Sweet Summer Iced Tea

June 27, 2019

This Sweet Summer Iced Tea is the perfect beverage to drink on hot summer days.

This is my favorite beverage to make in the summer and keep in the refrigerator. It’s so easy to pour yourself a glass when the weather is sweltering. A super cold iced tea really hits the spot! It’s also nice to have on hand to be able to offer to guests too.

How to make the best Sweet Summer Iced Tea:

In a large pitcher, you’ll combine sugar with lemon juice and boiling water. This will give the sugar a chance to dissolve and the lemon a chance to infuse with the water. In another container, you’ll combine boiling water with mint and tea– and let it steep for 15 minutes. When done, you’ll remove the mint and the tea bags and add the tea mixture to the pitcher. Cold water is added to the pitcher, and then you can let it chill for several hours before serving.

About Iced Tea:

Iced tea is steeped tea that has been chilled. It’s usually served in a glass with ice. It can be sweetened or not- with sugar, syrups, honey or artificial sweeteners. Sweet Iced Tea is particularly popular in the south. Southerners swear by their traditional sweet tea, and they drink it all year long.

What kinds of tea make the best sweet tea?

Earl Grey
Black Tea
Green Tea
Hibiscus Tea
Chamomile Tea
Peach Tea

Sweeteners for iced tea:

sugar: traditional white sugar, sugar cubes or sugar-coated swizzle sticks (note that sugar melts best into hot tea, so if you’re making iced tea… add the sugar during the steeping process)
honey: you don’t need to use as much honey as you would sugar because it’s sweeter. Try different varieties of honey!
simple syrup, flavored syrups or agave syrup

This recipe is very versatile because you can use alternate flavors of tea, and you can sweeten it with more (or less) sugar, as desired.

Here are a few more summer recipes you might like to try: