Summer is the perfect time to sit and relax with a refreshing glass of iced tea. And because the best iced tea recipes highlight summer seasonal ingredients, it’s a special way to drink local and celebrate the season all in one sitting.
These homemade recipes are a great alternative to overly sugary drinks from the grocery store and yet many can also be used to satisfy a sweet craving.
No matter what kind of tea you enjoy most, you’re sure to find something new and inspiring in this list of summertime tea recipes.
Types of Tea
There are a number of different ways to brew your tea for cold beverages:
Start with hot tea: Brew an extra strong hot cup of tea, at least double strength of your favorite tea using boiling water. Let that steep, strain, then cool or pour over ice cubes to enjoy.
Sun Tea is the old-fashioned favorite: Place your tea in a clear glass jar and fill with water. Put the jar somewhere sunny to slowly steep as the sun heats the water. When it has reached desired strength, strain and enjoy over ice. Keep unused tea in the refrigerator to enjoy tomorrow.
Cold Brew Tea: Place your tea in a jar with cold water. Put the jar in the refrigerator overnight (6 to 12 hours is great), strain and enjoy over ice or cold from the fridge.
One is not a better way than another, it’s truly a matter of preference and each may give a slightly different flavor. Experiment to find the way you like it best.
To Sweeten or Not
Some of us are fans of unsweetened iced tea and others can’t imagine it without some sugar. Go with your personal preference.
Most sweeteners will not dissolve in cold water, however. Make yourself a simple syrup to sweeten cold drinks instead.
A simple syrup is indeed quite easy – simply mix equal parts sugar and water and boil until the sugar is dissolved. Store the syrup in an airtight container in the fridge.
Add flavor to the simple syrup by cooking it with herbs or fruits.
The great thing about having a jar of simple syrup in the fridge means everyone can sweeten or not to their own level.
Finally iced tea that you won’t forget in the other room! These recipes give show you how to use what you have to craft teas with the flavor and healing benefits you need. Get my Guide to Iced Tea to help you get creative and stay refreshed!
Best Tea for Summer
Use these simple and tasty recipes to switch up your cold beverage routine on the hottest days of summer.
Black Teas
When the hot weather hits many of turn to simple iced black tea to find some tasty and cooling relief. These recipes start with classic black tea and then get creative and delicious with additional seasonal ingredients.
Southern-Style Sweet Tea
This sweet tea recipe is quick, easy, and refreshing. Enjoy this drink all summer long by the pool, for brunch or dinner, with your family or friends. You can easily double the quantities to accommodate a big group!
Strawberry Sweet Tea
This refreshing strawberry sweet tea is made with 4 simple ingredients (plus water) and is the perfect cold drink made for hot summer days. It is so easy to enjoy our home-brewed version of the classic Southern iced tea recipe, even when you’re not from the South
Lavender Iced Tea
A culinary treat that’ll quench your thirst. Lavender iced tea provides the perfect balance of earthy and fancy with your traditional black iced tea!
Teabloom for Amazing Choices
Need some tea choices for all your drink making needs? Check out Teabloom for amazing blends, blooming teas, teaware and more!
Vanilla Almond Iced Tea
Vanilla Almond Tea is the kicked up version of an Arnold Palmer. Subtle hints of vanilla and almond are mixed with tea and lemonade.
Hong Kong Iced Tea
Sweet and refreshing, this homemade version of Hong Kong Iced Tea, featuring oolong tea, is so easy to make with a few simple ingredients. Just like what you’d get at a Hong Kong cafe, this lemon iced tea is the perfect drink with any meal!
Mint Iced Tea Recipe
Make the most of your homegrown fresh mint with this black tea blend that is always delicious and thirst-quenching.
Homemade Peach Iced Tea
This recipe for homemade peach iced tea is filled with fresh peaches and ginger. It's the perfect drink to help you beat the heat this summer.
Thai Tea Recipe
Thai iced tea is almost dessert in a glass - it's cold and sweet and creamy and all kinds of perfect for enjoying on the porch. This recipe skips the processed mix and starts with black tea bags and finishes with sweetness and spice.
