Summer—a cherished season for many, with its intoxicating scents of fresh grasses, wildflowers, and the perfect breezes to keep you cool on a warm, sunny day. While birds sing their heavenly songs and we soak up some rays, I find myself craving the delicate flavor of iced green tea!
It's an absolutely refreshing drink—the perfect glass—for a summer day escape!
Join me as we learn how to make this delicious iced green tea drink, as well as some other tasty green tea beverages, for all you tea drinkers out there!
How to Make Iced Green Tea
Making iced tea is super simple, and straightforward, and the benefits are ten-fold in my book! I especially love the fact that I can make an ample amount of iced green tea, pop it in my fridge, and have it ready to go when I want it—however, it usually doesn't last too long. To make iced green tea, it simply requires two ingredients: the loose-leaf tea of your choosing, and boiling water.
Just like you would brew your tea when making your cuppa hot, you are going to do the same here. This is where you can decide if you're going to make just a cup or two, or if you'd like to make a pitcher. By following our super easy directions on our bags, you'll know just how long to steep your tea, but it typically is around five minutes for one teaspoon of loose-leaf tea in eight ounces of boiling water.
After your tea has finished steeping, remove the leaves and place it in the fridge to cool completely—if you can wait that long! This is probably the biggest challenge! If you get super antsy and just can't wait, you are welcome to give it less time and throw in some ice cubes, however, I will warn you that it will water down your tea as the ice melts quickly.
This is when I'd throw in my homemade tea cubes, or make a stronger tea concentrate. We'll get to these fun details below!
When it's ready to drink, it's a personal preference if you'd like to add in some fresh lemon slices, other fruit juices or slices, and a little sweetener.
How to Make Cold Brew Iced Tea
Are you looking for all the benefits and flavor of a lovely iced green tea, but as quick and easy as 'that'?
I've got just the thing for you—cold-brewing green tea leaves! With this recipe, you simply add your ingredients, stir, and let it sit until you're ready to sip. Yes, it's that delightfully simple!
If you've got a few hours on your hands, and you're wanting to make a great recipe with minimal prep time—this is the one. Scoop up your favorite green tea for iced green tea—maybe try our Abundance Blend green tea (I adore this one, along with many others), your pitcher, and some water. Then we 'set it and forget it'!
As per our tea-perfect instructions, it'll be one teaspoon of loose-leaf tea per six to eight ounces of water. With this, there's a bit more of a variable, with the six to eight ounces, as it's a bit dependent on how strong you like your cold brew. Measure out your tea leaves and cold water accordingly and add to your pitcher, then stir.
If you'd like to learn a bit about what water is best to use for tea, I recommend popping over and checking out our article: Do You Need to Use Distilled Water for Tea?
Before you let it sit, this is the time I like to add in, green tea choice dependent, some mint leaves, lemon slices, or whatever other flavors you may enjoy infusing. After this, take the next step of covering your pitcher with some saran wrap and placing it in the refrigerator for a solid six to eight hours to steep.
Usually, I prep in the late evening and strain in the morning, or prep in the morning and strain in the afternoon. The timing works well!
After your time is up, remove any fruit or add-ins you included, then simply run through a sieve and be sure to squeeze out the tea from your tea leaves well. Pour the tea into your favorite summer glass, add ice, and maybe add fruit—perfection!
You're ready to go with a smooth, refreshing drink! That's the key feature of cold brewing green tea—the lack of any bitter taste. It's truly so yummy! From here, the sky is the limit on drinking as is or adding in your own touch of sweetness to sip and enjoy on those hot days!
What Are the Health Benefits of Green Tea?
When preparing a cuppa green tea, you should feel satisfied that you're also giving yourself a boost of health benefits. To name a few: keeping that digestive tract, on track, improving mental clarity, helping you stay hydrated, and it can have positive effects on maintaining a healthy weight. Let's dive in a bit more on this tea!
Green tea is a bit more rooted and earthy than other teas, such as black or white tea. The leaves and buds used to make green tea undergo a shorter withering and oxidation process than other types of teas, so it leaves you with a very smooth and satisfying flavor. This flavor pairs beautifully with nearly an endless array of options—and Plum Deluxe offers an ample selection! Check them out here: Green Teas.
