30 Refreshing Iced Tea Recipes - Oh, How Civilized (2024)

By Jee Choe

on Feb 25, 2021, Updated Feb 05, 2024

The secret to making the best iced tea is to cold brew it. The process is simple, but it requires time.

To make a cold brew tea, place your tea leaves inside a pitcher with cool or room temperature water and chill for at least 12 hours.

Once the time is up, strain out the leaves and enjoy a perfectly refreshing brew that’s free of bitter tannins. It will be delicious, smooth, and refined.

Ingredients: Loose tea, water

A brisk iced black tea is the perfect warm weather drink. The key to making one that’s balanced instead of bitter is steeping it at the correct temperature for no more than 5 minutes.

This recipe works for any type of black tea, like Assam or English breakfast, and can be enjoyed plain, sweetened, or with milk.

It’s a great drink to serve at summer barbecues and potlucks or to bring on a picnic.

Ingredients: Black tea bags, hot water, sugar, cold water, ice

This simple recipe is packed with tips on how to make green tea that’s not too bitter. It also includes ideas on how to elevate the drink.

For example, you can enjoy it with or without sugar. You can even flavor it with a syrup like ginger, mint, or rose.

Plus, iced green tea can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

Ingredients: Green tea bags, hot water, sugar, cold water, ice

A quick 5-ingredient recipe, this lemon iced tea is refreshing and bold. It's the perfect summer drink.

Be sure to use the right ratio of lemon juice and sugar to make a balanced drink that's sweet, yet tart.

The recipe uses a black tea concentrate that cools down quickly. This way, you don't have to wait too long before enjoying a cold sip.

You can also customize the drink by using flavored simple syrup, like hibiscus or rose simple syrup, instead of plain sugar.

Ingredients: Black tea bags, hot water, sugar, lemon juice, cold water, ice

For a delicious twist on iced green tea, make this strawberry version. It's sweet, fruity, and cooling on hot days.

The recipe combines green tea that's cooled down and mixed with strawberry syrup. The syrup can be store-bought or homemade.

To make green tea that's not bitter, the trick is to steeping the leaves for no more than 3 minutes. Once you get it right, you'll be making iced green tea like this all the time.

Ingredients: Green tea bags, hot water, ice, strawberry syrup

Arnold Palmers are popular summer drinks, and for good reason too. They're so tasty and refreshing.

This version, which is made entirely from scratch, has the best favor. It's made of half cold brew iced tea and half homemade lemonade. The iced tea is mild and less astringent than hot brewed tea while the homemade lemonade isn't too sweet or sour.

To get the gorgeous layered effect, make sure to add the lemonade first, followed by ice, then the tea.

Ingredients: Water, black tea, ice, lemon juice, sugar

Thai iced tea is surprisingly simple to recreate at home. The key is to use a Thai tea mix, which will give the drink its signature orange color and authentic flavor.

This recipe uses additional black tea leaves for a stronger tea taste and brown sugar for a richer flavor. However, you can leave out the extra black tea if you'd like.

It’s delicious and decadent, perfect for accompanying spicy food.

Ingredients: Water, ice, Thai tea mix, brown sugar, black tea, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk

With just 3 ingredients, you can recreate a Starbucks iced chai latte at home. It tastes exactly like the one you get at stores because it uses a similar chai concentrate.

The Starbucks version uses 2% milk, but you can make it with any milk you prefer. This includes plant-based versions like oat milk, almond milk, and soy milk.

One recipe yields 16 ounces, which is a grande drink at Starbucks.

Ingredients: Tazo Classic Chai Tea Concentrate, 2% milk, ice

Thanks to this recipe, making bubble tea at home will be so easy. Not only can it be prepared in less than 30 minutes, but it will guarantee perfectly chewy tapioca balls every time.

Plus, unlike the super sweet powders used in stores, real tea is used in this drink. It's also topped with a decadent cold foam.

See all my tips for making the best bubble tea, plus how to make a simple brown sugar syrup at home.

Ingredients: Water, black tea, brown sugar, water, tapioca balls, half & half, granulated sugar

All you need is 5 minutes to make an iced matcha latte. It comes together in a co*cktail shaker or a jar with a lid, so you won’t need a matcha whisk.

Milk is first mixed with honey, which creates the beautiful layered look. You can use any type of milk you want, including plant-based versions.

It’s nice and sweet, but the matcha flavor still shines through. You’ll be surprised by how simple and tasty it is!

