Quick & Easy Refreshing Raspberry Iced Tea Recipe
This is my simple four ingredient raspberry iced tea recipe for a guilt free summer drink. It’s all natural homemade iced tea with no added sugar! It’s also insanely quick to make, taking only a few minutes so you can whip it up whenever you want it! Make it as a single cup for you to enjoy on a whim, or quadruple the recipe to make a pitcher to share!
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Why You’ll Love This Raspberry Iced Tea
I love this raspberry iced tea recipe because it’s not only healthy but also quick to make. There’s zero prep and barely any wait time (taking under 10 minutes from start to finish). And although it’s better with fresh raspberries, you can use frozen for convenience. It’s also an easy clean up, without a saucepan everything can go in the dishwasher.
And did I mention how delicious and refreshing it is!?
Refreshing Raspberry Iced Tea Recipe
Raspberry iced tea is the perfect pairing for relaxing and cooling down in the summer. This recipe is sugar free, relying only on the sweetness of raspberries to elevate your classic iced tea at home.
Prep Time: ~5 minutes
Total Time: ~7 minutes
Yields: 2 cups (single portion) & 8 cups (pitcher to share)
Kitchen Equipment
- Kettle (I love my Cuisinart electric kettle)
- A kitchen scale
- Tea steeper
- Strainer (I use the mini Oxo strainer)
- Small bowl (like a pinch bowl)
- Heat resistance cup (I use a measuring cup with a spout)
- Spoon
- A tall glass or an 8-cup pitcher for sharing
Ingredients
Single Serving (2 cups)
- 40 gr fresh or 50 gr frozen raspberries (and a few extra for garnish!)
- 4 gr loose black leaf tea (or two tea bags) try 6 gr for stronger tea flavour
- 2 cups water (~ 1 cup boiling water (split) & ~ 1 cup cold water
- ~ 6 large ice cubes
Pitcher (8 cups)
- 160 gr fresh raspberries
- 16 gr loose black leaf tea (8 tea bags, or a family size iced tea bag)
- ~ 3 cups boiling water (split) & ~ 5 cups cold water
- Ice cubes to serve
Instructions: How do you Make Raspberry Tea
For some recipe tips continue reading below or jump to them now.
- Boil 1 cup of water. Measure 4 gr of loose leaf black tea, add to tea steeper and place in a heat proof glass. Measure 40 gr of fresh raspberries in a small bowl.
- Once the water is boiled, add about 1/3 cup to steep the tea (just enough so that it completely covers the tea leaves). Let the tea steep for at least 5 minutes. Option: put the tea in the fridge to steep and cool down the water at the same time.
- Pour some boiling water over your raspberries (you don’t need a lot, just enough to soften them a bit). With a spoon, mash up the raspberries to look like jam – add more water if necessary.
- While waiting for your tea and raspberries to steep, fill a glass halfway with ice cubes.
- After 5 minutes, remove your tea steeper and pour the steeped tea over your ice.
- Take your strainer, place it over your cup and pour in your mashed raspberries. Continue to mash with a spoon through the strainer until you get all the liquid into the glass (p.s. don’t throw out your mashed raspberries just yet!).
- Fill the rest of your cup with cold water, about 1 cup.
What Tea to Use?
The heat masks some of the bitter notes when drinking tea, so you’ll taste more bitter notes with iced tea. So the better quality tea you use as your base, the better (and less bitter) your raspberry iced tea will taste.
I love Assam “Black Beauty” #8 from Tealyra, but you can use any quality black tea for a better taste. But if you’re in a pinch, the raspberries will even mellow out a classic orange pekoe tea bag (like Red Rose!).
P.S. See some of my favourite teas that I like better iced than hot!
Can You Make Raspberry Iced Tea Caffeine Free?
Absolutely! You can easily swap out regular black tea for decaffeinated black tea (I use this English Breakfast Decaf from Tealyra). Or better yet, if you aren’t a fan of black tea, swap it out for a delicious rooibos tea instead.
Can You Use Frozen Raspberries For This Recipe?