Blueberry-Lime Iced Tea
This recipe is written to use blueberries but you could likely substitute any local berries you can find, a mix would also be quite lovely and a delicious way to enjoy the delicate sweetness of summer's berries.
Green Tea
Combine your favorite green tea leaves with seasonal herbs and fruits for a refreshing iced tea recipe.
Iced Haskap Green Tea
Harvest or forage local haskaps for this naturally-sweetened fruity tea that is a delight to drink and share.
Iced Watermelon Basil Matcha
Does anything say summer more than fresh, sweet watermelon? Savor that gorgeous melon by pureeing it with basil leaves and adding matcha green tea for a refreshing, herbaceous and naturally sweet iced tea!
Sweet Moroccan Mint Tea
A homegrown mint patch is a never ending source of tea and thankfully there is no shortage of ways to use it. This Sweet Moroccan Mint tea comes together when green tea is poured over fresh peppermint leaves.
Homemade Ginger Iced Tea
Ginger can help ease nausea, as can mint which makes this green tea blend perfect for helping ease upset stomachs brought on my activity in the hot sun.
Peach Ginger Iced Green Tea
Fresh peaches are a true delight of the summer season and combining them with ginger is always a tasty idea. This easy recipe combines it all with green tea for something truly special.
Herbal Tea
Keep your delicious recipes caffeine free and healthy by using homegrown and local herbs combined with other fruits and more for some of the best iced teas of the season.
Herbal Thai Iced Tea
Like Thai Iced Tea but want to keep it a caffeine-free herbal tea? Try this easy whole-food recipe that uses fresh herbs instead of black tea for a sweet, creamy, and delicious drink.
Honeysuckle Tea
Use local honeysuckle flowers for a flavorful herbal tea that is naturally full of cooling properties to help you beat the summer heat.
White Clover Tea
Those white clover flowers that so many folks see as weeds, actually taste a bit like vanilla and are also naturally cooling, making it a great way to cool off.
Herbal Tea Italian Sodas
Make your iced tea fizzy with these homemade herbal tea Italian Sodas. These lightly sweet, thirst quenching, and even healing beverages are easy to make at home.
Soothing Chamomile Iced Tea with Mint
This soothing iced chamomile tea is perfect for relaxing on the patio on a hot day. The mint and lemon adds a nice bit of zing.
Cold-Brew Hibiscus Tea
This easy cold-brew hibiscus tea is a refreshing herbal drink steeped overnight in the fridge. All you need is dried hibiscus, water and (optionally) sweetener.
Iced Rooibos Tea With Raspberries & Mint
Rooibos is a South African herbal tea which has loads of heath benefits, pair it with fresh raspberries and mint and you've got a refreshing drink to cool you down. This Iced Rooibos Tea contains no caffeine, and can even help to relieve stress.
Grandma’s Iced Rhubarb Tea Recipe
So often we relegate rhubarb to pie or jam but it is also a great choice for iced tea drinking.
Elderflower Tea
So often we focus on elderberries for health but elderflowers are high in Vitamin C making them great for the immune system and they make for a delightful floral summer tea.
Orange Blossom Honey Bubble Tea Recipe
Boba fans will love this Orange Blossom Honey Bubble Tea Recipe to make your own tea at home – complete with tapioca pearls! It combines chamomile tea with almond milk and is sweetened with tapioca pearls in orange blossom honey.
Cocktail Tea
Make yourself an iced adult drink perfect for the summer months with these teas combined with liquors for a new favorite drink.
Vodka Spiked Iced Green Tea
This iced green tea is flavored with mint, lemon and honey and spiked with vodka for a delicious ice cold pitcher cocktail. Quick and easy to make, this healthier cocktail is wonderfully light and a great summer sipper.
{Anti} Prohibition Peach Tea
Freshly brewed iced tea, with peach infused Everclear®, honey simple syrup and fresh peaches, taste like summertime in a glass.
Iced Tea and Rum Cocktail
Combine your sweet tea with rum for an easy and tasty cocktail perfect for summer evenings.