Homemade Lemon Iced Tea

Name: Homemade Lemon Iced Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Ingredients: 1 l water, boiling; 6 black tea leaves; 60 g sugar; 3 tbsp lemon juice; 1 lemon, sliced (optional); 300 g ice; 4 sprigs mint, rinsed (optional)

Vegetarian

Strong black tea lightly sweetened, cooled and poured over ice with fresh lemon — far brighter than bottled iced tea and easy to make by the jug.

Homemade Lemon Iced Tea is an International cold drink, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with black tea leaves and lemon juice. It serves 5 and is rated beginner to cook.

Start cooking

Refreshing iced tea with ice cubes and lemon slices, perfect for a hot day. — Photo: Shameel mukkath / Pexels · Pexels License

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 5 min
Rest: 1 h
Total: 1 h 10 min
Serves: 5
Level: Beginner
Calories: 48

Ingredients

5 glasses

1 l Water (opens in a new tab), boiling
6 (12 g) Black tea leaves (opens in a new tab)6 tea bags (about 12 g loose tea).
60 g Sugar (opens in a new tab)Adjust to taste, or leave out.Swap: Honey
3 tbsp (46 g) Lemon juice (opens in a new tab)
1 (85 g) Lemon (opens in a new tab), sliced (optional)
300 g Ice (opens in a new tab)
4 sprigs (4 g) Mint (opens in a new tab), rinsed (optional)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Pour the boiling water over the tea bags (opens in a new tab) in a heatproof jug and steep for 5 minutes, then remove the bags without squeezing.
- 5 min
Food safety: Take care with boiling water.
2
Step 2
Stir in the sugar (opens in a new tab) while the tea is hot until dissolved, then add the lemon juice (opens in a new tab).
- 1 min
3
Step 3
Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least an hour.
- 60 min
Chilling hot tea very fast can make it cloudy; it is still fine to drink.
4
Step 4
Serve over ice with lemon (opens in a new tab) slices and mint (opens in a new tab).
- 1 min
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Not attributed to one place · Origin uncertainAn everyday home-cooking preparation made in many countries; it has no single documented origin.Also popular in United States, Canada, Germany, Japan, Türkiye
Dish: Lunch · Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method: Boiled
Taste: refreshing, citrusy, sweet, bitter
Diet: Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead · Budget-friendly · Batch cooking
Cook more with: Black tea leaves · Lemon juice · Sugar
Techniques: Boiling

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

48 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 281 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

Protein 0%
Carbohydrate 100%
Fat 0%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	48 kcal	17 kcal
Protein	0 g	0 g
Carbohydrate	12.6 g	4.5 g
Net carbohydrate	12.6 g	4.5 g
Sugars	12.2 g	4.3 g
Added sugars	12 g	4.3 g
Fibre	0 g	0 g
Fat	0 g	0 g
Saturated fat	0 g	0 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	5 mg	2 mg
Salt equivalent	0 g	0 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 10 mg
Calcium: 27 mg
Iron: 0 mg
Magnesium: 6 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 0 µg
Vitamin C: 4 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 2 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: lemon, mint.
Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): black tea leaves.
Ice: Frozen water; same composition as water.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

For crystal-clear tea, cold-brew instead: steep the bags in cold water in the fridge for 8–12 hours.

Common mistakes

Over-steeping or squeezing the bags, which makes the tea bitter.

Storage

Keeps 3 days in a covered jug in the fridge.

Variations

Southern sweet tea (United States): Much sweeter iced tea served throughout the southern United States.
Peach iced tea: Stir in 200 ml peach purée or juice before chilling.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 26 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Lemon juice3 tbsp · 46 g

Used in step 2

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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