Cold Brew Refrigerator Iced Tea
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This almost doesn’t seem like a recipe- but I only just started making this cold brew refrigerator iced tea recently, and it has changed my iced tea game! Keep some of this tea in the fridge all summer long for an easy, refreshing summer drink.
What’s your favorite iced tea? Southern Sweet Tea? Unsweetened Iced Tea? Iced Peach Green Tea? This tea making method is so versatile – make your own sweet tea, flavored sweet tea (peach iced tea!) lightly flavored unsweetened tea (strawberry basil iced tea!) or something fancy – add some lemonade, fruit juice, or liquor!
There are a lot of methods to make iced tea –
Traditional hot brew iced tea – you know, where you boil water. Ok, is this really hard- to boil water? Yes, sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s too much. Not only do you have to boil the water but then you have to cool it off. It’s iced tea.
Sun Tea – so summery and so much nostalgia and also so much… bacteria? It’s probably fine most of the time, but the scientist in me knows exactly how we grow bacteria in the lab, and it’s just too easy for bad stuff to grow in there for me to want to take a chance on it. No thanks.
Cold Brew Refrigerator Iced Tea has entered the chat. It’s PERFECT. So easy. No bitter taste. So refreshing. Refreshing because it is SO EASY.
This is a “recipe” we can memorize. Here it is: 1 tea bag for every cup of water you use. That’s it. Put it in the fridge to hang out– I like a big mason jar with one of these plastic cap lids – It’s ready to drink after 12 – 24 hours.
You can use any kind of tea – black tea, green tea, decaf… they do make tea bags specifically for cold brewing, but I don’t buy those – any kind will do! I usually use tea bags, but you could use loose leaf as well with one of these large tea infusers that fits a wide mouth mason jar.
The only downside to this cold brew method is it takes a bit of time- I try to keep a batch of this in the fridge though at all times so there’s always some to have for dinner or an impromptu gathering!
Sweet Tea
One of the problems with cold brew methods is that if you want to make SWEET TEA, all that sugar doesn’t like dissolving in cold water. The way to get around this is to make a simple syrup—basically sugar water. Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar – bring it to a boil to dissolve the sugar, and store it in a jar with a lid.
It’s super easy to make your own and keep a jar in the fridge, but you can also buy simple syrup with different sweeteners- regular cane sugar syrup, agave syrup, sugar free sweetener syrup, monk fruit syrup (keto friendly) – lots of options.
You can add this simple syrup by taste to individual glasses of tea or you can add it to a pitcher – for sweet tea, use one batch of this recipe of simple syrup for a gallon of tea.
To make flavored peach tea, you can also make flavored simple syrup! In addition to the sugar and water, add in 1 cup of fresh or frozen fruit. Bring it all to a boil for about 10 minutes, crushing the fruit, then store in a jar in the refrigerator.
Sweet Tea Variations
So many options! You can vary the type of simple syrup – peach, mango, or raspberry, as well as the type of tea bags – black tea, green tea, chai tea, passion tea – just like your favorite iced summer Starbucks drinks.
Peach Iced Tea – peach simple syrup, black tea bags
Mango Iced Tea – mango simple syrup, black tea bags
Raspberry Iced Tea – raspberry simple syrup, black tea bags
Iced Peach Green Tea – peach simple syrup, green tea bags
Iced Passion Tango Tea – simple syrup, passion tango tea bags
Iced Chai Tea – simple syrup, chai tea bags, half and half or milk to taste
Non-sugar flavorings
To make flavored iced tea without all the sugar, try adding fresh fruit and herbs directly to the tea and water to steep in the fridge. I add it directly to the water, but if you want to strain it out you can use one or these filters. Letting it steep with the tea imparts a nice hint of flavor without all the sugar! You can use fresh or frozen fruit – maybe add some extra frozen fruit to your glass when you serve it – yum!
- Lemon wedges
- Fresh peach slices
- Fresh mango slices
- Fresh or frozen berries
- Fresh herbs- mint, basil, lavender
Make it Fancy
Take your cold brew refrigerator iced tea to a fancy drink level – try adding some:
- Lemonade
- Fruit juice
- Liquor – whiskey or vodka
What’s your favorite kind of iced tea?
Cold Brew Refrigerator Iced Tea
Ingredients
Cold Brew Refrigerator Iced Tea
- 8 tea bags
- 8 cups water
Simple Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Flavored Simple Syrup
- 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit approx. 2 peaches or 2 mangos or 1 cup berries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Cold Brew Refrigerator Iced Tea
- Add room temperature or cold water to a pitcher and add tea bags. Let steep in the refrigerator at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours before removing tea bags and serving.
- For sweet tea, add ½ batch of the simple syrup to 8 cups of tea, or 1 batch of simple syrup to a gallon of tea.
- For non-sugar flavorings, add to water and tea bags to steep in the refrigerator- either loose in the water or in a filter.
Simple Syrup
- Bring sugar and water to a boil. Let boil 1 minute, stirring, until sugar is dissolved.
- Pour the syrup into a jar and let cool. Add desired amount to tea.
Flavored Simple Syrup
- Bring fruit, sugar, and water to a boil. Let boil 10 minutes, stirring and crushing fruit with a spoon.
- Pour the syrup into a jar and let cool. Add desired amount to tea. For sweet tea, add all of the syrup to 1 gallon of tea.