Iced Green Tea

Iced green tea is cold and refreshing: a deliciously healthy drink! Here’s how to make it in just 5 minutes.

There’s always room for more healthy drinks in our repertoire, and here’s one that’s quick and refreshing: Iced Green Tea! This tasty drink has virtually no calories but is ultra satisfying, pairing the herbaceous, grassy flavor of green tea with a hint of lemon and jingling ice cubes. It’s hydrating in any season: ideal for summer and in the colder months where you want to mix up your hot tea routine. Here’s how to make it!

What is iced green tea?

Iced green tea is a beverage made with green tea bags or loose leaf tea, served over ice. It’s distinct from an iced green tea latte, a green drink made with matcha (green tea powder) and milk. Without sweetener, an iced green tea has only 2 calories! It’s a great healthy drink idea: we love brewing it to replace our afternoon iced coffee habit. There are different ways to make this drink, but we like it like the iced green tea at Starbucks: simply tea and ice with no sweetener. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• Green tea bags (not matcha!)
• Boiling water
• Ice
• Lemon wedge

How to make iced green tea

It takes just 5 minutes to make iced green tea: plus the time to boil water! Green tea has a very mild flavor that can become diluted by the ice cubes. So here, you’ll want to use two bags for one serving. It also benefits from a longer steep time: use 5 minutes instead of 2 minutes. Here’s what to do:

1. Steep 5 minutes: Place two tea bags in a canning jar or glass with ¾ cup boiling water. Allow to steep 5 minutes.
2. Add ice and lemon: Add 1 ½ cups ice and squeeze in a lemon wedge. Enjoy!

Sweetened versus unsweetened

You can also sweeten this iced green tea. We expected that we’d like it with a little sweetener, but this one tastes great plain. In fact, the flavor is more refreshing and pure without added sugar. But if you want to add some sweetener, feel free! Here are some notes:

• The drink tastes great with no sweetener: we prefer the pure tea flavor without it.
• Start with 1 teaspoon honey, maple syrup, or simple syrup, then stir in more to taste.
• Get fancy with flavored syrups. Try mint syrup or ginger syrup to add additional nuance to the flavor.

More tea recipes

Tea is our go-to when it comes to healthy drinks! Here are a few more tea recipes you’ll love:

• Try classic Iced Tea or Cold Brew Tea with black tea
• Grab a fruity Lemon Iced Tea or Raspberry Iced Tea
• Learn about How to Make Tea or French Press Tea
• Go for homemade herbal teas: Mint Tea, Oregano Tea, Ginger Tea, or Lemon Tea
• Try tea lattes: Perfect Tea Latte, Chai Latte, Vanilla Chai Latte or an Iced Chai Latte
• Go green with Classic Matcha, Matcha Latte or an Iced Matcha Latte

01

Iced Tea Recipe

02

Cold Brew Tea

03

Lemon Iced Tea

04

Raspberry Iced Tea

This recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Print