Iced Green Tea Lemonade (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)
on Nov 01, 2021, Updated Mar 16, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Brighten up your day with this easy Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade copycat recipe. Get step-by-step instructions to make this refreshing drink at home in just 5 minutes with 4 ingredients.
Recipe Highlights
- Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade is a sweet and tart cold drink made by combining green tea, ice, and lemonade.
- A green tea concentrate (Teavana’s Jade Citrus Mint) is used to make this drink at Starbucks, but this homemade version is prepared by brewing hot tea using Jade Citrus Mint tea bags and quickly cooled with ice in a cocktail shaker. A jar with tight lid will also work if you don’t have a cocktail shaker.
- This recipe recreates a grande size (16 ounce) cup of Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade using 4 ingredients. It takes just 5 minutes to make this drink, including the time to steep the tea.
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Green Tea Copycat
Iced Green Tea Lemonade at Starbucks
Starbucks makes this refreshing drink by shaking together ice, Starbucks’ lemonade, and a concentrate of Teavana’s Jade Citrus Mint green tea.
Ice, lemonade, and green tea concentrate are poured into a cocktail shaker and shaken 10 times to make sure the tea is chilled and all ingredients are mixed well.
The pre-made lemonade sweetens the green tea and the ice dilutes the green tea concentrate. The drink is made without any syrups since it’s sweet from the sugar that’s in the lemonade.
A common adjustment to this drink at Starbucks is to change the amount of ice (light ice or extra ice) or add a flavored syrup like raspberry or strawberry.
This drink can’t be ordered unsweetened because the pre-made Starbucks lemonade contains sugar.
This drink comes in 4 sizes: tall (12 ounces), grande (16 ounces), venti (24 ounces), and trenta (30 ounces).
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Black Tea Lemonade Copycat
Ingredient Notes
- Teavana Jade Citrus Mint Tea: Starbucks makes the green tea concentrate for iced green teas using Jade Citrus Mint. The Teavana green tea concentrate isn’t sold anywhere so it’s best to brew the tea hot then cool it down. You can also use Tazo’s Zen tea, which has a very similar flavor profile.
- Water: Starbucks uses triple filtered water, so when possible, use filtered water for a better tasting tea.
- Lemonade: Starbucks uses their own lemonade in this drink, which isn’t available for purchase. Use your favorite lemonade to make the drink.
- Ice: Filtered water makes better tasting ice.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
My Green Tea Pick
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Put tea bags and hot water into a teapot.
Use simmered water to steep green tea instead of boiling hot water. Simmer water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting.
Step 2: Cover and steep.
Step 3: Put lemonade, ice, and hot tea into a cocktail shaker. Shake. If you want to add sweetener, add it into the cocktail shaker with the lemonade, ice, and hot tea. Use a large jar with a tight lid, if you don’t have a cocktail shaker.
Step 4: Pour into a cup. Empty everything in the cocktail shaker into the cup.
Ways to Customize This Drink
Adjust the ice
This recipe follows the Starbucks recipe, which is half ice and half green tea lemonade. Make adjustments to the drink by adding more or less ice.
Make it sweeter
This drink is already sweetened from the lemonade but if you like it sweeter, add simple syrup, which mixes in with iced drinks easier than regular sugar.
Add flavored syrups
To sweeten and flavor your drink, add raspberry syrup or peach syrup to make it fruity.
Make it with pink lemonade
Switch out regular lemonade with pink lemonade for a twist.
RELATED: Simple Syrups Recipes
Expert Tips
- Teavana’s Jade Citrus Mint (this is the green tea used to make Iced Green Tea Lemonade) and Tazo’s Zen tea are very similar so you can use either to make the drink. They’re both flavored green tea blends, mixing green tea with spearmint, lemon verbena, and lemongrass.
- Avoid Tazo’s iced tea concentrate since it tastes terrible. The drink will taste so much better if you brew it hot using the tea bags.
- If you prefer you can use loose tea, replace the 2 tea bags with 1 tablespoon of green tea.
- It’s not necessary to use higher quality tea since the subtle notes of green tea will be lost in the lemonade.
- It’s always a good idea to use an electric kettle with temperature control when making tea. Green tea shouldn’t be steeped in boiling hot water, since it can make your tea bitter.
- Don’t oversteep green tea in hot water since that can also make your tea bitter.
- The more you shake the iced tea, the more foam you’ll see on the surface. If you like a lot of foam, keep shaking it, about 40 times.
Questions You May Have
Starbucks uses a green tea concentrate, dilutes it with lemonade, then mixes it with ice in a cocktail shaker. Everything is then poured into a cup.
Yes, green teas and black teas are from the camellia sinensis plant, so they all have caffeine.
Steep time and water temperature are both important when making a cup of green tea. If it’s bitter, then the tea was steeped for too long or the water was too hot.
The cocktail shaker is the easiest and quickest way to cool down hot tea by using ice. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker, any large jar with a tight lid will work.
Starbucks iced drinks are half liquid and half ice. In a grande sized drink, which is 16 ounces, 8 ounces is tea and lemonade and the other 8 ounces is ice.
Related
- 7 Benefits of Drinking Mint Tea
- Starbucks Matcha Lemonade Copycat Recipe
- 17 Starbucks Lemonade Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
- Starbucks Iced Black Tea Copycat
- Iced Green Tea
Want to save this recipe to Pinterest for later? Pin it now to your Pinterest board!
Starbucks Iced Green Tea Lemonade Copycat
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 Teavana Jade Citrus Mint tea bags
- ½ cup lemonade
- 1½ cups ice
Instructions
- Put tea bags and hot water into a teapot.Use simmered water to steep tea instead of boiling hot water. Simmer water on the stovetop or use an electric kettle with a temperature setting. Set the water temperature to 175°F when using the electric kettle.
- Cover and steep for 3 minutes. Discar tea bags.Steeping for longer may make your green tea bitter.
- Put lemonade, ice, and hot tea into a cocktail shaker. Shake 10 times. Put lemonade and ice in first, then the hot tea. If you don't have a cocktail shaker, use a large jar with a tight lid.
- Pour drink into a cup.Empty everything in the cocktail shaker into the cup.
Notes
- Teavana’s Jade Citrus Mint (this is the green tea used to make Iced Green Tea Lemonade) and Tazo’s Zen tea are very similar so you can use either to make the drink. They’re both flavored green tea blends, mixing green tea with spearmint, lemon verbena, and lemongrass.
- If you prefer you can use loose tea, replace the 2 tea bags with 1 tablespoon of green tea.
- It’s not necessary to use higher quality tea since the subtle notes of green tea will be lost in the lemonade.
- It’s always a good idea to use an electric kettle with temperature control when making tea. Green tea shouldn’t be steeped in boiling hot water, since it can make your tea bitter.
- Don’t oversteep green tea in hot water since that can also make your tea bitter.
- The more you shake the iced tea, the more foam you’ll see on the surface. If you like a lot of foam, keep shaking it, about 40 times.
Ways to Customize This Drink
Adjust the iceThis recipe follows the Starbucks recipe, which is half ice and half green tea lemonade. Make adjustments to the drink by adding more or less ice. Make it sweeter
This drink is already sweetened from the lemonade but if you like it sweeter, add simple syrup, which mixes in with iced drinks easier than regular sugar. Add flavored syrups
To sweeten and flavor your drink, add raspberry syrup or peach syrup to make it fruity. Make it with pink lemonade
Switch out regular lemonade with pink lemonade for a twist.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
