This quick and easy recipe for Sweet Lemon Iced Tea will be a summer favorite – It’s so refreshing and full of fruity flavor!
It’s that time of year again – Time to enjoy warm, sunny days outside. There’s nothing better than a relaxing day at a sunlit beach or laying by the pool taking sips of a tall glass of Sweet Lemon Iced Tea.
Why this recipe works:
- The hot brew of the tea helps to give a robust quality.
- The fresh lemon juice gives a fresh vibrant flavor you just can’t get with store-bought.
I adore iced tea. Back home in New Jersey, I drank it all year round. They don’t sell mixes here in England and although I find the occasional bottle of ready-made in the grocery stores, it’s really hard to come by.
After so many summers of craving iced tea, I decided to try my hand at making my own, and ever since, I make it all the time.
You can never have too many iced tea recipes right? If you love iced tea, you can also check out my recipe for Sweet Peach Iced Tea – It’s delicious!
This Fresh homemade iced tea recipe is so easy to make, the only tedious part is getting all the juice out of those lemons but, please use fresh juice – it is so worth it in the end!
How To Make Lemon Iced Tea
Boil 4 cups of water then add to a large heat-proof pitcher.
To the hot water add the baking soda and sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves.
To the hot water add the tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes. The longer you steep the stronger the taste.
Remove all of the tea bags. Add the lemon juice.
Top off the rest of the pitcher with cold water. Place in the refrigerator until chilled.
When ready to serve, add lemon slices and ice to the glasses then pour the tea.
Enjoy every last sip!
Top Tips For Perfect Iced Tea:
- To avoid potential dangers, if you’re not sure if your pitcher is heatproof, prepare the tea in a saucepan and transfer once cooled.
- Make it to your taste: Iced tea recipes are easily adaptable. You can brew it strong or light or make it unsweetened or sweetened. Once get the basics, you can make it according to your taste.
- Don’t skip on steep time: Iced tea gets diluted so you really want to extract the maximum amount of flavor from your tea. Steeping long enough to get the most flavor is vital to a quality brew.
- Control the sweetness according to taste: Try adding the sugar in stages and taste as you go to adapt the recipe to your taste.
- To keep the tea from being watered down, add the ice to your glass instead of the pitcher.
- To keep the fruit from breaking down, add the sliced lemons to the glasses instead of the pitcher.
Flavor tips and variations:
- Tea blends – This recipe calls for plain black tea bags, but you can use whatever blend you like. For instance, fruit-infused black teas tend to make great iced tea.
- Using Green Tea – If you are using green tea, the hot brew method is particularly important as it can get bitter if you steep it cold.
- I have made this recipe using other citrus fruits like orange, tangerines, and limes. All of the flavors have been delicious so don’t be afraid to play around and create your own!
FAQs
Why is Baking Soda used in iced tea recipes? Baking soda neutralizes the bitterness of the tea and gives it a much smoother taste.
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Let's Make Sweet Lemon Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 4 cups Water
- ¾ - 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 10 tea bags black tea
- The juice of 6 fresh lemons
- 4 lemons sliced
Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil.
- In a large, heat-proof pitcher/jug, combine the boiling water, baking soda & sugar mix well to dissolve the sugar. Add the tea bags and let steep for 10 minutes (the longer you steep the stronger the taste).
- Remove the tea bags.
- Add the lemon juice and fill the rest of the pitcher/jug with cold water.
- Refrigerate until chilled.
- Add lemon slices and ice to a the glasses and pour the tea over the ice and lemon slices to serve.
Tips + Notes
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in August of 2014, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in June of 2018.
Alan G says
How much cold water would be needed after? I don’t want to add too much to dilute it.
Erren Hart says
Hi Alan, if you’re worried, fill the pitcher halfway, taste, and go from there.
Alexander Nistor says
I love this recipe. I actually made it for the first time and tried to times it by 8. It was quite the experience to say the least. I am just wondering how much water you addin after everything else in.
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi, it’s four cups of water (which is stated within the post) however, you are quite right it doesn’t say it on the actual recipe! I am amending it now, thank you for pointing this out, and I hope you enjoy your iced tea 🙂
Eliza says
Hello this tea was beautiful and very relaxing but a little to sweat. How can i make this less sweat. thanks
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Eliza, of course, feel free to experiment with the amount of sugar you add to the tea. Enjoy 🙂
Skylar Stanley says
I like to add mint and white rum to turn this into an iced tea cocktail! Very delicious, but maybe I would use more sugar/less lemon as a lot of people told me its quite sour. I like it like this though 🙂
Erren's Kitchen says
I hope you enjoy it Skylar, of course you can adjust it to your personal taste 🙂
mike says
I am always in search of a great recipe. I have tried many lemon Ice Tea recipes over the years and have discovered many ‘good’ ones. This one however is one of the ‘way better’ ones. It has a perfect balance of tea to lemon. This recipe is a keeper for my collection!
Thanks!
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you Mike, I’m so pleased you liked it 🙂
Ang says
Absolutely love this, so authentic and much better for you than the store bought stuff I’m sure, thank you
Aimee Barnabee says
What size pitcher is this recipe for?
Erren Hart says
Any size larger than a quart will do.
Larry Taylor says
I love this tea flavor so much don’t change any thing!!!!
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m so glad you like it, thank you Larry!
Nicole says
Hi! Thanks so much for sharing this I’m so excited to try this recipe as soon as I get to the store and grab some lemons!
I’m curious as to what the purpose of the baking soda is for? I’ve never heard of using it in tea.
Thank you again I cannot wait to try it!
Erren Hart says
Hi Nicole, Baking soda neutralizes the bitterness of the tea and gives it a much smoother taste.
lester says
Got a few traditional twists to Local PNG dishes that are not that popular Internationally but would love to share and show the world what PNG flavours are all about.
• Bamboo Cooking
• Hot Stone Cooking
• Clay Pot Cooking and
• Mumu
Just to name a few
Erren's Kitchen says
They sound very good Lester!