Tea Lover Lessons

The Best Tea for a Refreshing Glass of Iced Tea

Person pouring a glass of iced tea from a lemon teapot

Are you looking to spice up your iced tea game? Or just looking for something fun and refreshing? We feel you. We love discovering new teas, too.

Luckily, your iced tea options are basically unlimited. Any tea can become a great iced tea if you make it with love. Here are our top ten picks for teas that taste wonderful over ice.

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Why Drink Iced Tea?

Hot tea is nice in the winter when we need that extra boost of warmth – but what about in the summer, when all we want is a refreshing glass of iced something

We have some great news: Chances are, your favorite hot tea also tastes delicious over ice. Here are a few reasons why you should try it.

Same Healthy Benefits — But Drink It Fast

Tea supports your body’s natural processes in a number of ways. Most teas are incredibly rich sources of antioxidants, which help your body defend itself against free radical damage. Some teas also promote healthy hearts and healthy metabolisms to keep your body in tip-top condition. Tea also contains polyphenols, which can help you stay away from long-term illness.

However, studies show that you need to drink your homebrewed tea within a few days if you want to see those healthy benefits. The antioxidants will start dissipating right after brewing and will be totally gone within a few days. 

If you like to prepare lots of tea to sip on throughout the week, you may want to consider brewing small pitchers of tea two or three times a week to get the most out of those antioxidants.

Promotes a Healthy Metabolism

Drinking iced tea can be a great way to kickstart your metabolism. Beyond the natural benefits of tea, cold water has been shown to help promote metabolic health. Essentially, your body expends more energy warming up the cold water than it gets from the water itself.

Although this information pertains to ice water, it can also apply to iced tea — especially iced tea with no added sweetener. So, the next time you make tea, consider making it iced to boost your metabolism!

Stay Hydrated

Tea is an excellent source of water because that’s the main ingredient. Especially in the warmer months, adequate hydration is incredibly important. 

When it’s hot out, chances are you’re craving a crisp, cold glass of water. Why not grab a glass of iced tea instead to add in some of those antioxidants and polyphenols? It’s like a 2-in-1 boost of refreshing goodness!

Easy Soda Substitute

Even we’ll admit that sometimes a tall glass of root beer hits the spot. But sodas are packed full of added sugars that definitely don’t do us any health favors. We’ve found that a nice cup of iced tea can satisfy that sugar craving while also providing healthy benefits!

If you like soda because of its sweetness, try mixing in sugar or honey with your tea. This keeps that sweet taste you love, while also having a lower sugar content than premade drinks.

Delicious and Easy to Make

The phrase “iced tea” might remind you of bottle-lined shelves in a supermarket or the sugary drinks served at restaurants. However, those premade teas are often high in added sugars and low in healthy features. They taste good, but you can show your body more love by brewing an equally delicious iced tea at home.

Not only is iced tea delicious, but it’s super easy to make! We’ve included more details down at the bottom, but all it takes is hot water, tea, and a little time.

Top Ten Teas for Iced Tea

Now you’re sold on iced tea, but where do you start? We’ve put together a list of our favorite teas to serve on ice to help you get started, but you really can’t go wrong with serving any tea over ice.

Hibiscus

Hibiscus tea has more antioxidants than any other tea, so we highly recommend it as a go-to iced tea favorite. Hibiscus has a naturally fruity, zingy taste that makes it a lovely summer drink. We’re currently obsessed with this herbal tea.

We recommend Stash Wild Raspberry Hibiscus tea. You’ll still get all the delicious tartness of hibiscus, with an added hint of raspberry that will take your taste buds on the ride of their lives.

Mint

If fruity isn’t your thing, try iced mint tea. Mint tea is a cool and refreshing herbal tea that will leave you feeling light and airy. Serving mint tea over ice brings out much more of its minty taste. 

Make a refreshing pitcher of iced mint tea with Steep Society Moroccan Mint tea. This mint tea is a blend between green tea (which is high in antioxidants) and spearmint herbal tea. The blend cuts the sharpness of the mint so that you can have a more enjoyable summer drink.

Earl Grey

Earl grey tea is a delicious tea that is just as good iced as it is hot. Traditional earl grey is just black tea with a pinch of bergamot for an orangey aftertaste, and we absolutely love it. Some tea drinkers also like to put milk and sugar in their earl grey to mellow out the taste or remind them of home.

We would be remiss if we didn’t recommend our Yuzu Cream Earl Grey tea. Our blend has the same flavors as traditional earl grey, but adds in cornflower and rose for a creamy, floral taste good enough to write home about.

