Easiest Southern Iced Tea Recipe (3 Methods)

This refreshing Southern Iced Tea recipe is perfect for getting that Southern sweet tea fix! All the Southern flavors you’re looking for are in this post.

I’ll also share two other ways of making this delicious iced tea, the cold brew method and a Sun tea recipe. With a video and step-by-step image, you’re going to become a pro at making this incredibly tasty, iced tea!

Jump to:

• 🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED
• 🔪 HOW TO MAKE
• 💭 COOKING TIPS
• 📖 HOW TO SERVE SOUTHERN ICED TEA
• 💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
• 🍬 Bonus: Two More Ways to Make Iced Tea
• 👩🏽‍🍳 How to Make Simple Syrup for Sweet Tea
• 🍹 MORE ICED TEA RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
• 🌡️ STORING AND REHEATING
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

As you can tell from my Strawberry Iced tea, Sorrel, and Ginger iced tea posts, I love iced tea. I don’t drink enough water, so I use tea as an alternative to getting some flavored water in my system.

🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED

Water: You will need boiling water and chilled water.

Loose black tea: Don’t use Lipton to make Southern tea, it’s not strong enough. Try to use Indian black tea, it is strong and perfect when cold-brewed or used with boiling water. Indian tea also has a hint of sweetness.

Sugar: I have used raw sugar. Hence the color of the tea shown in the images and the video is a little darker than your usual sweet tea.

Lemon or lime juice: You can omit the lemon juice, but it makes this tea super refreshing.

🔪 HOW TO MAKE

The full instructions and a video are in the recipe card below, but let's look at the main steps.

Step 1

Add sugar, tea, and boiling water to a bowl and mix it well. Let it steep for 6 minutes.

Step 2

Strain the mixture. Discard the black tea leaves and pour the tea into the pitcher.

Step 3

To the pitcher, add the chilled water and lemon juice. Mix and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Step 4

Pour the tea into a mason jar or a glass of ice and serve.

💭 COOKING TIPS

• You can make this tea without sugar, instead, use simple syrup (recipe in the post), and pour as much as you wish into your glass.
• In the post above, I have written about how to make cold-brewed tea for less acidity and a sweeter taste.
• The Sun method is not popular anymore and does not give a strong flavor.
• I have mentioned the best brands of black tea under the title “What Type of Tea Should I Use?”.
• You can use raw sugar instead of white. Brown sugar will add a caramel-like flavor to your iced tea.

📖 HOW TO SERVE SOUTHERN ICED TEA

• To enjoy your iced tea, serve it with a glass of ice.
• You can also add slices of lemon for a more refreshing flavor.
• I like to add mint leaves to my iced tea. First, wash the mint leaves and then lightly pound the leaves to release the oils. I add the mint leaves first, then the ice cubes, then slices of lemon, and finally pour the tea into the glass.

💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

🍬 Bonus: Two More Ways to Make Iced Tea

Cold Brew Method:

Add all the ingredients except lemon juice to a pitcher, mix well and refrigerate for 9 to 12 hours.

 Use room temperature water when using this method. Strain out the tea leaves, pour the tea back into the pitcher, and add lemon juice.

This tea can stay in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Sun Tea Method 

This way of making tea is not popular nowadays. However, it is the method used in the old golden days.

Many warn from steeping the tea in the sun because of the accumulation of bacteria. If you want to follow this method, add room-temperature water to the pitcher (it better be a glass pitcher) and add loose-leaf tea.

Cover the pitcher and place it where sunlight is, preferably in your yard or near the window.

Let the tea steep for 3 hours and then refrigerate for 4 hours. Strain the tea leaves, add sugar and lime juice to the pitcher, and mix. The tea will taste mellow, and you can keep it in the fridge for up to two days.

👩🏽‍🍳 How to Make Simple Syrup for Sweet Tea

If you feel that the amount of sugar in this recipe is too much for you, there’s a reason why! This sweet tea is always served with a glass full of ice cubes, diluting the tea and hence the sweetness.

But if people in your family prefer different sweetness levels in their tea, skip adding sugar to the tea and make simple syrup on the side to allow everyone to pour enough according to their preference.

• To make simple syrup, in a pan, add 1 cup water and 1 ¼ cup sugar.
• Mix until the sugar dissolves.
• Let the mixture come to a boil. Let the mixture boil on medium-low for 10 to 12 minutes.
• Allow the syrup to come to room temperature and then refrigerate.
• The syrup can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to a month.
• Adding flavors like lemon, vanilla, or mint to the syrup will last for up to two weeks in the fridge.
• Pour the iced tea into a glass of ice, pour as much syrup as you prefer, and mix.

🍹 MORE ICED TEA RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

🌡️ STORING AND REHEATING

How long you store this iced tea in the fridge depends on your method of making the tea.

If you’re using the hot brew method to make this delicious, iced tea, you can store the tea in the refrigerator for up to one week.

For the cold brew method, you can store the tea in the fridge for up to 4 days. And if you’re making this iced tea using the sun tea method, you can store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.

📖 Recipe