Homemade Strawberry Hibiscus Iced Tea Recipe
This Homemade Strawberry Hibiscus Iced Tea is a wonderfully refreshing summer drink and is made with fresh strawberries and hibiscus tea. It's a lightly sweetened iced tea will will cool you down on a hot day.
Servings: 14 servings
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Simple Syrup
- 3 cups sliced strawberries
- 2 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
For the hibiscus iced tea
- 3 family-sized Hibiscus tea bags
- 3 cups water
- ½ - 1 cup sugar (see note about sweeteners)
- 8 cups COLD water
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Ice
- strawberries and lemon slices for garnish
Instructions
To Make the Strawberry Simple Syrup
- In a medium saucepan add the strawberries, 1 cup sugar and 2 cups of water. Give it a stir and cook over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until strawberries are soft and the liquid is a deep red color.
- Using a mesh strainer, strain the strawberry syrup into a large pitcher. Using the back of a spoon, press down on the fruit to get the juice out, but not too hard. Set aside.
To Make the Hibiscus Tea
- Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in the microwave. Carefully remove the container from the microwave and add the 3 family sized hibiscus tea bags to the water. Let it steep for 5 minutes, then remove the tea bags. If you're wanting to make this a sweeter tea, add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of sugar and stir well. *Note: I did not add more sugar as I prefer my iced teas more on the unsweetened side. The strawberry syrup was enough sweetener for me. If you prefer a sweet iced tea, start with ½ cup of sugar and taste. Add more if needed.
- Pour the hot tea into the large pitcher with the strawberry syrup. Add 8 cups of cold water and the juice of one lemon. Stir well. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.
- To serve: fill glasses with ice, pour the tea and garnish with strawberries and lemon wedge. Don't forget the straw!
Notes
- Frozen strawberries can be used to make the simple syrup but thaw first.
- If you can't find the family-size hibiscus tea bags, use 9 of regular-sized tea bags. I like this brand.
- When sweetening the hibiscus tea, start with the least amount of sugar and taste. Add more if needed.
- You can also use honey or stevia in place of the sugar, just be sure to add a little and taste first.
- Try this iced tea recipe with blackberries, or other berries like blueberries. Raspberries are delicious in this recipe, too.
- If making this for only a few people, you can half the recipe. OR, pour some of the tea into ice cube trays and freeze. Add them to your iced tea so it doesn't get watery.