Of course, frozen raspberries are a great substitution when you don’t have fresh raspberries. I will warn you, there is a difference in taste, but you might actually prefer frozen over fresh. It will all depend on your taste buds, if you prefer tasting more raspberry or black tea notes.
I made this tea side by side with both fresh and frozen. I noticed the frozen raspberries weren’t as strong tasting as the fresh, so you taste more tea flavours. But that also meant it was actually more bitter tasting. If you want your raspberry iced tea to be sweeter, try adding more frozen raspberries (50gr instead of 40gr), or add some honey as a sweetener. P.S. Just make sure to add your honey to your hot water – after your tea has steeped but before you add ice!
The fresh raspberries, in comparison, are much stronger on the raspberry notes. If you wanted to taste more tea, you can even use less raspberries (closer to 30gr). But I love the fresh raspberry taste, and this is perfect to not have to add any additional sugar.
P.S. Feel free to do your own taste test at home with my printable tea tasting guide and journal!
What Can You Add To This Sugar Free Iced Tea?
Both black tea and raspberries go with a myriad of things. Try adding fresh mint leaves for an even fresher taste. Be sure to muddle your mint leaves before adding them so you really extract the mint flavour and it doesn’t get lost.
For more acidity, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. In fact, if you’re enjoying your tea a few hours or even a day later, lemon juice is one of the best additions to up liven the tea again.
And if you do want the tea to be sweeter, add some honey. You’ll want to add the honey after the tea has steeped for 5 minutes, but before you add the ice cubes. It’s easier to dissolve in hot water (and yes, honey in hot water is totally safe to drink).
Or a fun change is to fill your glass with sparkling water instead of still water to create a fun cocktail vibe.
Read also: How To Make Carbonated Tea At Home
Can You Make This Homemade Iced Tea Ahead of Time?
Yes! In fact, the more time you have to let your tea and raspberries steep the better. The ideal time is about an hour in the fridge.
After the tea and raspberries have been steeping for an hour, remove them from your cup or pitcher. This way you don’t risk any mold or bacteria growth.
There will be some sediment that settles at the bottom of the pitcher from the raspberries and tea, you can strain it an additional time to get rid of it.
How Can you Store It?
If you’re making it in a cup or pitcher, your raspberry iced tea is best stored covered in the fridge to preserve the flavours.
How Long Does It Last?
Raspberry iced tea can last for up to five days in the fridge, as long as you’ve removed the tea and fresh raspberries from your container or cup.
I do find the taste can become a tad more bitter and stale the longer it sits in the fridge though. A squeeze of some fresh lemon juice can immediately liven it back up!
Some sediment can also settle at the bottom (from the tea and raspberries). My first instinct was to mix it around, but it was better to leave it settled at the bottom for the best flavours. You can alternatively strain it again if you have a very fine mesh strainer.
What Can You Do with the Leftover Raspberry Mush?
Don’t let your fresh (or even frozen) raspberries go to waste. After you strain the raspberries, you end up with a raspberry mush, or rather jam. You can still eat these and they’re equally delicious.
If you want to do something creative with them, make a quick microwave raspberry cobbler…
Microwave Raspberry Cobbler
Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp butter or coconut oil softened
- 1/4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp quick, minute, or rolled oats
- 1 tbsp flour
Filling Ingredients
- ~ 1/4 cup raspberry mush (your leftovers!)
- 1/8 tsp butter or coconut oil softened
- 1/4 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all the topping ingredients and mix until a crumble forms. Use your hands to soften and mix in the butter.
- Add raspberry mush to a microwave safe bowl and place the crumble on top
- Microwave at 50% power level for one minute. Watch carefully so it doesn’t boil over
- Optional: top with ice cream!
Is Raspberry Iced Tea the Same as Raspberry Leaf Tea?
No – raspberry iced tea uses fresh or frozen raspberries with black tea. Raspberry leaf tea are the leaves from the raspberry bush that are steeped as a tea themselves. Raspberry leaf tea is actually known for having quite a few health benefits for women, especially for menstruation.
Read More Related Posts
- How To Make Iced Tea At Home: 5 Easy Ways
- 10 Best Teas For Iced Tea That Taste Even Better Cold
- How To Make Instant Better Tasting Unsweetened Iced Tea At Home
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