Homemade Iced Tea

5 from 2 votes
Jump to RecipeEmail Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Cheers to the best homemade iced tea on the internet! This 6-ingredient iced tea recipe is as easy as it is delicious. Make a pitcher today!

homemade iced tea in a mason jar garnished with mint and a lemon slice
email me this recipe
Plus, enjoy weekly doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Ahh So Refreshing!

Is there anything better than a refreshing glass of iced tea on a warm summer day? We think not! Which is why we’re thrilled to share this oh so delicious homemade iced tea recipe. All you need are 6 ingredients (one is water!), and you’re a few steps away from a glass of iced tea.

iced tea ingredients ready to be mixed together for homemade iced tea

Iced Tea – What You Need

This iced tea recipe comes together in 6 simple ingredients. You’ll need:

Water: You’ll steep your black tea bags in hot water after bringing to a boil over the stove.

Black tea bags: This iced tea recipe calls for black tea, but should you prefer another variety of tea — go for it! This recipe will work with any tea variety.

Simple syrup: We used our honey simple syrup for this iced tea, but any simple syrup variety will work just fine.

Lemon: Fresh lemon slices are such a perfect complement to the black tea flavors in this iced tea.

Fresh mint: Jazz up your iced tea with sprigs of fresh mint.

Pinch of salt: A pinch of salt is all you need to bring out the flavors of black tea + lemon + mint.

simple syrup being poured into a pitcher of iced tea

How to Make Iced Tea

Making homemade iced tea is easy peasy as long as you have enough time to let it chill! We’ll walk you through it:

Boil Water

Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and then remove from heat. 

Steep Tea

Add the black tea bags to the hot water and let them steep for 7-9 minutes depending on your desired strength of tea. The longer you steep, the stronger the tea will be.

Remaining Ingredients –> Pitcher

While the tea bags are steeping, add the honey simple syrup, lemon slices, and pinch of salt to a large pitcher and whisk. 

Remove Tea Bags

Remove the tea bags from the water and pour the tea into the large pitcher. Be careful as the tea will still be hot.

All Together Now

Whisk all of the ingredients together until combined. 

Chill & Serve

Add the fresh mint to the pitcher and place the tea into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until chilled. 

Before serving, add 2-3 handfuls of ice to the pitcher, mix, and serve.

pitcher of iced tea garnished with fresh lemons and mint

Honey Simple Syrup

This homemade iced tea calls for a honey simple syrup to use as a sweetener. And don’t you worry, making your own honey simple syrup is extremely easy.

Start with a 1:1 ratio of honey to water. Place honey and water into a small pot and bring to a boil over medium/high heat.

Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove simple syrup from the heat and let cool completely. That’s it!

Looking for a more traditional simple syrup? Make our sugar simple syrup.

Don’t want to make your own simple syrup? Feel free to use a store-bought simple syrup, just sub our honey simple syrup for that 1:1.

Want it sweeter?

If you’re looking for a sweeter iced tea, you can always add more simple syrup to sweeten things up a bit! We suggest adding a tablespoon at a time and going from there to sweeten to your liking.

Fun iced tea add-ins

This homemade iced tea has a short (but flavorful!) ingredient list, so if you’re looking to jazz up your iced tea and truly make it your own, let us recommend some delicious add-ins:

Spike it: Once you’ve made your homemade iced tea, add a shot of vodka or make it a spritzer by adding some bubbly. Cheers!

Add fresh fruit: You can slightly change the flavor of your iced tea by adding other slices of fresh fruit besides lemon. We recommend: smashed raspberries, strawberries, cucumbers, or or blackberries to your lemonade and letting everything sit for a while. Pour the lemonade through the sieve to avoid seeds for a fruitier lemonade.

Garnish makes everything prettier: Whether you add sliced fruit to your iced tea or not, we love serving it with a beautiful garnish of fresh herbs, or just ice and frozen berries.

pitcher of homemade iced tea ready to be served

Make a Large Batch

This is an amazing recipe to double or triple to your heart’s content as long as you have a large enough pitcher or glass drink container. Simply multiply each of the ingredients and follow the same recipe instructions below.

How to Store Iced Tea

Store this iced tea in an air-tight pitcher or container the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Pro tip: if you’re planning to store this iced tea in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week, remove the fresh lemons and mint from the pitcher after the initial steeping and chilling period and add fresh slices before serving.

kitchen conversion image.

make it easy

Print Your Own

Keep common kitchen conversions like tablespoons to teaspoons and Fahrenheit to Celsius on hand at all times with our printable kitchen conversions chart.

mason jar of iced tea garnished with a slice of fresh lemon and a sprig of fresh mint
5 from 2 votes

Homemade Iced Tea Recipe

Cheers to the best homemade iced tea on the internet! This 6-ingredient iced tea recipe is as easy as it is delicious. Make a pitcher today!
Prep: 2 hours
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6
email me this recipe
Plus, enjoy weekly doses of recipe inspiration!
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Ingredients 

  • 5 cups water
  • 5 black tea bags
  • ½ cup honey simple syrup*
  • 1 small lemon, sliced
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh mint

Instructions 

  • Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and then remove from heat. 
  • Add the tea bags to the water and let them steep for 7-9 minutes depending on the desired strength of tea. 
  • While the tea bags are steeping, add the simple syrup, lemon slices, and pinch of salt to a large pitcher and whisk. 
  • Remove the tea bags from the water and carefully pour the tea into the large pitcher. 
  • Whisk all of the ingredients together until combined. 
  • Add the mint to the pitcher and place the tea into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or until chilled. 
  • Before serving, add 2-3 handfuls of ice to the pitcher, mix, and serve.

Tips & Notes

  • *Feel free to use whatever simple syrup you would like. Regular simple syrup works, too!
  • You may have to pour the iced tea through a fine sieve if any tea bags broke during the steeping period.

Nutrition

Calories: 88 kcal, Carbohydrates: 24 g, Protein: 0 g, Fat: 0 g, Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 23 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

love this? leave a comment below!

Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!

Similar Recipes:

About Emily Richter

Emily is Fit Foodie Finds' editor-in-chief. She has a master's degree in strategic communication, and a passion for food. She is an incredible at-home cook making her writing an important part of the content creation process.

0 0 votes
Recipe Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
Recipe Rating




Recipe Rating

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments