How to make Southern strawberry iced tea

Emily Monaco

Contributing Writer

Sweet iced tea is a Southern classic, but in this fresh take on a classic recipe, the drink gets dressed up with fresh seasonal strawberries. Strawberries make an excellent addition to the traditional recipe, adding a slightly acidic and sweet note without the need to add artificial sugar to the flavor of the sweet tea.

The key to making a good Southern sweet iced tea is to brew the tea properly and sweeten it before chilling it. This will ensure that you have no sugar granules at the bottom of your glass, and that every sip will be just as deliciously sweet. If you've got a hankering for a glass in the winter, you could easily make this drink with thawed frozen strawberries too.

Cooktop Cove

Southern Strawberry Sweet Iced Tea

30 minutes

0 minutes

30 minutes

8 cups water, divided

5 black tea bags

1 cup sugar

3 cups ripe strawberries, quartered

1 lemon, juiced

8 whole strawberries

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, and pour over the tea bags. Brew for 10 minutes, then discard the tea bags.

Stir in the sugar until completely dissolved, then add the remaining water. Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Combine the quartered strawberries and lemon juice in the blender. Blend until completely smooth, then strain through a strainer. Stir into the cooled tea, then pour into an ice-filled pitcher.

Pour into glasses. Use a paring knife to cut partway through the tip of the whole strawberries, then slide one onto the edge of each glass.

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