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Homemade Strawberry Iced Tea Recipe

This cool and refreshing Strawberry Iced Tea is a wonderful summer drink. The bright strawberry flavor comes from a simple syrup made with fresh strawberries, giving this iced tea a natural, fruity sweetness.

one glass of strawberry flavoured iced tea in the foreground and another glass in the background with fresh strawberries in front of the glasses and in a square white bowl in the background

Iced tea is a staple for hot days, especially when it’s homemade and slightly sweetened the way southern sweet tea is. This strawberry version uses a simple syrup infused with fresh strawberries rather than artificial flavoring, so it tastes bright, clean, and naturally fruity.

Strawberry Iced Tea Ingredients

This recipe relies on real ingredients: fresh strawberries, sugar, black tea, and a couple of pantry staples. You’ll need just a few components to make both the strawberry simple syrup and the tea.

Strawberry Simple Syrup

  • Fresh strawberries: 2 cups (about 10 oz), stems removed and diced. Fresh berries provide the best flavor and color.
  • Granulated sugar: 1 cup (plus more to taste if needed).
  • Water: 1 cup to make the syrup.

Iced Tea

  • Boiling water: 5 cups to steep the tea.
  • Black tea bags: 10 bags for a full-bodied base.
  • Strawberry simple syrup: prepared as above.
  • Baking soda: 1 teaspoon — a common trick in sweet tea recipes to soften bitterness.
  • Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon to brighten the flavor (or up to ¾ cup if you prefer a strawberry-lemon iced tea).
  • Cold water: 5 cups to dilute and chill the tea.

top angled view to show inside of glass with iced tea, fresh strawberries and a red striped paper straw inside

How to Make Strawberry Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is one of the easiest things you can make: equal parts sugar and water cooked until the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens slightly. For this strawberry syrup, add diced berries so the syrup picks up their flavor and color.

  1. Combine the diced strawberries, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  2. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the strawberries have softened and the syrup is fragrant and slightly reduced.
  3. Remove from the heat and strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing gently to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
  4. Set the syrup aside to cool. The syrup can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it; it will keep for several weeks.

fresh strawberries piled together

How to Make the Iced Tea

With the syrup cooling, prepare the tea itself. These steps produce a well-balanced iced tea that highlights the strawberry flavor without becoming overly sweet or bitter.

  1. Steep the tea: Tie the tea bag strings together and place the bundle in a large heatproof bowl or pitcher. Pour 5 cups of boiling water over the tea bags and let them steep for 5 minutes. Avoid steeping longer unless you prefer a stronger brew, as over-steeping can lead to bitterness.
  2. Sweeten with syrup: Remove and discard the tea bags, then stir in the cooled strawberry simple syrup. Taste and add more syrup if you prefer a sweeter drink.
  3. Fix bitterness and brighten flavor: Stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. You’ll notice a brief fizzing reaction; this helps mellow any tannic bitterness in the black tea and lifts the overall flavor.
  4. Finish and chill: Add the remaining 5 cups of cold water, stir well, and taste. Adjust sweetness or lemon to your preference. Cover and chill the tea in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight for the best flavor.

glass pitcher of iced tea with fresh sliced strawberries inside

Serving Tips

  • Serve the iced tea in a large pitcher with ice for casual gatherings. If you add fresh strawberry slices for presentation, add them just before serving so they stay fresh. If you plan to store the tea in the fridge for several days, avoid leaving fresh fruit in the pitcher as it can break down and alter the flavor.
  • For individual glasses, add ice cubes, a few fresh strawberry slices, and optional mint leaves for a refreshing finish.
  • If you prefer a stronger lemon presence, increase the lemon juice to ¾ cup to make a strawberry-lemon iced tea.

two glasses of iced tea with fresh mint and strawberries inside

Notes

  1. Strawberries: When adding fresh fruit to a serving pitcher, remove it after a short time if you’re not drinking the tea immediately. Fruit left too long can spoil the batch’s flavor.
  2. Sugar: The recipe puts sugar into the simple syrup. Taste the finished tea before adding more sweetener and avoid adding more than the recipe’s amount to the syrup itself.
  3. Storage: Store leftover tea in the refrigerator and consume within a few days for best freshness. Keep any added fruit out of stored batches.

long vertical two photo image with recipe title in the centre

BON APPÉTIT!

Love, Dedra

close up of glass of iced tea with halved strawberry on the rim of the glass and a red striped paper straw inside

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