Refreshing Raspberry Iced Tea
One of the joys of summer is a refreshing glass of ice cold tea, and this homemade Raspberry Iced Tea hits the spot every time.
The recipe is beyond easy to put together. All you have to do is brew tea, combine it with raspberry syrup made from real raspberries, and serve over ice.
This fruity beverage is brisk, delicious and perfect for serving at all sorts of occasions. A pitcher of raspberry tea is great for Mother’s Day and Easter brunches, baby and wedding showers, backyard barbecues, summer parties and potlucks.
Why You’ll Love this Raspberry Iced Tea
Make a single serving or more for a group. Raspberry iced tea can be easily assembled in a pitcher for a group or as an individual serving. I keep a pitcher of tea and separate bottle of homemade raspberry syrup in the fridge and assemble an iced tea when the craving hits. Lately I make a glass as soon as I get in from my morning walk.
Delicious in all kinds of tea. Classic southern iced tea is typically made with black tea bags like Lipton, but don’t limit yourself. Raspberry-flavored green tea and hibiscus are super delicious, too.
Easily turn it into lemonade iced tea. I love the tartness lemonade adds to sweet tea like raspberry iced tea. Since the brewed tea in this recipe is concentrated, there’s plenty of room to add in lemonade and still enjoy the flavor of tea. My frozen raspberry lemonade recipe is another fun summertime drink. It’s flavored with the most delicious homemade raspberry puree.
Raspberry Iced Tea Recipe
This recipe makes a full pitcher of raspberry tea, enough to serve eight. Just want enough for one? Single serving instructions are provided below, as well.
Ingredients
Black Tea – You don’t have to use the best grade of tea for iced tea. Lipton tea bags are my go-to for classic iced black tea. It has a nice, crisp flavor and enticing amber hue.
For convenience, use family size tea bags. Each one is equivalent to four regular size bags.
Raspberries – Make raspberry syrup from scratch with fresh or frozen raspberries. It’s a great way to use in-season berries.
Sugar – White granulated cane sugar, which you probably already have, is my sweetener of choice for the homemade syrup. It has a neutral flavor, so the syrup tastes totally of raspberries.
Filtered Water – Water is a huge component in iced tea. Avoid any funny tastes and use filtered water for the tea, ice and syrup. This Brita water filter pitcher works great.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prepare raspberry syrup. Wash fresh raspberries or thaw frozen berries (if using) in microwave. Bring raspberries and water to a boil in a medium saucepan and boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out the raspberry solids. Stir sugar into the strained raspberry juice, then return the syrup to the saucepan and boil for 1 minute, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, strain once more and set aside to cool. Here’s my detailed raspberry simple syrup recipe with guided pictures.
- Brew tea concentrate. Boil half the water and pour over tea bags in a heat-proof container. Steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and pour tea into a pitcher. Add remaining cold water. (For stronger tea, add less cold water. For lemonade iced tea, replace some of the cold water with prepared lemonade.)
- Make pitcher of raspberry iced tea. Stir the syrup into the tea. Cool in the refrigerator. Otherwise, serve the iced tea with syrup on the side so your guests can flavor and sweeten their iced tea individually.
- Serve. Add ice to glasses and fill with iced tea. Garnish with fresh berries (I like to freeze a few beforehand) or mint sprigs, if desired. Optionally, squeeze in fresh lemon.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
Recipe Notes
Make the tea and syrup ahead of time. Prepare the brewed tea and simple syrup the day before. This way both are super-chilled for the most refreshing glass of iced tea.
Did you know you can cold brew tea? Simply pour 8 cups of cool water over 2 family size tea bags (or 8 regular size) and refrigerate overnight for 8-12 hours.
Substitute black tea with another type. Green, herbal and white tea are all tasty options paired with raspberry. Just follow the tea package instructions for the proper water temperature and steep time.
I use this Cuisinart electric kettle with temperature setting buttons for each type of tea.
How to Prepare an Individual Serving
To make a single serving, brew 2 tea bags in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and add 1 cup cold water and 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry syrup (homemade or store-bought). Serve over ice.
I like to prep individual servings of iced tea like Starbucks. Keep a pitcher of concentrated tea in the fridge (without the cold water added to it already). Then when you’re ready for a drink, fill a glass with ice. Add to it, syrup, and add equal portions of concentrated tea and cold water, or cold lemonade.
Serving Tips
Serve syrup on the side. Serve tea unsweetened and unflavored, and let your guests add their preferred amount of syrup.
Make raspberry ice cubes. Ice cubes with fresh berries frozen inside, are a nice touch.
Garnish with frozen fresh raspberries. Toss some fresh raspberries in a single layer on a tray and place in freezer for a couple hours. Stir some into the tea or place on top of ice.
Garnish with mint leaves. A sprig of mint is an elegant finishing touch to a glass of any iced tea. I love how the green contrasts with the red raspberries
More Refreshing Iced Tea Recipes
- Homemade Strawberry Iced Tea
- One-Gallon Sweet Tea Recipe
- Starbucks Iced Black Tea Lemonade Copycat Recipe
- Iced Strawberry Passion Tea (3 Ways)
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Homemade Raspberry Iced Tea
Homemade raspberry iced tea is easy to make with freshly brewed tea and the most delicious homemade raspberry syrup. This brisk, refreshing summer beverage can be prepared by the pitcher for parties or as an individual serving.
Ingredients
For the Raspberry Syrup
- 6 ounces raspberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
For the Raspberry Iced Tea
- 2 family size tea bags (or 8 regular size)
- 8 cups water, divided
- 1 1/2 cups raspberry syrup
- ice, to fill glasses
- fresh raspberries, sliced lemon, mint leaves, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare raspberry syrup. Wash fresh raspberries or thaw frozen berries (if using) in microwave. Bring raspberries and water to a boil in a medium saucepan and boil for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and strain out the raspberry solids. Stir sugar into the strained raspberry juice, then return the syrup to the saucepan and boil for 1 minute, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat, strain once more and set aside to cool. Here's my detailed raspberry simple syrup recipe with guided pictures
- Brew tea concentrate. Boil half the water and pour over tea bags in a heat-proof container. Steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and pour tea into a pitcher. Add remaining cold water. (For stronger tea, add less cold water. For lemonade iced tea, replace some of the cold water with prepared lemonade.)
- Make pitcher of raspberry iced tea. Stir the syrup into the tea. Cool in the refrigerator. Otherwise, serve the iced tea with syrup on the side so your guests can flavor and sweeten their iced tea individually.
- Serve. Add ice to glasses and fill with iced tea. Garnish with fresh berries (I like to freeze a few beforehand) or mint sprigs, if desired. Optionally, squeeze in fresh lemon.
Notes
- Single serving instructions: brew 2 tea bags in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and add 1 cup cold water and 2-3 tablespoons of raspberry syrup (homemade or store-bought). Serve over ice.
- To make raspberry iced tea lemonade: Combine the tea concentrate with lemonade in place of cold water.
- Substitute black tea with green, herbal or white for other tasty raspberry iced tea options.
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