Sweet strawberries are the perfect companion to classic sweet tea. Refreshing and delicious, you’ll love this recipe for summer parties or relaxing days at home.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make: Simple ingredients and nothing you can really mess up.
- Perfect for gatherings: It’s always nice to have a homemade drink at parties and this one is perfect.
- Customizable. If you want a pitcher i the fridge for yourself but don’t want all the sugar, you can use a sugar substitute or heavily dilute it with water.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
You’ll need the following for this Southern summer favorite:
- strawberries
- granulated sugar
- 3 family-sized tea bags (I prefer Luzianne brand)
- lemon and mint for garnishing
🥣 Equipment
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- Pitcher
- strainer
🍴Instructions
Step One: make the strawberry syrup
In a medium saucepan, combine 3 cups of strawberries (frozen strawberries are fine), 1½ cups of granulated sugar, and 1 cup of water.
Cook the syrup: Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, or until the strawberries soften and their color becomes a vibrant red. During the cooking process, occasionally stir the mixture to ensure even cooking and prevent burning.
Mash the strawberries: Once the strawberries are softened, use a potato masher or a large fork to mash them well, releasing their juices and infusing the syrup with their flavor.
Step Two: strain and let cool
Pour the mixture through a strainer into a medium bowl, separating the liquid syrup from the solid strawberry pieces. Set the strained syrup aside to cool while you prepare the tea.
Step three: make the tea
Take a heat-proof pitcher and place 3 family-sized tea bags (Luzianne brand recommended) inside.
Steep the tea: Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or pot. Once boiling, carefully pour the hot water over the tea bags in the pitcher. Allow the tea to steep for 3 minutes, then remove and discard the tea bags.
Pour 6 cups of cold water into the pitcher with the hot tea. Then, add the cooled strawberry syrup and mix thoroughly to combine. Transfer the pitcher to the refrigerator and let it chill for at least 4 hours, or until the tea is very cold.
Step Four: garnish and serve
Pour the chilled Strawberry Sweet Tea over ice in individual glasses. Add fresh lemon slices, sliced strawberries, and mint leaves as garnishes
🥫 Storage instructions
After chilling the tea, you can store any leftovers in the same pitcher or transfer it to a sealed container, such as a large mason jar or a bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Keep the tea refrigerated to maintain its freshness and flavor.
The tea will remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
🔍 FAQs
Yes, definitely. Drinks, unlike baking, take other sweeteners quite well. 😊 I often use Truvia, as mentioned in the recipe notes, but you can also use honey, agave syrup, or stevia. You’ll just need to play around with the amounts.
Sweet tea is made with black tea, but the flavors in this would go well with others too. Try green tea or a flavored herbal blend.
Perfectly fine?
With some lemon vodka. 😊
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- If you’re planning to serve this at a gathering, prepare the syrup a day in advance and store it in the fridge. That way the hardest part is out of the way.
- You can use fresh strawberries, but if you do, make sure they are ripe, not the rock-hard and flavorless ones you find in winter. If it’s not strawberry season, frozen is better!
- Steeping the tea for the recommended 3 minutes is important to extract the right balance of flavor without bitterness. Use a timer!
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
Having a backyard summer party? Then you’ll want to make these too:
- Pulled Pork Sandwiches
- Southern Coleslaw Dressing
- Cast Iron Skillet Mac and Cheese
- Old Fashioned Cucumbers and Onion in Vinegar
- Triple Berry Cobbler
📖 Here’s the recipe
Strawberry Sweet Tea
Equipment
- Pitcher
- strainer
Ingredients
Strawberry Syrup
- 3 cups strawberries frozen is fine
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
Tea
- 3 family-sized tea bags Luzianne brand recommended
- 6 cups hot water
- 6 cups cold water
Garnish
- lemon wedges
- fresh mint
- additional strawberries
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 strawberries become softened and bright red, about 15 minutes. Mash well with a potato masher or large fork.
- 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, sliced berries, and mint leaves.
