How To Make Instant Better Tasting Unsweetened Iced Tea At Home

There’s no denying that sweet tea is delicious, but you can’t sip on it all day for hydration – at least not guilt free.

But, iced tea doesn’t have to be bad for you; in fact, black tea is actually healthy to drink.

Iced tea becomes unhealthy with all the added sugar for sweetness. So here’s how to make delicious (and healthy) unsweetened iced tea to drink all summer long!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

The key to a good black iced tea, is well, good tea. If you start with bad tea, then of course you’ll have bad iced tea that you’ll have to doctor up with sugar.

So the most important thing you need to make delicious unsweetened iced tea at home is good tea! It’s incredible what good quality tea can do to your homemade iced tea, and your health!

Tea Tasting Notes & Guide

You might be interested in my digital and printable tea tasting notes & guide to take your tea tasting to the next level. See it on Etsy.

The classic tea for iced tea is Lipton. But, if you want better tasting black iced tea, all you have to do is buy any loose leaf tea (read more about why loose tea tastes better in my post here).

My all time favourite black tea for homemade iced tea is Black Beauty #8 from Tealyra, a Taiwanese Assam, buy it online here.

But, like I said, any good quality loose black tea will do the trick. Experiment with different teas to find your favourite! See loose leaf black tea options on Amazon here.

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The simplest method for brewing black iced tea at home is the quick chill method.

Steep the tea in only half the amount of boiling water you would normally use. Once the tea is steeped for the recommended time, add the remaining amount of water as a mix of cold water and ice cubes.

The key is to not over extract your tea leaves (a.k.a. don’t over steep your tea!). Follow the instructions for your tea of choice, and if it says 3-5 minutes, don’t exceed 5 minutes.

If You Have Time, Make Even Better Homemade Iced Tea With Cold Brew Method…

If you have time, the best method for less bitter iced tea is to cold brew your tea.

The cold brew method uses only cold water to steep your tea, so you avoid the risk of burning the leaves.

It’s a slow extraction that results in sweeter, smoother tasting tea! Read more about how to make cold brew tea here.

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What You’ll Need To Make Unsweet Tea

The recipe makes an individual 2 cups of iced tea (one large mason jar cup!). Feel free to double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients.

Ingredients For Black Iced Tea

~2 tsp loose black tea (based on your tea of choice) – Shop options on Amazon here
1 cup boiling water (temperature based on tea)
1/2 cup cold water (filtered water is always better)
1/2 cup ice cubes

Minimalist Tea Wall Art For Your Home

Decorate your home with printable minimalist tea art. Wall art digital downloads that you frame yourself include 10 prints of different styles of tea.

Kitchen Essentials

Kettle – shop Amazon US | CA
Strainer / Fillable tea bags – shop Amazon US | CA
Heat resistance measuring cup – shop Amazon US | CA
Mason jar cup with straw – shop Amazon US | CA
Ice cube tray / reusable ice cubes – shop Amazon US | CA

Instructions To Make Black Tea Iced At Home

Remember to use the instructions based on your tea of choice for water temperature and steeping time.

For black tea, typically you want to use 1-2 tsp of tea and steep it in 95°C – 100°C water for anywhere between 3 to 5 minutes.

Add your tea leaves to a heat safe glass (I like these glass measuring cups because they’re also easy to pour!).

Once your water reaches the desired temperature, add it to the Pyrex measuring cup for 3-5 minutes.

For stronger tea, steep it for longer. But, if you aren’t used to unsweet tea, I would recommend starting with the shorter steeping time.

Once your tea is steeped, pour it into a glass filled with 1/2 cup of cold water and a 1/2 cup of ice cubes to chill it and enjoy right away! Add extra ice cubes as necessary to cool down your tea!

You might also be interested in reading…

How To Make Iced Tea At Home: 5 Easy Ways

More Homemade Iced Tea Tips For Better Tasting Tea

There are a few extra hidden secrets to making better tasting iced tea at home.

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Add Baking Soda For Sweeter Tasting Tea

You shouldn’t need to use this trick if you’re using good quality tea.

If you can’t get your hands on any loose leaf tea and you’re using good old fashioned Lipton tea bags, adding baking soda will make a difference.

You won’t need a lot to do the trick, an 1/8 of a tsp for 8 cups of a tea is all you need.

So, if you’re making 2 cups, just add a sprinkle after adding your hot water. Make sure you add it to your hot water so it can dissolve and you won’t even notice it!

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Baking soda is a neutralizer, which means it reacts with the tannins in the tea resulting in two reactions. First, many notice that their tea is clearer when using baking soda (not as cloudy).

But, more importantly, it also tastes sweeter. The baking soda removes some of that bitter tannin taste from black tea.

For me, I find it removes some of that stale taste I find Lipton tea has. It keeps it lifted and tasting better for longer.

Just make sure to not add too much! It can dissolve the tea bag and make your tea taste awful… yes I’ve made that mistake when experimenting, and it’s not pretty!

You might also be interested in reading…

10 Best Teas For Iced Tea That Taste Even Better Cold

Make Tea Iced Cubes, Or Use Reusable Iced Cubes

The most annoying part about iced tea in the summer are the ice cubes that melt and dilute your tea.

Sometimes the watering down is appreciated (if you made it too strong), but the worst is when your tea becomes tea flavoured water.

There are two ways to avoid this: either make tea ice cubes or buy reusable ice cubes.

Iced Tea Cubes

Making tea ice cubes is like making coffee ice cubes for iced coffee, which I cover in more detail in my post here.

Brew 2 cups of your tea of choice as you normally would. Make sure to use the same tea as your iced tea!

Once your tea is steeped, pour it into an ice cube tray. Put it in the freezer for about 2 hours and then you’re ready for stronger, better tasting homemade iced tea.

Reusable Ice Cubes

If you don’t want stronger tea, you can also opt to buy reusable ice cubes. These won’t dilute your tea AND you won’t run out!

After you use them, simply wash them off, and then refreeze for next time. There’s no forgetting to make more ice now!

Make sure to stay away from silicone filled reusable ice cubes. The best ones to use are steel cubes (like these on Amazon), but you can also find water filled cubes (like these on Amazon).

Don’t Over Extract Your Tea

As I briefly mentioned before, you really want to follow the recommend steep time for each tea, which is usually between 3 and 5 minutes.

When you steep tea for too long more tannins, or rather bitter flavours, are extracted from the tea. So over steeping your tea results in more bitter tasting tea!

Try steeping your tea for less time than you normally would if you were making hot tea. For example, if you typically steep black tea for 5 minutes when making hot tea, try only steeping for 3 minutes for iced tea.

Build & Track Your Tea Journey

Refine your tea palette with my Tea Tasting Journal to record and take notes on every new tea you try.

For Best Tasting Tea, Don’t Leave It In The Fridge For Too Long…

Although homemade unsweet iced tea can last between 3-5 days in the fridge, the taste will be best when consumed within one day.

Unsweet tea lasts longer in the fridge than sweet tea because there isn’t any sugar in it. Sugar will cause bacteria to grow faster and actually start the fermentation process.

Cold brew teas will also last longer because no hot water was used in making it which means there will be less bacteria for growth!