea mixture into an iced tea jug and fill with water and ice. For a fruit-flavored version, use half water, half lemonade. This iced tea recipe is sure to leave you icy cool, no matter what the thermometer says.

For those who like an exotic trip to the tropics in their glass, try out spiced iced tea recipes for Thai tea. Visit an Asian grocery store to obtain Thai tea leaves or bags, then add to boiling water. The tea should steep until a deep orange color is achieved, about five minutes. Add white or raw sugar and stir until dissolved; the tea should be quite sweet. In a tall, ice-filled glass, pour the tea to halfway, then fill the rest with heavy cream or condensed milk.

For some, the only iced tea recipes worth knowing are preceded by the words “Long Island.” Beware, this alcoholic concoction has a kick that might surprise your average tea drinker, and contains no actual tea! In a tall glass, combine equal portions of tequila, gin, rum and triple sec, then fill the remainder with soda and lemonade. Drink deeply, but very, very carefully.

Summer just isn't summer without a bounty of peaches. Step away from the calorie-laden peach pies and cobblers and douse your thirsty throat with a glacier-cold glass. This peach iced tea recipe has a base of orange pekoe or other fruit flavored tea steeped in an iced tea pitcher. Add peach nectar or juice to taste, sweetening with sugar or souring with lemon juice as you desire. Fill up to the brim and allow to sit for several hours or overnight to blend the flavors.

Truly great iced tea recipes call for just one thing: imagination! Take advantage of local and seasonal fruits to make fresh tea, and don't be afraid to try out unusual flavor combinations. To truly get that summer feeling, set a pitcher out in the warm sun to steep in the morning, and then enjoy just as dusk approaches and the air begins to cool.

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Jessica Ellis
By Jessica Ellis
With a B.A. in theater from UCLA and a graduate degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, Jessica Ellis brings a unique perspective to her work as a writer for WiseGeek. While passionate about drama and film, Jessica enjoys learning and writing about a wide range of topics, creating content that is both informative and engaging for readers.

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Discussion Comments
By Lostnfound — On Sep 30, 2014

There's also a peach/fruit tea recipe called the Governor's Tea or sometimes, Town Tea.

The tea uses a strong tea recipe, mint leaves, a bottle of peach nectar, a can of thawed lemonade concentrate, simple syrup, ginger ale and club soda. Essentially, you brew the tea, then add all the other ingredients except the ginger ale and club soda. You chill the tea overnight, then strain and add the ginger ale and club soda right before serving. Garnish with peach slices and fresh mint leaves. It's really delicious, and perfect for a hot summer afternoon when the humidity is higher than the actual temperature.

By Grivusangel — On Sep 29, 2014

Now for real, Southern sweet iced tea, you need to make a simple syrup. Otherwise, the sugar will settle at the bottom of the glass.

A simple syrup is just combining equal parts sugar and water and boiling until the sugar dissolves completely.

Most people brew a strong tea and then pour that into the pitcher or container, add the simple syrup, taste and see whether it's sweet enough or not. Some people add cut lemons to the mixture, while some serve lemon slices alongside the tea. It just depends on the person and how sweet and lemony they like their tea.

Jessica Ellis
Jessica Ellis
With a B.A. in theater from UCLA and a graduate degree in screenwriting from the American Film Institute, Jessica Ellis...
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