Starbucks Iced Black Tea

A refreshing and flavorful drink, this Starbucks Iced Black tea copycat is made with just 3 ingredients. It’s easy to make it at home in just 5 minutes!

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Starbucks Iced Black Tea

Starbucks Iced Black Tea is a cold, caffeinated drink made by combining pre-made black tea concentrate, filtered water, and ice. The ingredients are shaken together in a cocktail shaker then poured into a cup. Starbucks doesn’t sweeten their Iced Black Tea unless requested.

Note from Jee

One thing I found out early on in studying to be a Tea Sommelier was that English breakfast tea is a blend of black teas and that every brand makes a different mix.

Even though Starbucks uses their own black tea blend, it’s easy to swap it out with any other brand’s English breakfast tea since the taste will be quite similar.

If you don’t have English breakfast tea bags, any black tea blend (Irish breakfast, Scottish breakfast, etc.) will work.

Recipe Summary

• This easy copycat recipe recreates the Starbucks Iced Black Tea using 3 ingredients. It makes a grande size (16 ounces) drink.
• Starbucks uses an iced tea concentrate, but this homemade version is made by brewing hot tea using tea bags and then quickly cooling it down with ice in a cocktail shaker.
• The drink is unsweetened, but it’s easy to customize by adding flavored simple syrup like vanilla or mint.

RELATED: Starbucks Iced Black Tea Lemonade

Ingredient Notes

• Tazo Awake English breakfast Tea: Starbucks uses their own black tea concentrate, but it’s not available for purchase. Tazo’s Awake English breakfast tea is very close in taste to the one at Starbucks. Tazo also sells an Unsweetened Iced Black Tea concentrate, but DO NOT get this since it tastes gross and has a weird aftertaste.
• Water: If possible, use filtered water for a better tasting tea. Starbucks uses triple filtered water to make their drinks.
• Ice: Filtered water makes better tasting ice.

For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Put tea bags and hot water into a teapot. Cover and steep. Instead of using boiling hot water, use simmered water to steep tea. Simmer water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting.

Step 2: Put ice and hot tea into a cocktail shaker. If you want to add sweetener like simple syrup, add it into the cocktail shaker with the hot tea and ice.

Step 3: Shake.

Step 4: Pour everything from the cocktail shaker, including the ice, into a cup.

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Expert Tips

• To use loose tea, replace the 2 tea bags with 1 heaping tablespoon of English breakfast tea.
• Starbucks Iced Black Tea doesn’t come sweetened and neither does this copycat recipe, but it’s easy to make this drink sweet. Start with 2 tablespoons of simple syrup into the cocktail shaker with the hot tea and ice. Add more to taste.
• Don’t oversteep! Steeping more than the recommended time will make your tea taste bitter.
• The more vigorously you shake the iced tea, the more foam you’ll see on the surface. If you like a lot of foam, shake it 40 times.

RELATED: Starbucks Iced Chai Tea Latte

Related

• Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade
• Starbucks Iced London Fog Tea Latte
• Starbucks Iced Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte
• Starbucks Iced Matcha Latte
• Starbucks Iced Passion Tango Tea

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4.84 from 12 votes

Starbucks Iced Black Tea Copycat

By: Jee Choe

A refreshing drink, this Starbucks Iced Black tea copycat is made with just 3 ingredients in 5 minutes!

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Yield: 1 serving (16 ounces)

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ cup hot water
• ▢ 2 tea bags Tazo English breakfast tea
• ▢ 1 ½ cups ice

Instructions 

• Put tea bags and hot water into a teapot.

  Instead of using boiling hot water, use simmered water to steep tea. Simmer water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Set the water temperature to 190°F.
• Cover and steep for 3 minutes. Discard tea bags.

  Steeping for longer may make your tea bitter.
• Put ice and hot tea into a cocktail shaker. Shake 10 times.

  Put ice in first, then the hot tea. If you want to add simple syrup, add it into the cocktail shaker with the hot tea and ice.
• Pour drink into a cup.

  Empty everything from the cocktail shaker into the cup.

Notes

• If you don’t have English breakfast tea bags, any black tea blend (Irish breakfast, Scottish breakfast, etc.) will work.
• To use loose tea, replace the 2 tea bags with 1 heaping tablespoon of English breakfast tea.
• Don’t oversteep! Steeping more than the recommended time will make your tea taste bitter.
• The more vigorously you shake the iced tea, the more foam you’ll see on the surface. If you like a lot of foam, shake it 40 times.

Nutrition

Calories: 1Carbohydrates: 1gSodium: 24mgPotassium: 1mgCalcium: 14mg

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

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