This refreshing strawberry sweet tea is made with 4 simple ingredients (plus water) and is the perfect cold drink made for hot summer days. It is so easy to enjoy our home-brewed version of the classic Southern iced tea recipe, even when you’re not from the South!
Refreshing Strawberry Sweet Tea
Summer is strawberry season and what better time to pair my favorite fruit with my favorite cold drink. This recipe takes the classic Southern-style sweet tea and gives it a fresh strawberry twist. Made with sweet seasonal produce and homemade simple syrup, this is the perfect marriage of iced tea and true southern glory served in a glass.
If you’ve never made this refreshing treat, our strawberry sweet tea recipe is an easy summertime must-make! Our sweet tea is so much more than simply stirring sugar into a cold glass of tea–we add a homemade simple syrup to a quick-brewed black tea while it’s still hot and serve it cold over ice. There is nothing like sipping a smooth, crisp, natural strawberry flavored drink when the heat begs you to hydrate with the perfect summer thirst quencher!
Why We Love This Strawberry Sweet Tea Recipe
- Easy to make using 4 ingredients plus water.
- Refreshingly delicious cold drink to enjoy on a hot day.
- Full of fresh strawberry flavor.
- Fruity variation of the classic Southern sweet tea.
- Simple to adjust the sweetness to suit your taste preferences.
- Perfect for backyard barbeques, outdoor parties, or lazy summer days.
Ingredients / Shopping List
- Water
- Black tea bags
- Baking soda: A little bit of baking soda reduces the bitterness of the tea and gives it a much smoother taste.
- Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are needed to make the simple syrup and what turns this from regular sweet tea to strawberry sweet tea.
- Granulated sugar: Any grain of sugar can be used, but refined is best – it’s smaller and will dissolve in the hot tea faster.
Substitutions and Additions
- Berries: If you don’t have enough fresh strawberries, you could add some other soft fruits such as raspberries or blackberries.
- Make it Boozy: If you want grown up tea in the form of a cocktail, add a shot of rum, vodka, gin, or bourbon (about 2 ounces per glass is the general rule). Personally, I love a shot of Malibu coconut rum!
- Sugar: I recommend using refined granulated sugar for this recipe because it will give you optimal results. However, brown sugar can be used, but keep in mind it will give the tea a completely different flavor. Honey is another option–if you do decide to use honey, mix it with some warm water before adding it to the tea, which makes it dissolve easily when you stir, and not end up in clumps.
- Control the strength: For stronger tea, simply add an extra tea bag or two and steep for an additional five minutes. Alternatively, if you prefer your tea to be light in color and flavor, use less tea bags and add in extra water.
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
How to Make the Recipe
It is so easy to cool off with the best of summer’s fruit with this sweet ice tea that’s loaded with strawberry flavor. Perfectly refreshing for picnics, BBQs, and more!
- Add tea bags to boiling water and let it steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove your tea bags and pour the tea into a pitcher.
- Add water and baking soda to the pitcher and set aside.
- Simmer water, strawberries, and sugar for 20 minutes to make a simple syrup. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.
- Strain the strawberries, pressing the juice out of the berries. Stir the simple syrup into the pitcher of tea.
- Add ice to a glass, pour, and sip!
Tips
- This is SWEET tea, however, you can reduce the sugar by half and taste a fruitier flavor. Add lemon juice for some zest.
- For the most intense strawberry flavor, this recipe tastes best with very ripe strawberries. While you can enjoy it all year round, strawberry sweet tea is best in the summer when strawberries are in season and at their juiciest.
- Start with cold water. Tannins are released when you boil warm or room temperature water and can make your tea cloudy.
- Don’t skip the steeping. The steep time extracts the best flavor from the tea bags. But don’t steep too long, or you’ll end up with bitter tea.
- Add ice to each glass, not the pitcher. Adding ice to the pitcher can water down the tea before you serve it, so put the ice in each individual glass instead.
Storage Tips
To Store: Store your strawberry sweet tea covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before pouring the drinks, add ice cubes to the glasses. Do not add ice to your pitcher because it can water down the tea as it cools. You can also try using frozen strawberries. This will keep the drink cool, look really pretty and it won’t water down the drink!
Steep your sweet tea for as little or as long as you like. I like a strong tea flavor so I will let it steep for at least 5 or more minutes. If you prefer a lighter tea, you can steep it for less time.
You can absolutely add lemon to your tea! Try adding a ½ cup of fresh lemon juice to this for that extra little zing.
You can use a sugar substitute, just make sure that you follow the recommended amounts listed on the packaging of your sugar substitute.
Yes, you can adjust the sugar in your sweet tea! Always start with a little and add more as necessary. Taste it and add more until it reaches your desired amount of sweetness.
This recipe uses regular black tea but you could experiment with your favorite tea flavor and brand.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Mesh sieve
- Large pitcher
- Saucepan
Other Easy Drink Recipes
- Peach Iced Tea
- Frozen Lemonade
- Best Butterbeer Recipe Ever
- Cold Brew Iced Coffee
- Tropical Fruit Smoothie
- Kool Aid Slurpee
- Boozy Strawberry Milkshake
- Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea
- Shirley Temple Punch
- Iced Cookie Butter Latte
Strawberry Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- 8 cups water divided
- 8 black tea bags
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 cups strawberries chopped
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Once boiling, remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags from the water, squeezing any excess tea out with a pair of tongs.
- Transfer the tea into a large pitcher with 4 additional cups of water and baking soda.
- Using the same saucepan, add the remaining 2 cups of water, strawberries, and sugar, and bring to a low simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove the strawberries from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.
- Strain the strawberries through a fine mesh sieve into a small cup or pitcher, pressing the juice out of the berries.
- Add the syrup to the large pitcher with tea and stir.
- Pour and serve over ice.
Jenn’s Notes
- This is SWEET tea, however, you can reduce the sugar by half and taste a fruitier flavor. Add lemon juice for some zest.
- For the most intense strawberry flavor, this recipe tastes best with very ripe strawberries. While you can enjoy it all year round, strawberry sweet tea is best in the summer when strawberries are in season and at their juiciest.
- Start with cold water. Tannins are released when you boil warm or room temperature water and can make your tea cloudy.
- Don’t skip the steeping. The steep time extracts the best flavor from the tea bags. But don’t steep too long, or you’ll end up with bitter tea.
- Add ice to each glass, not the pitcher. Adding ice to the pitcher can water down the tea before you serve it, so put the ice in each individual glass instead.
I can’t stop making this tea!
I also tried it with blackberries, I’ve made it 4 times this week! I absolutely love it
Thanks so much, Diana! So glad you enjoyed it!
I learned to make Tea in Great Britain while I was in the Navy and I was taught NEVER squeeze your tea bags, just let them drain. Squeezing often causes bitterness. So that is one thing I will hot do.
do you have to use the baking soda?
Can this punch be spiked with vodka?
Absolutely!
Instead of sugar, can you use sugar substitute?
I haven’t tired it, but I don’t see why not – but you will want to adjust the amounts.
Wonder if once the strawberry syrup is done purée it to a smooth constantly and add it to the tea. Instead of straining it. My family likes tea they might like this.
Once your tea is steeped and you add water what is the purpose of putting baking soda in it
It cuts the bitterness of the tea
If I used Luzianne tea instead of black tea do you think I would need to add baking soda since it’s not bitter?