Raspberry Iced Tea – A Couple Cooks

This fresh raspberry iced tea is bursting with tangy flavor! It’s easy to make with real berries, ideal for casual sipping or entertaining.

Here’s a bright beverage that’s perfect for warm weather: Raspberry Iced Tea! This recipe uses real berries to infuse a tangy pop into this summertime drink. It’s balanced with just the right sweetness to make the berries sing. What’s more fun than adding fresh fruit to tea? This one is great for outdoor entertaining and festive occasions, or for casual sipping on your patio (we like both). The flavor is beyond refreshing, and making it homemade is loads tastier than store-bought. Here’s how it’s done!

Ingredients for raspberry iced tea

Making raspberry iced tea is simple: no need to simmer a raspberry syrup on the stovetop! You’ll simply blend the berries with water and sugar, then add them to tea and chill. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• Frozen raspberries: Frozen berries are much more economical than fresh, and the flavor is great. Feel free to use fresh if you have them!
• Lemon: fresh citrus accentuates the sweet tart berries
• Sugar: sugar is necessary to balance the flavor here, otherwise it’s overly tart
• Black tea bags: Black tea has the best flavor here. Keep in mind it has caffeine, but only about half the caffeine level that’s in a cup of coffee.

Tips for straining the raspberries

The main part of this raspberry iced tea that requires effort is straining the raspberries. Because raspberry seeds make unpleasant floaties in a drink, you’ll want to remove them as part of the process. Throw the berries in a blender with water, lemon juice and sugar, then blend until a puree forms. Here’s what to expect when you’re straining:

• Use a fine mesh strainer. You want to remove all the seeds here, so a fine mesh strainer is key for getting a smooth syrup-like texture.
• Use a spatula to gradually force the syrup through. It will take longer than you think! But keep forcing it through with a spatula until all the seeds are removed.

Garnishing the drink

If you’re using this raspberry iced tea for entertaining or parties, the garnish is where it’s at! Add some additional raspberries or lemon slices to the pitcher or each glass. Colorful straws also add a fun element: we like these striped paper straws.

Tip: If you don’t want to buy more raspberries, save out a handful for the garnish from the 2 cups you’re using for the pitcher. (Saving out a few doesn’t hurt!)

More types of iced tea

Iced tea is ideal for entertaining: we love it in the summer for cookouts and barbecues! Here are a few other iced tea ideas in addition to this raspberry iced tea: