Cold Brew Iced Tea

a glass of iced tea on a napkin next to a pitcher

Make your own Cold Brew Iced Tea with a few tea bags, some water and time for a smooth, rich beverage. Customize it with flavors and sweetness.

Course Non-Alcoholic Drink

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 0

Infusion Time 8

Total Time 8 10

Servings servings

Calories 97kcal

Ingredients

10 tea bags or 10 teaspoons loose-leaf tea
10 cups cold water
1 cup simple syrup to taste
2 lemons wedged, for garnish

Instructions

In a large jar or pitcher, cover tea bags with cold water. Cover and refrigerate.
Rest for 8-10 hours in the fridge. Discard tea bags or strain out loose tea.
Add ½ to 1 cup simple syrup to taste to sweeten it.

Notes

How to sweeten iced tea

You can sweeten iced tea by stirring in your favorite sweetener. Sugar can take a while to dissolve, so a simple syrup works best. If you wish to add honey, it’s easiest to water it down with warm water for easier stirring.

I recommend adding sweeteners a little at a time and tasting after each addition until you reach your desired sweetness level.

How long to cold brew tea

This depends on the type of tea you use. Follow this guide:

White tea: 6-8 hours
Green tea: 6-8 hours
Black tea: 8-12 hours
Herbal tea: 8-12 hours
Oolong tea: 8-12 hours

Tea steeped for the longer end of that range will have a stronger flavor, whereas less infusion time will yield a weaker tea. However, do not steep tea for more than 24 hours.

Nutrition

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