Strawberry Basil Cold Brew Tea (Viral Tea Sommelier’s Original Recipe)
Updated Jan 13, 2026
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A completely refreshing cold brew black tea with fresh strawberries, basil, lemon slices that you should make all summer long!
Strawberry Infused Cold Brew Tea
Forget steeping tea bags in hot water then chilling it over ice to make iced tea, what I do every summer is to make cold brew tea. Cold brewing creates a better iced tea that’s tastier and smoother without any bitterness.
To flavor cold brew tea, I use fresh fruit to infuse the flavors into the tea. I put everything into a pitcher or glass container and let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours. I love this method since it doesn’t require boiling any water!
RELATED: 30 Iced Tea Recipes
Fruit-Infused Cold Brew 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 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 a few hours, take out the tea and it’s ready to drink.
To make this drink, I used black tea as my tea, strawberries as my fruit, lemon as my citrus, and basil as my herb.
When you add strawberries to cold brew, a nice surprise is watching the tea turn into a lovely shade of pink after a day in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Wash all fruit.
Wash the strawberries, basil, and the lemon before cold brewing.
Fruit will lose flavor after cold brewing.
You may be tempted to eat the fruit after cold brewing, and you certainly can, but there will be almost no flavor left since it went into the drink.
Remove all solids from the drink.
Make sure to strain out all solids (tea, fruits, herbs) after 24 hours. The drink can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 more days. There are no preservatives in the drink so after 3 days there is worry about bacteria growth.
Use any black tea.
Feel free to use any black tea in tea bags, tea sachets, or loose tea. I used a black tea called Kenilworth from Harney & Sons. (Use code OHC on harney.com if you want 10% off your entire order.)
Sweeten with simple syrup.
If you like your tea sweetened, use simple syrup, which will mix into the drink easily. Here’s my 2 ingredient simple syrup recipe.
Glass Containers I Use
Related
- Strawberry Lemonade
- Strawberry Green Tea Lemonade
- Strawberry Frappuccino
- Simple Strawberry Syrup
- How to Make Cold Brew Tea
If you tried this Strawberry Basil Cold Brew Tea recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Strawberry Basil Cold Brew Tea
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons black tea, (or 4 tea bags or sachets)
- 8 strawberries, sliced
- ½ lemon, sliced
- 6 leaves basil, torn
- 4 cups water, cold or room temperature
Instructions
- In a pitcher, combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.After putting all in the ingredients into the pitcher, stir to make sure the tea leaves touch the water.
- Use a strainer to remove all solids.The tea, fruits, and basil should not be left in the drink more than 24 hours.
- Serve with or without ice.The tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days after solids have been removed.
Notes
- Wash the strawberries, basil, and lemon before cold brewing.
- You may be tempted to eat the fruit after cold brewing, and you certainly can, but there will be almost no flavor left since it went into the drink.
- Make sure to strain out all solids (tea, fruits, herbs) after 24 hours. The drink can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 more days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
If I use sachets, should I leave in the sachet or cut open to release the tea?? Thank you!!
You can add the sachets in without cutting it open.
Hello,
will this tea work with frozen berries as well?
Yup!