If you’re looking for a healthy and refreshing drink, look no further. Iced green tea is the drink for you.
Green tea has a lighter flavor profile than black tea and is rich in antioxidants. The earthy flavor of green tea is pleasant on its own, but you can spice it up with the right blends and add-ins. Green tea is great hot, but serving it iced makes it much more refreshing.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to make a delicious iced green tea recipe you can easily make at home. We will provide a quick walkthrough on the tools and ingredients you need to brew and chill green tea before we dive into some fun add-ins you can use to elevate your sipping experience.
Homemade Iced Green Tea
Aside from being delicious and refreshing, there are several health benefits to drinking iced tea.
For starters, it is a great way to stay hydrated. Water can get boring, so different types of green tea are awesome options for hitting your hydration goals.
Green tea is also rich in polyphenols, which is a plant-based compound that is rich in antioxidants. These antioxidants are helpful for cellular repair throughout the body and can promote overall health and wellness. The antioxidants in green tea improve longevity, promote brain health, boost metabolism, and manage Type 2 Diabetes.
Green tea is calorie-free when you don’t use sweeteners or additives, making it an excellent choice for those seeking an alternative to soda or other sugar drinks.
Before we dive into the step-by-step tutorial for making iced green tea, let’s lay out everything you need to make this delicious drink.
You’ll notice that there are multiple options for some of the supplies needed for making a refreshing drink. That’s because the iced tea-making process is very flexible, so you can use things you have on hand instead of the specialized tools for brewing tea.
With that in mind, let’s review the supplies you’ll need to gather to make your iced green tea.
Ingredients
- Green tea (loose leaf or tea bags) We recommend trying our Dragonfruit Lychee Green Iced Tea.
- Water
- Ice
- Optional: sweeteners, flavorings, and garnishes
Tools
- Stove or electric tea kettle to boil water
- Infuser or fine mesh strainer (for loose-leaf tea)
- Glass container (pitcher, jar, etc.)
- Cups to serve
How to Brew Iced Green Tea
Ready to learn how to brew your own iced green tea? Let’s look at the three key steps you can follow.
1. Brewing: The Technique
Brewing green tea is very easy, but the process is slightly different depending on the type of tea and tools you use.
If you have an electric kettle, fill it with your desired amount of water and set it to boil. If the kettle has a green tea setting, choose that. If not, the standard setting is fine.
If you do not have an electric kettle, put your kettle or pot on the stove on high and heat it until it is about to boil. You want to aim for a temperature between 160 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
While the water is heating, measure out your tea. You’ll need approximately one teaspoon of tea per six ounces of water. You’ll need an infuser or a fine mesh strainer to hold the tea in as it steeps for loose-leaf tea.
Place the tea in the container you’ll use for brewing, and pour the water over it. Cover the container and let it brew for up to three minutes.
Taste the tea after a minute or so of brewing to check its strength. Repeat the taste tests until the tea reaches your desired flavor. Remove the leaves after you finish the brew process.
Alternatively, you can cold brew green tea by steeping the leaves in cold water in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours. This brewing method takes longer, but it yields a less bitter tea.
Here’s how to enjoy cold steeping tea in three simple steps:
Step 1: Measure out 10 grams of tea (approximately three heaping teaspoons) and place it into a cold-steep sachet.
Step 2: Place the sachet in a glass jug or pitch with 1-1.5 quarts of cold, filtered water.
Step 3: Keep in refrigerator for 1-3 hours (the longer you steep, the stronger the flavor). Remove the sachet and sip to your heart’s content.
It’s that easy!
2. Chilling the Tea
Once you have a brewed cup of tea, it’s time to chill it. You should allow your tea to cool completely before serving for best results. You can refrigerate it to get it to your desired temperature, but make sure it is cooled enough so your container won’t heat the surrounding items in the fridge.
There isn’t an exact science to how long you have to chill your tea, but a few hours in the refrigerator will do the job. Chilling it overnight isn’t necessary, but it will guarantee it’s nice and cold.
If you’re in a time crunch, you may have the urge to pour your hot tea over ice before chilling. However, we recommend waiting until it is room temperature or cooler before serving because if it’s hot, the ice will melt. Melted ice will result in a very diluted tea that tastes very watered.
3. Serving the Tea
Once the tea is chilled, it’s ready to serve over ice. Put ice cubes into your glass, pour the tea over it, and you’re ready to go. It’s really that simple.
Although the container doesn’t necessarily change the taste of your tea, you can pour it into fun glassware to elevate your sipping experience.
A glass straw adds some pizzaz, as well. To elevate the aesthetic, you can garnish your iced green tea with a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon.
Iced green tea keeps well in the refrigerator for up to four days, so you can continue to enjoy your batch in several sittings.
4. Making It Special: Additions and Garnishes
One of the perks of green tea is that it pairs well with many other teas and flavors. You can mix different types of tea flavors to make a custom blend.
Some flavors that pair well with green tea include:
- Fruits (lemon, berry, pomegranate, dragonfruit)
- Lemongrass (Melisa tea)
- Fresh mint or mint tea
- Hibiscus
- Ginger
You can add these flavors in different forms. For example, you could use lemon slices or lemon simple syrup. You can also use sweeteners alongside these flavors, such as sugar, honey, maple syrup, or agave.
Some people even add juices to their green tea to make it sweeter and add some flavor. Peach juice and cranberry juice are popular options.
Give It a Try
Green tea is a wonderful drink for any time of the year, but it is especially great for picnics and get-togethers on hot summer days. This iced tea recipe is simple yet versatile, so you can whip up a batch in no time.
Looking for a delicious green tea to try this summer? Shop Magic Hour’s green tea and cosmic garden tea. Explore different blends that provide a variety of flavor profiles and many healing benefits.
