Raspberry Iced Tea
Updated Sep 04, 2026
This Raspberry Iced Tea combines the refreshing flavor of tea with the sweetness and tartness of fresh raspberries for an easy summer drink!
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During the summertime when I’m entertaining, I love making unique drinks for my guests like this Raspberry Ice Tea! Yes, it’s easier to just use a bag of raspberry iced tea, but using fresh raspberries really gives the tea such a better flavor that doesn’t taste watered down or artificial. Just steep some tea with sugar, boil raspberries with water (strain if you’d like) and mix them together!
Recipe Testing Notes
For the past 10 years, I’ve tested every recipe before sharing it with you! These notes give you a peek into the process of developing this Raspberry Iced Tea recipe.
Steeping the tea for 5 minutes gives the best flavor. I retested this recipe after hearing that the original 10-minute steep made the black tea extremely bitter, and I agreed. At 5 minutes, the tea had plenty of flavor without becoming harsh or overpowering, so I updated the recipe with the shorter steep time.
I wouldn’t steep it for much less than 5 minutes. Because the raspberries and sugar add quite a bit of sweetness, the black tea needs enough strength to balance them. 5 minutes gave me the best balance where I could still taste the tea but also the raspberries without any bitterness.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
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Raspberry Iced Tea Ingredients
- Raspberries: Use fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries to make the iced tea.
- Sugar: I use half a cup of granulated sugar, but you can switch to a liquid sweetener and you can adjust the amount of sugar to taste. You can also leave out the sugar entirely.
- Black Tea: Use black tea bags for this recipe to make it easier, or you could also use loose-leaf black tea.
How to Make Raspberry Iced Tea
These step-by-step photos walk you through how to make Raspberry Iced Tea. For the full ingredient list and detailed instructions, head to the recipe card below, or skip straight to the → Raspberry Iced Tea recipe below
1. HEAT WATER AND SUGAR
In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil and stir in sugar until dissolved.
2. MIX THE TEA BAGS IN
Add tea bags and steep.
3. HEAT WATER & RASPBERRIES
In another saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the raspberries.
4. SIMMER UNTIL SOFTENED
Simmer uncovered.
5. STRAIN IF YOU WANT
Use a fine-mesh sieve to strain the raspberry liquid and discard the pulp.
6. USE THE RASPBERRY JUICE
You’ll be left with a beautiful pink raspberry-infused water that you can then mix with the steeped tea.
Full Raspberry Iced Tea Recipe
Raspberry Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 6 cups water divided
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 black tea bags
- 2 pints raspberries or 4 cups frozen
- raspberries for serving
- Lemon slices for serving
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add tea bags and steep the tea for 5 minutes, then discard tea bags. Allow the tea to come to room temperature, then transfer to a large pitcher and set in the refrigerator.
- In another saucepan, bring the remaining 2 cups water to a boil. Add the raspberries, reduce heat, then simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Use a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to strain the raspberry liquid and discard pulp. Add raspberry juice to the tea mixture in the pitcher and stir to combine.
- Serve cold over ice with fresh raspberries and lemon slices, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Variations
- Add other berries. Feel free to add other berries to this recipe. Strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries would all be delicious. Or you can even try the same idea with other fruits like mango, peach or pineapple.
- Use lime juice. The tartness of lime juice goes so well with the sweetness of the raspberries.
- Switch out the tea. You can use green tea, white tea, or herbal tea in this recipe. Just be sure to adjust the brewing time accordingly.
- Serve with fruit ice cubes. These ice cubes basically have pieces of fruit frozen inside of them, and are so cute for serving with iced tea drinks like this raspberry one!
Recipe Tips
- Let the tea cool before adding ice. Adding ice while the tea is still warm will melt it quickly and water down the raspberry flavor. I like to chill the tea in the fridge first, then pour it over ice when I’m ready to serve.
- Don’t squeeze the tea bags. It can be tempting to press out every last drop, but squeezing the bags releases something called tannins which can make black tea taste bitter. Just lift them out and let the excess drip off.
- Press the raspberries gently when straining. Use the back of a spoon to get plenty of raspberry juice through the fine-mesh sieve, but you don’t need to force all of the pulp through. This keeps the iced tea smoother.
- Adjust the sweetness before chilling. The sugar dissolves much more easily while the tea is still warm, so taste it before it goes into the fridge and add a little more sugar if needed.
Comments
I made according to your directions for black tea. Steeping for 10 minutes was entirely too long and ruined the flavor, made it extremely bitter. I had to throw it all away. I tasted it with and without the raspberry and the tea was horrid.
So sorry this didn’t turn out well for you! I will re-test this recipe because I agree with you that the 10 minutes seems too long here. I would do 3 minutes, but let me retest and get back to you!
Perfect 👌 but I did only use 1/3 of sugar. That’s good enough for me. I’m cutting back and indulgence is good once in a while. Thanks!
Thanks, Deanna! So happy you liked it!
What size tea bags are used? The small ones for individual cups? Or the larger ones?
The small individual ones. Enjoy!
I always look for your tips. Serving the iced tea in pre cooled & frosty glasses did get me tempted to want it & drink it right away.