Cold Brew Iced Tea
Cold brew iced tea tastes so smooth and refreshing! It's free of the bitter flavors found in regular iced tea. Keep a pitcher in the fridge!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on June 5, 2026
Cold brew iced tea is the best iced tea! Whether you sip iced tea all summer long or enjoy an occasional glass, I’m willing to bet you’ll prefer the flavor of cold-brewed iced tea. I’m aiming to have a pitcher in the fridge all summer long.
Why is cold brew iced tea so much better? Heat brings out the tannic, bitter flavors in tea. Most iced teas are brewed at temperatures that are too high for their specific types. (I would know, since I’ve brewed iced tea with boiling hot water when I worked in restaurants.)
In the absence of heat, you’re left with perfectly refreshing, super smooth tea for slow summer sipping. It isn’t bitter in the slightest. The same is true for coffee, which is why I love cold brew coffee so much. Give it a try!
How to Make Cold Brew Iced Tea
The method itself is incredibly simple. Just combine loose-leaf tea or whole tea bags with water in a pitcher. Let the tea infuse the water for 6 to 12 hours in the refrigerator (see the instructions in the recipe below for specifics). Strain, and you’ll have cold-brew tea that tastes great for days!
Bon Appetit suggested that they have best results with loose-leaf tea, so I used loose-leaf here. I’ve since been making lazy cold-brew tea by soaking whole bags in water, which tastes about 90 percent as good and is much easier to make.
Another option? Steep your loose-leaf tea in a clean French press. (Make sure the press doesn’t smell like coffee from previous use, or it will impart that flavor.) Press down the filter to remove the loose tea leaves, and pour!
Watch How to Make Cold Brew Ice Tea
Tea Options
Any type of tea (as in, true tea made with tea leaves) will work for the cold brew method, including green tea, white tea, black tea and oolong.
Green and white teas are particularly nice for the cold brew method, since you can really taste their delicate, nuanced flavors.
Herbal teas vary widely in their ingredients, so the results will be less reliable, but they’re worth a try as well.
Please let me know how your tea turns out in the comments. I love hearing from you, and I hope this becomes your new favorite brewing method.
Cold Brew Iced Tea
This cold brew iced tea tastes so smooth and refreshing! It’s free of the tannic, bitter flavors found in regular brewed iced tea. It tastes fresh for 5 days, so keep a big batch in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 1 tea bag (or 1 teaspoon loose-leaf tea) per 6 to 8 ounces of water, depending on desired strength
- Optional add-ins: sliced lemon, fresh mint leaves, sliced cucumber, simple syrup or sweetener of choice
Instructions
- For the best flavor, if you’re using tea bags, snip off the corners and dump the loose tea into your pitcher. Or, just put the whole bags in the pitcher for tea that is *almost* as awesome and way easier to make. Pour in room temperature or cold water.
- Cover the pitcher and refrigerate. Steep white or green tea for 6 to 8 hours; steep black or oolong tea for 8 to 12 hours.
- Once your time is up, strain the loose-leaf tea out of the pitcher by pouring the tea through a fine mesh sieve (for best results, cover the sieve with a cheesecloth or paint-straining bag used exclusively for food products), or just pull out the tea bags. Discard the tea or tea bags.
- Serve tea chilled or over ice, with any add-ins of your choice. Tea will keep well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 5 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit May 2015.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hi Kate! I’m going to try this method! Do you happen to know how long to steep for cold brew herbal teas like rooibos, etc?
Thank you!
Hi Bea, I hope you like it! For rooibos I would steep 8-12 hours.
Hi Kate! How long would you steep red raspberry leaf tea for? I’m 31 weeks pregnant and wanting to brew this tea cold since we’re in summer and I’ll be drinking multiple cups a day.
Hi Savannah, it depends on how strong you want to flavor to be. I would start with 4-6 hours and go up to 12, depending on your preferences.