Ingredients: Milk, cold water, honey, matcha, ice

For a bubble tea with a caffeinated kick, make this matcha version. You won't need a whisk to make this tasty drink.

Instead, you can use any airtight container, such as a co*cktail shaker or a Thermos, to dissolve the matcha powder.

The bubbles are cooked in a brown sugar syrup, which adds a light sweetness. The milk and matcha mixture are then layered on top to make a pretty drink.

For the strongest green tea flavor, look for the brightest green matcha you can find.

Ingredients: Ice, oat milk, cold filtered water, matcha, dark brown syrup, tapioca balls

The vibrant blue color of this trendy drink comes from butterfly pea flower tea, an herbal, caffeine-free tea. It has a woody and vegetable flavor.

This creamy latte combines the tea with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and half & half, which is key for creating pretty swirls.

It's important to use condensed milk, as the sweetness will balance the flavor of the butterfly pea flower tea.

Ingredients: Ice, water, half & half, butterfly pea flower tea bags, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract

The best iced chai latte is the one you can make from scratch at home. And thanks to this easy recipe, you can do just that.

This drink features a homemade chai spice blend made of cloves, star anise, cinnamon, and more. The flavors are beautifully balanced.

It's then used to make a chai concentrate, which can be stored in the fridge for up 4 days so you can have a cup whenever you'd like.

Ingredients: Milk, ice, black tea, honey, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods, whole cloves, ground nutmeg, vanilla extract, ground ginger, black peppercorns

This peach iced tea is so tasty and refreshing. The recipe uses fresh peaches to make a from-scratch syrup that, unlike peach tea bags, is full of real fruit flavor.

The syrup is then combined with Earl Grey and English breakfast teas, which complement the peach nicely. You can also use just one tea if you'd like.

When serving the drink, garnish each glass with thin sliced peaches for a party-ready beverage.

Ingredients: Ice, water, English Breakfast tea sachets, Earl Grey tea sachet, sliced peaches, water, diced peaches, white sugar

Equal parts delicious and pretty, this raspberry iced tea is perfect for baby and bridal showers, especially in the spring and summer.

It's a big-batch recipe that makes a full quart. It starts with a 3-ingreident homemade raspberry syrup, which gives the tea a bold and fruity flavor.

The syrup is then mixed with black tea. Follow my steps to properly brew the tea so it's not too biter or weak.

Ingredients: Ice, water, black tea sachets, fresh raspberries, white sugar

Ready in only 7 minutes, lavender iced tea is a unique drink to serve at parties or enjoy yourself on a hot day. It's lightly sweetened, subtly floral, and delicious.

Any black tea can be used, like English Breakfast tea. It will add depth of flavor and caffeine to the drink that's not as strong as coffee.

Also, be sure to use food-grade lavender buds, which are safe for drinking. It's also important to steep the leaves at the proper temperature for the right amount of time.

Ingredients: Black tea bag, dried lavender, hot water, sugar, ice

Learn how to make a Southern-styled iced tea with this easy recipe. It uses a family-sized tea bag to make 4 quarts at a time.

The bag is steeped in simmering (instead of boiling) water, allowing it to cool down minutes. Only 5 minutes of steeping is needed!

To make sure the tea is perfectly sweetened, add the sugar while the tea is warm to ensure it dissolves completely.

Ingredients: Water, ice, sugar, family-sized iced tea bag, lemon slices

It only takes 5 minutes to recreate this popular Starbucks drink at home. It's a version of the iced Passion Tango Tea that's mixed with sweet lemonade.

To recreate it, start by making a tea concentrate from Tazo Passion Tea bags. Next, shake the tea with store-bought lemonade and ice in a co*cktail shaker to get cold and foamy (just like at Starbucks!).

Once you've prepared the iced tea, you can keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Ingredients: Water, Passion Tango tea bag, lemonade, ice

For a twist on the usual Arnold Palmer, make this 4-ingredient matcha lemonade. It replaces regular iced tea for bright green matcha.

The sweetness of the lemonade complements the earthy, slight bitterness of matcha powder.

You can make the matcha at home without a whisk by using a co*cktail shaker. It's also used to mix up the lemonade from scratch. The combination of flavors is so refreshing!

Ingredients: Water, sweetened matcha, lemonade, ice

Starbucks Iced Black Tea Lemonade is the brand’s version of an Arnold Palmer. It’s made with only 4 ingredients and takes 5 minutes to recreate at home.

All you need are Tazo Awake English breakfast tea bags to make a quick black tea concentrate. You can then shake the tea with lemonade and ice for an instantly refreshing drink.