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    Stash Tea

    Wild Raspberry Hibiscus

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    Herbal Tea
    Wild Raspberry Hibiscus
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    Sips by Earl Grey

    Yuzu Cream Earl Grey

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    Black Tea
    Yuzu Cream Earl Grey
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    Steep Society

    Moroccan Mint

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    Green Tea
    Moroccan Mint
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Black Tea

Black tea is a verified classic. Its earthy flavor makes it a unique iced tea, and it tastes delicious with a little cream and sugar added in. 

Olltco Organic Assam Black Tea is a great choice for anyone looking to expand their tea collection. Hailing all the way from India, you can enjoy a taste of the world right from your back porch.

Green Tea

Green tea is also delicious over ice. While plain green tea has a very mild taste, green tea blends can pack quite the flavor punch. For instance, Olltco Organic Jasmine Green Tea combines fresh and earthy green tea with flowery jasmine to create a tall glass of heaven.

Berry Tea

Fruit teas are some of our favorite summer teas because of their refreshing tartness. Berry teas, in particular, tread a peculiar line between sweet and tart. We’re not quite sure where they land, but we do know that they’re delicious.

Don’t believe us? Check out Chariteas Berry Fields Forever blend which features berries and hibiscus for a tart, benefit-packed cuppa.

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    OLLTco

    Organic Jasmine Green Tea

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    Organic Jasmine Green Tea
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    OLLTco

    Organic Assam Black Tea

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    Organic Assam Black Tea
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    Chariteas

    Berry Fields Forever

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    Herbal Tea
    Berry Fields Forever
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Lemon Tea

Lemons make excellent entree garnishes, but we like them much better in our tea. Lemon tea is refreshing, tart, and oh-so-good. 

Specifically, we love DavidsTea Rainbow Lemonade, which is an Insta-worthy blend of dried florals and fruits. With a little sweetener, this tea blend takes lemonade to a whole new level!

Peach Tea

If you’ve ever had bottled peach tea, then homemade peach tea will blow your mind. With just a little sweetener, this crisp herbal tea will change your taste buds forever. You won’t be able to go back!

For a unique peach tea blend, try Tea Fiori Venetian Rose Peach Bellini. This blend features apple, peach, rose, and marigold for a convincing take on the classic cocktail.

Strawberry Tea

Although strawberries are often sweet, strawberry tea is tart enough to make your lips pucker. If that’s your thing, this tea is a wonderful choice for you. If not, all you need is a pinch of sweetener to create your new favorite fruity tea.

We recommend Chez Lulu Tarte Aux Fraises, a strawberry-infused tea inspired by France. Just one cuppa will transport you to the bank of the Seine.

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    Tea Fiori

    Venetian Rose Peach Bellini

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    Herbal Tea
    Venetian Rose Peach Bellini
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    Chez Lulu

    Tarte Aux Fraises

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    Tarte Aux Fraises
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    DAVIDsTEA

    Rainbow Lemonade

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    Herbal Tea
    Rainbow Lemonade
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Tropical Tea

We love delicious tropical tea. Tropical Punch Blend is a refreshingly light tropical blend that features pineapple, coconut, and hibiscus. This delightful tea makes a lovely iced tea and fits in wonderfully with a day on the beach.

How To Make Iced Tea

There are quite a few ways to make iced tea. However, the most common way is to steep your tea as directed and chill it in the fridge. This can take some of the sweetness out of your tea, so you may want to try cold brewing. 

With the cold brew method, you steep your tea in cold water until it reaches your desired taste.

To Summarize

Summer is fast approaching, and it’s almost iced tea season. There are a plethora of reasons to drink iced tea, but ultimately it boils down to how you prefer to enjoy your tea. 

Any tea can make a good iced tea, so feel free to experiment! If you don’t know which tea you like, try our tea subscription box to get personalized tea delivered to your door.

Iced Tea Shop

Refresh with the best iced teas as rated by Sips by's tea-loving Members in our Iced Tea Shop. Find your new favorite summer flavor from fruity or hibiscus iced teas to mint or lemon iced teas and more! Plus, you can shop a curated selection of delightful iced tea accessories to cold brew tea in style. Make your summer delicious and refreshing with the best iced teas and accessories.

Glass of ice with citrus in it and blue water in the background

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Interested in trying these teas and others? Subscribers receive 4 teas chosen just for them in every box. Learn more about our tea subscription box or explore the loose leaf tea shop.

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About Sips by: We’re a female-founded and led startup that makes discovering tea fun, personalized, and affordable. The Sips by Box is the only multi-brand, personalized tea subscription box. Each month, we match tea drinkers across the U.S. with delicious teas from over 150 global tea brands that we’re sure they’ll love. Based out of Austin, Texas, we are adept at savoring a hot mug even when it’s seasonally inappropriate. 

Sources:

Iced Tea: How To Get More Health Benefits From Your Brew | KQED 

Tea | Harvard School of Public Health

Should You Drink Warm or Cold Water? | Cleveland Clinic

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