This easy & delicious Strawberry Iced Tea, infused with strawberry simple syrup, is both refreshing and delightful – perfect for a sunny day on the patio or a summer picnic.
We all have our favorite summer drinks. But everyone knows that the king of summer drinks is iced tea. You can’t beat it as a cold refreshing drink. But plain black iced tea can get boring, so we love to infuse our tea with the flavors of summer, especially ripe delicious strawberries.
When I was younger my grandfather’s favorite drink was strawberry lemonade. He used to pick strawberries fresh from his garden to use. This inspired me to make strawberry iced tea with the plump strawberries we get from the garden. Strawberries add so much flavor to iced tea, especially when you make them into a simple syrup.
But don’t worry, it’s not difficult to make a simple syrup. You can make it while the tea is cooling and it won’t add any extra time to the task.
If you have your own strawberry plants, this is a great use for your berries! Homegrown strawberries also tend to be sweeter than store bought, so using your own strawberries will make this tea even more delicious. We use our home-grown strawberries in all kinds of drinks – including these Strawberry Mojitos, which can be made with our without alcohol.
How to Make Strawberry Iced Tea
Heat the water to 180 degrees F and pour it over the tea bags in a heat-resistant pitcher. Steep the tea for 5 minutes before taking out the tea bags and throwing them away.
While the tea is steeping you can get started on the simple syrup. In a pot over medium heat, add strawberries, sugar and water to make a strawberry simple syrup. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the strawberries are soft, the sugar is fully dissolved, and the mixture starts to thicken. Remove the syrup from the heat and put it through a strainer to remove the seeds and solids.
Pour the simple syrup into the pitcher. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir to combine. Leave it in the fridge until it’s completely cool, which takes about two hours.
Serve over ice with fresh strawberries and a sprig of fresh basil for garnish.
Why Use White Tea
If you’ve never had white tea before, you might be wondering what it is exactly, and how it differs from black tea. White tea is harvested earlier than black, when the leaves are still new and have little white fluff on them (thus the name). This minimal processing and low oxidation results in a more delicate and fresh tea.
We use white tea instead of black because the white tea is more delicate and has less bitterness. I prefer to use loose white tea, but you can get white tea in bag form as well, if you prefer it.
Our favorite white tea is from the Tea Spot. We use their Silver Needles organic white tea, cultivated in the Fujian Province, near Wuyi Mountain. You can buy their white tea in either loose leaf or in tea bags. It’s delicious and great for this tea, or just drinking by itself!
You can also use green or black tea, but we think the delicate flavor of white tea pairs best with the strawberry and really lifts up the natural flavors of the fruit.
Tips For Making Strawberry Iced Tea
The perfect temperature for f you don’t have a temperature controlled kettle, you can heat the water to boiling and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before steeping the tea.
Adding mint to this iced tea gives it a wonderful pop of flavor. You can also use other types of berries – raspberries or blueberries – if you’d like.
We’ve used granulated white sugar in this recipe, but you can also use honey or agave nectar as a natural sweetener. There are lots of different types of honey to try, find your favorite and add it into your drink! You can also use your favorite sugar alternative, such as Swerve.
Equipment for Making Iced Tea
You’ll need a 2-liter pitcher that is heat resistant (so it holds up to adding hot water directly to it), and a fine mesh strainer – like the ones pictured below (click the image to see it on Amazon) – to make this recipe.
If you’re not sure if your pitcher is heat-resistant, don’t pour the hot water or hot simple syrup directly into the pitcher. Allow it to cool first before putting it in the pitcher. Usually, the only time a glass pitcher will shatter is if it’s cold when you pour in hot liquid, but it’s best to be on the safe side.
Other Iced Tea Flavors to Try
You can never have enough iced tea recipes for summer. If you love this iced tea, you should definitely try a few of our others. We drink a lot of iced tea in the summer, especially with fresh seasonal fruit.
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Easy & Delicious Strawberry Iced Tea
This iced tea infused with strawberry simple syrup is a great way to get yourself in the mood for sunny weather.
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 5 organic white tea bags or ¼ cup white tea leaves
- 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or sugar substitute)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Extra strawberries and mint sprigs for garnish
Instructions
Heat the water to 180 degrees F and pour over tea bags in a heat-resistant pitcher. Steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags.
In a pot over medium heat, add strawberries, sugar and water. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until strawberries are soft, sugar is fully dissolved, and mixture starts to thicken. Remove from heat. Strain over a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids
Pour the simple syrup into the pitcher. Add fresh lemon juice and stir to combine. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
Serve over ice with fresh strawberries and a sprig of fresh basil for garnish.
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Jillian attends college in a small town in Oregon, where she’s is pursuing her passion for people. She enjoys music, writing, and baking in her spare time.
This iced tea is absolutely perfect for summer! The suggestion to add mint and berries sounds delicious, I think I’ll do that when I make it 🙂
This iced tea sounds so flavorful! A perfect summer drink, when there are plenty of strawberries.
I Made for a gathering and it was a hit, everyone loved it! Will definitely make it again!
Can’t wait to try this, I know it’s going to be a hit!