A recipe for blackberry iced tea with just the right amount of sweetness and fresh fruit flavor. A blackberry syrup made from scratch ensures a smooth and delicious drink.
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Table of contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
Everyone loves a nice pitcher of sweet tea for sharing on the porch in the summer. And when blackberries are in season they’re the perfect way to flavor a simple tea. (You’ll love blackberry lemonade too if it’s berry season!)
It might seem tedious to make the blackberry syrup but it just takes a few minutes.
You can mix this up in the morning while it’s still cool outside and have it chilled and ready that afternoon.
For The Blackberry Syrup
- 3 cups blackberries frozen is fine
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
For The Iced Tea
- 3 family-sized tea bags (if your grocery store carries Luzianne, it makes the best sweet tea! You can also find it online, here.)
- 6 cups hot water
- 6 cups cold water
Optional Garnish
- lemon wedges
- fresh mint
- additional blackberries
🥣 EQUIPMENT
- Heat-proof pitcher (meaning it won’t crack if you pour in boiling water
- Strainer
- Medium saucepan
- Glasses for serving. (Wide mouth pint jars wok great!)
Step one: make the blackberry syrup
Okay, my friends. This won’t take long, and there aren’t many ingredients. It’s easy!
Start by placing the blackberries, sugar, and water for the syrup in a medium saucepan. Let it come to a simmer over medium heat until the berries start to break down. They will change color to a deep reddish purple and be easy to smash. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
Strain the syrup to remove all the seeds and pulp from the berries. (There won’t be much flavor left in the berry flesh, so don’t feel about disposing of it!)
Let it cool while you make the sweet tea.
Step two: Brew the Iced Tea
Place the tea bags in your pitcher and start boiling 6 cups of water. Pour the boiling water on top of the tea bags and give them a stir.
Let them steep for 3 minutes and then remove them. Pour the cold water in, and the blackberry syrup. Mix everything well and pop it in the fridge to cool.
Serve over ice, garnishing with fresh lemon, more berries, and mint, if you’d like.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Be sure to grab family-sized tea bags. You don’t need to fiddle with individual bags for iced tea
- You’ll need plenty of time for the tea to cool, so feel free to start this the night before.
📘 Related Recipes
- If you loved fruity iced teas, you’ll also like raspberry and peach tea
- Have lots of blackberries and mint? Make blackberry mojitos
- Homemade blackberry lemonade is a great alternative when you’re having kids over and don’t want to caffeinate them!
- And if you love homemade drinks, consider canning your own strawberry lemonade concentrate.
Print the recipe
Southern Blackberry Sweet Tea
Ingredients
For The Blackberry Syrup
- 3 cups blackberries frozen is fine
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
For The Iced Tea
- 3 family sized tea bags Luzianne brand recommended
- 6 cups hot water
- 6 cups cold water
Optional Garnish
- lemon wedges
- fresh mint
- additional blackberries
Instructions
Make The Syrup
- Combine the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until the blackberries become softened and bright purple, about 15 minutes.
- Strain the syrup into a medium bowl. Set aside to cool while you make the tea.
Make The Tea
- Place the tea bags in a heat-proof pitcher.
- Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Pour over the tea bags and allow to steep 3 minutes, then remove and discard.
- Pour 6 cups of cold water into the pitcher of tea. Add the blackberry syrup and mix thoroughly.
- Place the pitcher in the fridge to chill 4 hours, or until very cold. Serve over ice with fresh lemon slices, whole blackberries, and mint leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
