Iced Tea Guide: Learn to make refreshing teas

10. 7. 2025 1 minute reading

The widely available, storebought iced teas are full of artificial sweeteners and chemicals. But at home, you can prepare a better alternative – and at a much lower cost per liter, too. All you need are some instructions, the right kind of tea, and any garnish you find lying around in your kitchen. The results will surprise you.

Most of the name brand lemonades can contain up to eight cubes of sugar. That’s more than some experts consider a recommended daily intake. What’s more, they’re often full of artificial flavorings, preservatives, and colorings that burden the body and digestion but don’t provide any nutritional value. Light varieties may not contain sugar but still utilize artificial sweeteners that have disputable effects on our health.

That’s one of the reasons for the growing popularity of homemade drinks which are healthier, refreshing, and let you control everything down to the last sip. It could even be just pure tea, some ice cubes, and a few sprigs of mint. Even better – homemade iced tea will cost you much less per liter instead of paying extra for a small bottle at the supermarket.

Types of preparation and their differences

Iced tea can be made in two basic ways. First is hot brew, a classic way that’s just brewing your tea hot as usual and then rapidly cooling it. The second is cold brew, a more modern alternative where the tea is steeped in cold water for a few hours. Each one has its pros and cons and requires a different type of tea.

Hot brew: The way of our grandmothers

This is the fastest method. It takes around 10 minutes a provides an intense, full flavor. That’s because hot water can extract much more substances than cold water, which is especially true for antioxidants – their content can be up to two times higher than in cold brewed iced tea. To avoid an overtly watery iced tea, make sure to dilute it correctly. Make a concentrate – a hot infusion that’s at least twice as strong as usual.

Then either dilute it with cold water in a 1:1 ratio or add ice cubes. The temperature depends on the type of tea – black should be steeped in boiling water, green shouldn’t go over 80°C. The ideal steeping time is usually 3-5 minutes.

Hot brew is ideal for teas with intense aromas. Instead of mild herbal infusions, you should make hot brewed iced teas with fruit teas or a strong black tea. One disadvantage is that you’ll have to wait to drink it, unless you want to have lukewarm iced tea.

Cold brew: Slow preparation, amazing results

Cold brewing tea takes at least six hours. Without heat, no tannins will be released, which means that the entire infusion will be much more mild. Another advantage is the lower caffeine content, which will be especially appreciated by people who are sensitive to it or those who want to enjoy their iced tea later in the day. What’s more, it can last you up to one week if you keep it refrigerated, unlike hot brew, which will become bitter if you don’t finish it within two days.

The instructions are simple. Stir your loose tea in lukewarm water, allow it to steep for an hour, then move it to the fridge. After 6-14 hours, your cold brew tea is done. The longer you leave it in the fridge, the stronger the taste.

Hot brew darling – Cool Dragon

Besides other delicious ingredients, Cool Dragon contains freeze-dried blackberries and redcurrant. Hot water will bring them back to life in a blink and the result will be a vibrant orange beverage that’s naturally sweet. Blackberries add a juicy finish while redcurrant refreshes with its sour flavor. Making Cool Dragon iced tea using the hot brew method is your best option, because hot water will renew the texture of the freeze-dried fruit. Using cold brew method would result in a blander taste.

We also recommend hot brewing our liquid pear pie – Iced Tea Frosted Pear contains dried pear and apple bits, though we also threw in a pinch of vanilla to top them off. Hot brew method lets the vanilla fully develop the aroma, so the tea tastes similar to delicious baked fruit. The sweetness of pears is the dominant flavor, but it’s pleasantly balanced by the sourness of apples.

Green and fruity – Sweet Apricot

Its foundation is a premium green tea with a high catechin content. Dried apricots are irresistibly sweet and honey pollen adds the proverbial cherry on top. Sweet Apricot is also perfect for hot brewed iced teas. Green tea generally requires a water temperature of 80°C and short steeping time, so it doesn’t become bitter.

Fresh Lemon was tailor-made for cold brewing – it’s created for fast preparation, all you need is a few minutes and some ice. For traditional cold brew tea, steep it for at least a few hours, but it already tastes great after 15 minutes. You’ll be surprised by the pleasant flavor of lemon peel and pineapple.

To impress your guests even more, decorate the glasses with fresh pineapple slices and a few mint leaves. Similar case is Catus with raspberry, which also requires just 15 short minutes. Since this blend is caffeine-free, you can have even late in the evening, before going to sleep.

How should you flavor homemade iced tea?

Your best bet is any and all fresh fruit. Strawberries are a guaranteed hit, since they’ll not only sweeten your tea but also give it an appealing pink hue. Citrus fruits will add a refreshing note and if you add them to a tea that’s already cold, you’ll get a hefty dose of vitamin C as a bonus. If you’ve got some peaches or apricots on hand, throw them in as well. Most forest fruits and even apples are similarly tasty, especially if you want to have iced tea even during the fall season.

Peach and raspberry iced tea or cocktail

How you prepare the fruit is crucial for the final taste and appearance of the drink. The easiest way is cutting the fruit and immediately adding it to your tea, where it can release its flavor while also serving as a decoration. If you’re aiming for a stronger fruit taste, slightly crush the fruit with a fork – but you should know that this technique can leave some fruit residue in your drink. An elegant solution is fruit ice cubes: small pieces of fruit that’ve been frozen in ice molds. They slowly melt in the drink and gradually release more flavor.

Honey instead of sugar

Honey is a much better choice, as it contains a lot of things that are beneficial for your health. The flavor may differ depending on the flower from which the honey was made – acacia honey is the mildest and most universal, linden honey has a strong aroma, and chestnut honey has a slight but distinct bitterness. Unlike sugar, however, honey doesn’t dissolve so easily, which holds especially true if you try to add it to cold drinks.

Ideally, mix it into hot tea before you let it cool down. With cold brew, we recommend dissolving the honey in some warm water and then adding it to your beverage later. Or use liquid honey, which is much more easily dissolved.

Herbs are also amazing

One of the most popular herbs used for iced tea is, without a doubt, mint. The menthol content feels breezy and refreshing, so the drink feels cooler than it actually is. Rub mint leaves between your fingers to release more essential oils and improve the aroma even further.

Lavender probably doesn’t come to mind right away, but it’s an amazing choice, too. Teas with added lavender have a pleasant, slightly bitter floral taste. Use it sparingly, all you need is a few flowers to cover an entire liter. We also recommend trying basil to go with citrus iced teas, rosemary with aromatic spicy teas, or lemon balm in general.

Here’s a tip! To serve with ice, make your tea stronger

If you plan on serving your iced tea with extra ice, you should know the tea will eventually dilute. As the ice melts, it will water down its taste, which means you’ll have to prepare a stronger infusion than if you just planned on drinking the tea hot. Twice the recommended amount is a good start.

The result will then be perfectly full of flavor even after the ice melts. If you make your tea too strong, there’s nothing easier than diluting it back down. On the other hand, a too-weak infusion can’t really be saved without remaking it.