Four deliciously refreshing iced tea with fruit combinations you can drink all summer long.
Cold Brewed Iced Tea is THE Best Iced Tea
Forget steeping tea bags in hot water then chilling it over ice to make iced tea. The very best way to make THE PERFECT iced tea is to cold brew it.
Cold brewing creates a better iced tea since it’s a tastier, smoother tasting beverage that has no bitterness.
It’s surprising simple and easy to make cold brew iced tea with fresh fruit and the hardest part is waiting for the tea to cold steep in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Plus, in the summer who wants to deal with boiling hot water? NOT ME.
Fruit-Infused Cold Brew Iced Tea Formula
My formula for the tastiest and prettiest cold brew fruit tea is:
Tea + 1 Fruit + 1 Citrus + 1 Herb
To make cold brewed fruit tea, add in sliced fruit, sliced citrus like lemon or lime, and finally an herb like basil or mint.
It all goes into a pitcher and gets cold brewed together. After 8-12 hours, take out the tea and it’s ready to drink.
Try any combination using my cold brew tea formula — they all pretty much taste great!
Since everything is going into the pitcher together to cold brew, I like to put the tea leaves in a giant tea filter bag so the loose tea has plenty of room to unfurl and also be removed easily.
RELATED: Where to Buy Tea Online
What I Used to Make This Iced Tea with Fresh Fruit
- Loose leaf tea
Black tea, Oolong tea, Green tea, or Herbal tea - Giant tea filter bag
- Glass cups
I serve the cold brew with or without ice cubes. - Fresh fruit
- Citrus
- Herbs
RELATED: Cold Brew Iced Tea Makers
Cold Brewed Black Tea with Fruit
Black Tea + Fruit (Strawberries) + Citrus (Lemon) + Herb (Basil)
For the prettiest iced tea, add a burst of color by using a red fruit.
When you add strawberries to cold brew, a nice surprise is watching the tea turn into a lovely shade of pink after a day or two in the refrigerator.
Cold Brew Iced Tea with Fresh Fruit
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cold or room temperature water filtered will taste best
- [4 rounded teaspoons black tea loose leaf tea or 4 tea bags]
- 6-8 sliced strawberries
- 1/2 thinly sliced lemon
- small handful basil leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pitcher, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for about eight hours or overnight.
- Discard tea leaves or tea bag.
- Serve with or without ice.
Cold Brewed Oolong Tea with Fruit
Oolong Tea + Fruit (Peach) + Citrus (Lime) + Herb (Rosemary)
My favorite teas to cold brew are black tea and oolong. They pair really well with fresh fruit.
White teas are the hardest since the taste is so subtle the fruit can easily overpower it.
Keep the peel on the peach for a little color.
Iced Oolong Tea with Fresh Fruit
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cold or room temperature water filtered will taste best
- 4 rounded teaspoons oolong loose leaf tea or 4 tea bags/sachets
- 1 peach thinly sliced
- 1/2 lime thinly sliced
- 2-4 rosemary sprigs
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pitcher, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for about eight hours or overnight.
- Discard tea leaves or tea bag.
- Serve with or without ice.
Cold Brewed Green Tea with Fruit
Green Tea + Fruit (Raspberries) + Citrus (Lemon) + Herb (Mint)
Since green tea is a lighter tea than black or oolong tea, it’s best not to overwhelm the flavor by putting in a fruit that’s too strong in taste like pineapple.
Iced Green Tea with Fresh Fruit
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups cold or room temperature water filtered will taste best
- 4 rounded teaspoons green loose leaf tea or 4 tea bags/sachets
- 1/3 cup raspberries
- 1/2 lemon thinly sliced
- Small handful mint
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pitcher, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for about eight hours or overnight.
- Discard tea leaves or tea bag.
- Serve with or without ice.
Cold Brewed Herbal Tea with Fruit
Chamomile Tea + Fruit (Raspberries and Kiwi) + Citrus (Lime) + Herb (Thyme)
This one doesn’t have any caffeine since it’s an herbal tea, also called a tisane. I used chamomile for this cold brew.
I went all out and used TWO kinds of fruit. WHOA. Haha.
The kiwi can overwhelm the flavor so I only used half and then added raspberry for a pop of flavor and color.
Iced Herbal Tea with Fresh Fruit
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups water cold or room temperature
- 4 teaspoons herbal loose leaf tea or 4 tea bags/sachets
- 1/3 cup raspberries
- 1/2 kiwi thinly sliced
- 1/2 lime thinly sliced
- 2-3 thyme sprigs
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a pitcher, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for about eight hours or overnight.
- Discard tea leaves or tea bag.
- Serve with or without ice.
Hi,
Is it really OK to steep the citrus for 12 hours? I have found the longer you steep citrus, the more bitterness you get from the peels.
Hi Kevin, the citrus slices are fairly thin so they shouldn’t get too bitter. If you’re worried about the bitterness, you can peel the citrus, then add them to make the cold brew.
Hi ! I just tried the strawberry/lemon/mint recipe and I absolutely love it ! It’s delicious and super refefreshing 🙂 I will definitely try with other fruits as well, thank you so much for the recipes !
Hi! Amazing recipe. May I know how Long can the fruit tea keep in fridge and airtight bottle after taking out the teabag?
Hi LY, I would keep the tea in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Hi! can I cold brew tea with apples? would the flavor be infused or should I add in apple juice instead?
Hi Sidra, you can brew tea with thinly sliced apples but you won’t get a strong apple flavor. Apple juice would be better!