Strawberry Sweet Tea
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A refreshing, fruity and thirst-quenching Strawberry Sweet Tea straight from the South! Today’s simple strawberry iced tea recipe is a summertime classic perfect for cooling off in the heat – though it can be made year-round using frozen strawberries.
Strawberry Sweet Tea Recipe
Without doubt, the thing I miss most about living in the south is the weather.
I’m not a fan of the cold, and even less of a fan of shovelling snow in it.
But the second thing that I miss most now that we’ve made the decision to live in Canada full-time, is the food.
Southern food is not only delicious, there’s so much ritual and tradition surrounding it. Take today’s Strawberry Sweet Tea; this isn’t a drink that’s made year-round. It’s reserved for the hottest months of the year, and usually only prepared either when you know you’ll have guests. It’s not that making it is hard or time-consuming, but it’s just more special to enjoy this simple, tangy and sweet strawberry sweet tea with friends.
To make strawberry sweet tea, some people blend up fresh strawberries and just mix it with their iced tea, while some of us prefer to take a few extra minutes to prepare a strawberry simple syrup.
For my preferred version, strawberries are simmered in sugar to extract their juices and create a flavorful strawberry simple syrup which is then used to sweeten and give strawberry flavour to perfectly steeped tea. The strawberry tea is then chilled until ice cold.
By making a strawberry simple syrup that you can keep in the fridge, you can whip up a perfect batch of strawberry sweet tea anytime! It can also be used to add a strawberry flavour to other drinks – like a strawberry lemonade!
(You can also readily find prepared strawberry simple syrups now.)
Strawberry Sweet Tea Recipe Tips:
You want to use ripe, juicy berries for this recipe (frozen or fresh) for best flavour. If the flavour just isn’t there (it happens) a dash of strawberry flavour extract can save this recipe.
If you’re worried about the caffeine content with kids, caffeine-free black tea bags can be used. Rooibos is a caffeine-free herbal tea with a similar taste profile to black tea and is also less bitter.
Baking soda helps reduce the bitterness that can come from overstepped tea and also gives iced teas a bit of a crisp edge. It’s also essential if you plan on keeping your sweet tea in the fridge for more than a few hours, as without the baking soda, sweet tea can become cloudy and bitter with time.
The sweetness of this tea can be adjusted to your personal preferences, and the strength of the tea can be adjusted by altering the steeping time (and also the number of tea bags used) depending on how strong you’d like your tea.
Add ice only to individual glasses and not the pitcher to prevent watering down the tea. A fun alternative to adding ice to the pitcher is to add frozen strawberries!
Double or triple the recipe as desired.
Strawberry Sweet Tea Variations:
- Use green tea or white tea bags for a different flavour profile
- Mix this strawberry sweet tea with half lemonade for a Strawberry Arnold Palmer
- Skip the white sugar and use coconut sugar, agave syrup or honey to sweeten your tea
- Add mint for a bit of earthy brightness.
- Use the below method to make Blackberry Sweet Tea
- Raspberry Sweet Tea
- Watermelon Sweet Tea
- Peach Mint Sweet Tea
- Pineapple Sweet Tea <— this is my current favourite
- For a grown-ups only-twist, add a shot of rum, vodka or bourbon to each glass to make a strawberry tea cocktail
How long does strawberry sweet tea last: The prepared tea can be stored in the fridge up to a week.
Can strawberry sweet tea be frozen: Apparently, you can freeze the simple syrup but I’ve never done this. The simple syrup lasts in the fridge for a couple of weeks and we tend to use it up well before then.
To freeze strawberry simple syrup, place in a freezer-safe canning jar and follow the instructions on the package.
Strawberry Sweet Tea Ingredients
Strawberry Syrup Ingredients:
- Strawberries, trimmed
- Water
- White Sugar
Tea Ingredients:
- Strawberry Syrup
- Tea Bags <– You can use 2 family tea bags in place of 5 regular tea bags
- Water
- Baking Soda, optional
- White Sugar, or as desired
- Lemon Juice, or as desired
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: if you steep the tea for 3 minutes or less, you won’t need the baking soda. If you accidentally steep the tea longer, add the baking soda to reduce the bitterness of the tea.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Glass Pitcher
- Saucepan
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Fine Mesh Sieve
- Wooden Spoon or Spatula <– I like these spatulas because they are one solid piece and don’t have removable heads for bacteria to get trapped underneath. Plus they are heat-resistant and have a lifetime warranty.
How to Make Strawberry Sweet Tea
Place the strawberries, 2 cups water and 1 cup white sugar in a medium-sized saucepan.
Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil.
Stirring occasionally, reduce heat to medium-low until strawberries are well-softened and liquid reduces by half.
Drain the strawberries using a fine-mesh sieve and set the strawberry syrup aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, boil 5 cups of water and then add the teabags and remove from heat.
Once the strawberry syrup is cool, place in a large pitcher.
Once the tea has cooled slightly, remove the tea bags and pour the tea into the pitcher.
Stir in the baking soda, sugar and lemon juice.
Refrigerate the strawberry sweet tea until completely cold.
Serve over ice along with sliced strawberries.
Makes 10 servings.
Pin this Easy Method for Making Homemade Strawberry Sweet Tea:
Grab your free printable recipe card for our strawberry sweet tea recipe:
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Strawberry Sweet Tea
Ingredients
Strawberry Syrup Ingredients:
- 1 lb Strawberries, trimmed (approximately 3 cups)
- 2 cups Water
- 1 cup White Sugar
Tea Ingredients:
- Strawberry Syrup, approximately 1 1/2 cups
- 5 Tea Bags
- 8 cups Water
- 1 teaspoons Baking Soda, optional
- 1/2 cup White Sugar, or as desired
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice, or as desired
Instructions
- Place the strawberries, 2 cups water and 1 cup white sugar in a medium-sized saucepan.
- Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a gentle boil.
- Stirring occasionally, reduce heat to medium-low until strawberries are well-softened and liquid reduces by half.
- Drain the strawberries using a fine-mesh sieve and set the strawberry syrup aside to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, boil 5 cups of water and then add the teabags and remove from heat.
- Once the strawberry syrup is cool, place in a large pitcher.
- Once the tea has cooled slightly, remove the tea bags and pour the tea into the pitcher.
- Stir in the baking soda, sugar and lemon juice.
- Refrigerate the strawberry sweet tea until completely cold.
- Serve over ice along with sliced strawberries.
Notes
You can use 2 family tea bags in place of 5 regular tea bags
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 138mgCarbohydrates: 65gFiber: 1gSugar: 63gProtein: 0g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your family loves this easy strawberry sweet tea recipe as much as mine does!
For more delicious drinks, check out our full (non-alcoholic) drink recipe collection here:
