Tea Ice Cubes

Tea ice cubes are perfect for iced tea, lemonade and cocktails! These easy-to-make ice cubes are the perfect garnish that releases tea flavor as they melt and don’t dilute your drinks.

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Tea Ice Cubes recipe

Dressing up your ice cubes in a cocktail is one of the quickest, most hands-off way to garnish a cocktail.

Not only does ice add flavor as it melts in a drink, but it also adds a major wow factor and is a great way to impress guests.

I made flower ice cubes in the spring that let off a gentle floral flavor as they melt into a glass of lemonade, iced tea or a cocktail.

Coffee ice cubes are also great for adding to an iced coffee drink — as they melt, they won’t dilute your drink and will only make the coffee flavor stronger.

Tea ice cubes do the exact same thing. They allow the flavor of tea to seep into every sip as the ice melts. I love the chai ice spheres I used in this chai old-fashioned cocktail.

Why you’ll love this recipe

Tea drinkers are going to be obsessed with these tea ice cubes, and here’s why:

• Tea ice cubes are as simple as making a pot of tea, then freezing it into ice cube trays!
• You can use your favorite type of tea.
• They work well in iced tea, lemonade and cocktails.
• Use them to cool down hot tea or keep iced tea from diluting!

Plus, you really don’t need any special equipment! Just a kettle (or microwave), a bowl and an ice cube tray.

Ingredients

Water

Filtered water or distilled water will give you the best, purest results, but plain water from the tap is totally fine, especially since you will boil it to make tea.

You can also use cold brew tea, and if you do make sure to use filtered or bottled water, or water that’s been boiled and cooled.

Tea

You one type of tea for this recipe, but you can really have fun with the kinds you use! You can use any of the different types of tea to make tea ice cubes. A few ideas:

• Black tea such as Earl Grey, English Breakfast or Chai tea
• Green teas such as matcha or jasmine tea
• Oolong teas
• White teas
• Herbal teas, such as chamomile, rooibos or peppermint

If you wish to use a flavored tea, such as fruit teas like peach tea or herbal teas like mint tea, go for it. If you are just getting started with tea, use your favorite!

You can use looseleaf or tea bags. If you use looseleaf, you should use a stainless steal tea holder or you can use these disposable (and compostable) paper tea bags.

I prefer to brew my own black tea for ice cubes, but feel free to use a store-bought iced tea. You can use sweetened or unsweetened tea to make iced tea cubes.

How to make Iced Tea Ice Cubes

Making ice cubes with tea is so easy!

First, boil water for tea. I use a stovetop kettle, but you can use an electric kettle, a pot on the stove or even the microwave. You will need to make about 2 cups worth.

Once it’s ready, pour it over tea bags or tea leaves to start the infusion process. I do this in a large measuring cup with a spout.

Infuse for at least 3-5 minutes for black and green teas and up to 6-7 for lighter flavored teas like white tea or herbal tea. (How long you steep tea depends on the type of tea and how strong you’d like it. Refer to the packaging of your tea to determine the best time if you’re not sure.)

Then, remove the tea bags and let the tea cool down. You don’t want to put it into the freezer while it’s super hot, but it can still be warm.

Next, pour tea into your favorite ice trays and pop it in the freezer for at least 4 hours or overnight. Then you’re ready to use them!

favorite ice molds

small stackable ice cube tray

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large ice sphere molds

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large stackable ice cube tray

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How to use tea ice cubes

You can use these ice cubes in all kinds of ways.

Tea too hot? Use a tea ice cube to cool down a hot cuppa without diluting the flavor. (Make sure it is the same flavor of tea for best results!)

If you like to sip on iced tea but don’t like it when it gets watered down, using tea ice cubes made with the same type of tea is a great way to enjoy cold tea without the dilution of regular ice. (They would be great in Apple Cider or Russian Tea!)

Use molds for large ice cubes or sphere shapes (or other shapes). Drop them into a classic old-fashioned for a tea twist. (This Peach Tea Old-Fashioned would be perfect!)

Crush them up to flavor a mint julep (or virgin mint julep).

Use them in a glass of lemonade to make a spin on the Arnold Palmer.

Add the whole ice cube tray, some simple syrup and maybe some lemon juice in a blender to make iced tea slushies.

Freeze tea in popsicle molds to make tea popsicles!

Variations

Try one of these ideas to mix up these ice cubes:

• Green tea ice cubes — Use green tea to make cubes for iced green tea.
• Rooibos ice cubes — Use rooibos tea to make red-colored ice cubes.
• Chai ice cubes — Make masala chai tea for ice cubes to make a great tasting ice cube.
• Tea with lemon ice cubes — Add a little bit of lemon juice, to taste, to the tea before freezing.
• Thai ice cubes — Use them in Thai Iced Tea to keep it from getting watery.

More ice recipes

Here are some more awesome recipes for ice that you can use to upgrade your cocktails:

• Berry ice cubes
• Floral ice cubes
• Juice ice cubes made with fruit juice
• Herb ice cubes