Save yourself money by making this popular summer drink at home. It's a tasty caffeinated pick-me-up that's perfect for hot days.

Ingredients: Hot water, Tazo Awake English breakfast tea bags, lemonade, ice

This rose iced tea gets its floral flavor from real edible flower buds. The dried rose buds are steeped with an English breakfast tea for the perfect amount of time. Avoid steeping them for too long, otherwise the drink will be bitter.

You can easily double this recipe, since it’s a good one to serve at parties. It’s perfectly sweet and very refreshing!

To make the drink even better, top it off with rose cold foam or garnish the glasses with sliced strawberries.

Ingredients: Black tea bags, dried rose buds, hot water, sugar, ice

It's surprisingly easy to make a brown sugar bubble tea just like the boba shops do. Just follow this quick and simple tutorial.

In this recipe, the boba is cooked in brown sugar and the syrup is used to sweeten the tea. The result is a rich drink with nutty and sweet notes.

Whole milk will create creamiest drink, but you're welcome to use other types of milk, including plant-based versions.

Ingredients: Water, black tea, milk, ice, dark brown sugar, tapioca balls

If you love the Iced London Fog Tea Latte at Starbucks, you'll want to bookmark this recipe. It shows you how to recreate the drink at home.

It uses the exact same Earl Grey tea that Starbucks does, which includes lavender. The drink is sweetened with vanilla syrup, which you can make yourself or purchase directly at stores.

Making the drink will take just 7 minutes of your time. Now you can enjoy the a London Fog Tea Latte whenever you want!

Ingredients: Earl Grey tea sachets, hot water, vanilla syrup, 2% milk, ice

Inspired by the Boba Guys, this strawberry matcha latte bubble tea is a pretty copycat recipe. The trick to creating perfectly distinct layers is to put the sweetest parts in the cup first.

For the best bubble tea, assemble the drink while the tapioca pearls are still a bit warm. This will keep the pearls separate and ensure they don't stick together.

Use homemade strawberry syrup, if possible. It's easy to make and tastier than store-bought versions. You can also save it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients: Water, tapioca balls, matcha, strawberry syrup, oat milk, ice

A quick 7-minute recipe, this copycat Starbucks Iced Royal English Breakfast Tea tastes exactly like what you buy at stores.

It uses English breakfast tea bags and 2 types of sugar in place of liquid cane sugar. This creates the same sweetness as the real drink.

To get the nice foamy layer on top, shake it in a co*cktail shaker (or a lidded jar) just like the baristas do.

Ingredients: English breakfast tea bags, hot water, white granulated sugar, turbinado sugar, 2% milk, ice

Sweet and refreshing, this layered tea latte features creamy black tea sweetened with brown sugar. You can use any black tea, or even oolong tea.

It's surprisingly easy to create the pretty layered effect. Place the brown sugar syrup in the cup first, then follow with the milk, then tea.

A quick 7-minute recipe, this iced brown sugar tea latte is a great alternative to coffee-based lattes.

Ingredients: Ice, water, milk, English breakfast tea sachet, brown sugar

Learn how to make a smooth and crisp green tea with this cold brew version. While it takes 6 hours to fully extract the flavor, you won’t have to worry about bitter tannins.

The tea is also lightly sweetened with simple syrup and brightened with fresh mint. The result is a lovely drink that's so good on warm days.

A simple 4-ingredient recipe, this tea will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Ingredients: Water, ice, loose green tea, fresh mint leaves

Mint iced tea is a naturally caffeine-free herbal tea that’s made by steeping dried peppermint leaves. It's a great summer drink since it naturally contains a lot of menthol so it’s cooling and energizing.

The hot brew method is used to make this mint iced tea.

Ingredients: Peppermint tea, water, ice

Apricot juice andblack teaare the main ingredients in this invigorating and fruity apricot iced tea.

The trick to making an iced tea that’s brisk but not bitter is to steep the tea at the right temperature and time. If tea is oversteeped, it’ll taste astringent and bitter.

Get step-by-step instructions and tips from a Tea Sommelier.

Ingredients: Black tea, apricot juice, sugar, water, ice

Pineapple ginger iced tea is a refreshing fruity drink that combines ginger tea with pineapple juice.

Ginger tea is steeped in hot water, then mixed with pineapple juice and poured over ice. It's a quick and easy recipe.

Ingredients: Ginger tea, pineapple juice, water, ice

Tried this recipe?Mention @ohhowcivilized or tag #ohhowcivilized!