Quick & Easy Lemon Iced Tea

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Sweet, brisk lemon iced tea that’s super refreshing. With just 5 ingredients, get the steps to make this easy lemon iced tea in 10 minutes!

Lemon iced tea

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About This Recipe

  • Made from fresh lemons, this iced tea is brisk, perfectly sweet, and refreshing.
  • The secret to making iced tea quick and easy is to ice-chill it. Make regular hot tea then cool it down in seconds using a lot of ice.
  • Recipe makes 8 cups of iced tea, perfect for a 2-quart pitcher.
  • Made with tea sachets instead of loose tea for easy clean-up.

Want more iced tea recipes? Here are some refreshing drinks you may like — Quick & Easy Iced Tea, Cold Brew Iced Tea, Iced Matcha Latte, Peach Iced Tea from Scratch, and Iced Chai Latte.

Ingredient Notes

Lemon iced tea ingredients
  • Black tea sachets
    I’m all about loose tea but tea sachets are a great shortcut to making iced tea since brewing and cleanup is so easy.
  • Filtered water
    Iced tea made with filtered water tastes so much better than one made with tap water.

  • To squeeze out lemon juice and to garnish the drink with.
  • Sugar
    Finer sugar will dissolve quicker so I like using cane sugar instead of raw sugar.
  • Ice
    Use smaller ice cubes to cool down the hot tea faster.

How to Make Lemon Iced Tea

1. Juice lemons

Use a citrus juicer to make juicing the lemons easier. Make sure to strain out the pulp and seeds.

2. Make ice-chilled tea

Use an electric kettle with temperature setting and it to 190°F. If boiling water on the stovetop, let come to a simmer then take off heat.

Steep tea sachets (with tags cut off) in hot water inside a 2-quart pitcher then discard tea sachets.

Stir sugar into the hot tea until completely dissolved.

RELATED: How to Make Cold Brew Iced Tea

Add ice to pitcher and close with leakproof lid. Turn the entire pitcher upside down then right side up a few times.

If you don’t have a pitcher with leakproof lid, you can just stir the ice instead of shaking it upside down — it’ll just take longer.

You’re mixing together hot tea and ice, so make sure to use a pitcher that can handle drastic temperature changes.

Ice-Chill 2-Quart Pitcher

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Perfect pitcher to make this recipe that makes 2 quarts of lemon iced tea.
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3. Combine iced tea and lemon juice

Add lemon juice, close the lid again and flip to fully incorporate the lemon juice with the iced tea.

Pour tea into cups with ice lined with lemon slices.

RELATED: Easy Sweet Tea Recipe

Notes & Tips

  • Sugar can be adjusted to your liking. I’m using 1/4 cup of sugar which is 4 tablespoons.
  • The recipe is made with 3 medium lemons but if you have large lemons, use 2.
  • Don’t shake the pitcher with the lid on to dissolve the sugar in the hot tea — stir it instead.
  • If you don’t want to use refined sugar, go with honey, maple syrup, or even date syrup.
  • Avoid using raw sugar since that takes a long time to dissolve.
  • Instead of sachets, you can use 1 family-size iced tea pouch or 8 tea bags.

Storage Tips

  • Keep iced tea in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days.
  • If your iced tea has been in the refrigerator for less than 4 days and it’s turning cloudy, add some hot water and stir.
  • It’s safe to drink even if it’s cloudy if it has been less than 4 days.

Questions You May Have

Is there caffeine in this drink?

Yes, black tea used in this recipe contains caffeine.

What are the different ways to make iced tea?

There’s iced-chilled (the quickest way to make iced tea), hot brewed (making hot tea and cooling it down in the refrigerator), and cold brewed (brewed slowly in cold water in the refrigerator for 12 hours).

Why don’t you like using tea bags?

Tea bags contain the lowest quality tea so I like to use higher quality tea sachets.

What are iced tea pouches? 

Also called family-size tea bags, iced tea pouches are made for 1 or 2 quart pitchers (4 or 8 cups). The tea quality can range depending on the tea company but they usually contain 4-10 teaspoons of tea depending on the size of the pouch.

Why is my iced tea cloudy?

When using a high temperature to brew tea, a lot of tannins are released and that’s what can make the iced tea cloudy. It’s perfectly fine to drink.

Can I make lemon iced tea with green tea?

Yes! Black tea is what’s used for classic lemon iced tea but feel free to experiment with other types of tea.

More Iced Tea Recipes

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4.65 from 45 votes

Fresh Lemon Iced Tea

By: Jee Choe
Sweet, brisk lemon iced tea that’s super refreshing and easy to make.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients 

  • 5 cups ice , + more for serving
  • 4 cups water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 5 black tea sachets
  • Juice from 3 lemons, + lemon slices for garnish

Instructions 

  • Juice 3 lemons.
    Use a citrus juicer to make juicing the lemons easier. Make sure to strain out the pulp and seeds. Set aside.
  • Bring 4 cups of water to a simmer and turn off heat.
    I use my electric kettle and set the water temperature to 180°F. Use filtered water if possible for the best tasting iced tea.
  • Put tea sachets into pitcher and add hot water.
  • Steep for 5 minutes then discard tea sachets.
  • Stir sugar into the hot tea until completely dissolved.
  • Add ice to pitcher and close with leakproof lid. Shake for 15 seconds.
    If you're using a leakproof pitcher, close the lid and turn the entire pitcher upside down then right side up 15 times.
  • Add lemon juice and shake.
    After pouring in the lemon juice, close the lid again and shake to fully incorporate the lemon juice with the iced tea.
  • Pour tea into cups with ice lined with lemon slices.
    Line the inside of the cups with 3 thin lemon slices then add the ice before pouring in the iced tea.

Notes

  • Use a 2 quart pitcher with a leakproof lid so you can shake the ice and hot tea together. If you don’t have a leakproof lid, you can just stir the ice.
  • Make sure you’re using a pitcher that can handle drastic temperature changes.

Nutrition

Calories: 24Carbohydrates: 6gSodium: 13mgSugar: 6gCalcium: 8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @ohhowcivilized or tag #ohhowcivilized!

About Jee Choe

Welcome! I'm a certified Tea Sommelier and a self-proclaimed bubble tea and iced tea master. I'm all about making tea EASY and DELICIOUS.

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1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    Hi, Jee
    I like to add mint and white rum to turn this into an iced tea cocktail! Very delicious, but maybe I would use more sugar/less lemon as a lot of people told me its quite sour. I like it like this though