Beat the summer heat with this refreshing blueberry iced tea—a fun idea and an easy way to cool down! Made with brewed black tea, lemon juice, homemade blueberry syrup, and a touch of sweet tea magic, it’s like a marriage of blueberry lemonade and your favorite iced tea.
Serve it over ice with fresh blueberries, a slice of lemon, and a sprig of fresh mint. Whether you’re a fan of tea or just love fruity drinks, this beverage is a game-changer! Cheers to summer in a glass!
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If you are a regular visitor to The Food Blog, you may have noticed that I’ve been on a bit of a blueberry bender recently! That’s because, last summer I bought 10 pounds of freshly picked organic blueberries. A lot of them went right into the freezer and I completely forgot about them until now.
So, besides this blueberry iced tea, I also created recipes for blueberry oatmeal bars, blueberry martinis, and blueberry simple syrup, (which I’m using in this iced tea recipe).
Jump to:
Why you’ll love blueberry iced tea
- Bursting with Flavor: Homemade blueberry syrup made from fresh blueberry juice and zesty lemon juice balances sweet and tart flavors beautifully.
- Super Refreshing: Blueberry iced tea is perfect for sipping under the sun and a great way to chill out during hot summer days.
- Customizable: Add more blueberry simple syrup if you want it sweeter or extra lemon juice for a punchier citrus flavor.
Ingredients
Ingredient quantities and detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Black tea bags: Assam and Darjeeling teas are best. Loose-leaf tea works great, too! Generally, one teaspoon of loose leaf black tea is used for every tea bag, which equals six teaspoons (or two tablespoons) for this recipe. Strain the steeped tea through a fine mesh strainer, or use mesh or ceramic infusers to steep loose tea. You can also use green tea or white tea.
- Blueberry simple syrup: You can buy flavored simple syrup, but my recipe for blueberry syrup truly is simple – all you need is blueberry juice from boiled fresh or frozen blueberries, sugar, and water. (It’s also the perfect ingredient for cocktails, like my blueberry martini!)
- Fresh lemons: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice and avoid the bitter, artificial-tasting bottled lemon juice from the grocery store. One large lemon produces about four tablespoons (¼ cup) of lemon juice. I love to serve blueberry iced tea with fresh lemon slices on the rim!
- Fresh mint leaves (optional): Although the mint is optional, it really complements the fruits’ natural flavor! Fresh basil would also be delicious.
How to make it
- In a medium saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and steep tea bags for 5 minutes.
- Discard tea bags and pour the brewed tea into a half-gallon pitcher. Stir in the blueberry syrup and lemon juice and refrigerate until chilled.
3. Serve over ice with lemon slices and fresh mint leaves.
Top tips
- Don’t over-steep your tea. Promptly remove the tea bags from the water after five minutes. Steeping black tea any longer than that can make it taste bitter and more acidic.
- Loose leaf tea. If you prefer to use loose leaf tea, use one teaspoon of tea leaves in place of each teabag. Strain the steeped tea with a fine mesh sieve, or use mesh or ceramic tea infusers.
- Let your tea chill fully. Since this blueberry tea is made with hot water, it takes hours to thoroughly chill in the fridge. Your patience will pay off with a crisp, cold glass of refreshing iced tea!
- Customize it. Add a little more black tea for a stronger flavor and extra caffeine boost. Or opt for a different tea altogether to make white or green iced teas. Add more lemon juice and even some lemon zest for more tartness, or use more blueberry syrup to make it sweeter.
- Cold brew. For this recipe, I use hot water to steep the tea. However, you can use the cold brew method also. To do this, use cold water (don’t boil it) and steep the tea for 6 to 12 hours in the fridge before stirring in the blueberry syrup and lemon juice.
- Caffeine free. Use herbal teas to make a caffeine free iced tea. Choose your favorite flavor. Peach or lemon herbal tea are my favorites for non-caffeinated homemade iced tea.
- Scale up or down. Use the serving feature in the recipe card to make more or fewer servings. Cut the recipe in half for a one-quart pitcher, or double it to make about a gallon of iced tea for a large crowd.
- Make blueberry iced tea cocktails! Stir a shot of plain, lemon, or blueberry vodka into each glass of blueberry iced tea for an adults-only beverage perfect for summer happy hours!
- Storage. Since blueberry iced tea is made with fresh fruit juices, it can only be kept in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. I doubt it will even last that long, though!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Enter your email & I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Blueberry Iced Tea
Beat the summer heat with this refreshing blueberry iced tea—a fun idea and easy way to cool down! Made with brewed black tea, lemon juice, homemade blueberry syrup, and a touch of sweet tea magic, it’s like a marriage of blueberry lemonade and your favorite iced tea.
Print Pin Rate Save RecipePrevent your screen from going dark
Servings: 6
Calories: 156kcal
Instructions
In a saucepan, bring 6 cups of water to a boil.
Remove from heat and add the teabags. Allow to steep for 5 minutes.
Remove the teabags and pour the brewed tea into a pitcher.
Stir in the blueberry syrup and lemon juice.
Refrigerate until chilled. Serve over ice with lemon slices and mint leaves.
Notes
-
- Don’t over-steep your tea. Promptly remove the tea bags from the water after five minutes. Steeping black tea any longer than that can make it taste bitter and more acidic.
-
- Let your tea chill fully. Since this blueberry tea is made with hot water, it takes hours to thoroughly chill in the fridge. Your patience will pay off with a crisp, cold glass of refreshing iced tea!
-
- Customize it. Add a little more black tea for a stronger flavor and extra caffeine boost. Or opt for a different tea altogether to make white or green iced teas. Add more lemon juice and even some lemon zest for extra tartness, or use more blueberry syrup to make it sweeter.
-
- Cold brew. For this recipe, I use hot water to steep the tea. However, you can use the cold brew method also. To do this, use cold water (don’t boil it) and steep the tea for 6 to 12 hours in the fridge before stirring in the blueberry syrup and lemon juice.
-
- Caffeine free. Use herbal teas to make a caffeine free iced tea. Choose your favorite flavor. Peach or lemon herbal tea are my favorites for non-caffeinated homemade iced tea.
-
- Scale up or down. Use the serving feature in the recipe card to make more or fewer servings. Cut the recipe in half for a one-quart pitcher, or double it to make about a gallon of iced tea for a large crowd.
-
- Make blueberry iced tea cocktails! Stir a shot of plain, lemon, or blueberry vodka into each glass of blueberry iced tea for an adults-only beverage perfect for summer happy hours!
-
- Storage. Since blueberry iced tea is made with fresh fruit juices, it can only be kept in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. I doubt it will even last that long, though!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 45mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 2mg