The minimal oxidation process also means you're left with minimal caffeine (about 35 milligrams per eight ounces), and the health benefits stay infused into these lovely leaves as well. The caffeine found in green tea has been shown to help with headaches—a win if you are in this boat—it seems to have just the right amount.
Some studies have shown that green tea, in addition to black tea, may have beneficial effects on some heart disease risk factors. Green tea extracts have also been shown to provide helpful weight loss in adults who are overweight.
It seems green tea is an all-around health benefit winner!
Iced Green Tea Lemonade
I have to say, this is one of my favorite summer drinks to enjoy! It's a crisp, light, and refreshing drink that I love and adore! My favorite combination is taking the Raspberry Revitalizer Lemon Mate, which is a green tea, and mixing it with the Classic Old Fashioned Lemonade, then topping it with a couple of lemon slices.
The color is beautiful and the flavor is on point!
To make an iced green tea lemonade, take four ounces of boiling water and mix it with my favorite loose tea. Let it steep according to the instructions. Let it cool completely—often overnight, or place it in the refrigerator for a faster cool down. Then in a glass, mix tea concentrate and add a full eight ounces of cold water to it. Stir in two to three tablespoons of lemonade mix, add lemon slices, and there you have it!
The perfect glass of iced green tea lemonade!
Green Tea Smoothies
Did you know you can also use green tea as a base for smoothies?
Yes, I said that right! It's time to bring the health benefits, and flavor, of our beloved green teas into the realm of yummy smoothies and get emulsifying! It's really pretty simple to swap out your regular go-to base of juice, milk, or a milk alternative, and insert "best green tea ever"! There are also ways you can still incorporate both if you'd like.
Green Tea in Smoothies: 3 Green Tea Smoothie Recipes provides some great options whether you're vegan, looking for a little extra calcium, or just trying to find a fabulous-tasting green tea smoothie—without all of the sugar we find in other drinks.
We've got you covered!
Green Tea Slush
Umm...here I am summer! Yes, please sign me up for a green tea slush! This Green Tea Slush article and recipe provide a simple, sophisticated, and charming way to indulge with your next cuppa green tea. I have to admit—I've never tried it this way before. Have you?
While this recipe calls for intertwining some fresh mint leaves, which sounds absolutely refreshing, another idea I'd like to recommend is making this recipe with Candied Orange green tea with just a light touch of fresh ginger slices, or you could try a thoughtful pair balance of rosemary. You could even make your own sugared rim and dip your glass in before serving it to guests for an added touch of elegance!
Tropical Green Tea for Summer
Tropical Green Tea: 3 Recipes for Refreshing Tropical Tea is a must-read article if you love green teas and are looking for some fun summer flavors on food, more information on what Plum Deluxe offers for fruity green teas, and even some recipes that will keep you feeling like summer even on the gloomiest of days!
Plum Deluxe offers a great variety of green tea flavors, many of which incorporate a vast array of fruity aromas and tastes. Summer is one of the best times to enjoy these flavors, no matter where you live—so kick off your shoes, pull up a drink, and enjoy a little R&R with us!
Garden Grove Green Tea Sangria
I have a little treat in store for you—shhh!
It's a combination of one of my favorite teas and a rosé, blended in merriment to make one of my favorite cocktails—a sangria! It's another excellent summertime drink, made with a green tea base. Honestly—I feel like the possibilities are getting to be (nearly) endless!
In the article Garden Grove Green Tea Sangria, Ciaran walks us through the simple steps of creating this drink right at home. It's simple enough to make and enjoy for ourselves, but also elegant enough to make and showcase for any party you may be attending or hosting.
I highly encourage you to check it out!
Green Tea Iced Cubes
Remember that mention of homemade tea cubes above? This is where I tell you about them!
These tea cubes are a fun and easy way to not only keep your green tea cold, but also flavorful—plus, they're so fun to pop in your cup. I promise—all your friends will be talking about them and asking for the recipe. It's literally a three-step process, so let me walk you through it.
First, just like making hot tea, or cold tea, you're going to want to brew your green tea of choice—the one you're making a large pitcher of for the next day or one you make regularly so you can keep these on hand for when the time calls.
Take your hot water and pour over your loose-leaf tea and steep per the recommended steep time then remove your loose-leaf tea, ensuring you squeeze out any excess liquid. I usually make two cups worth, which is enough for about a tray. You can make more or less accordingly for what you're prepping for.
This next step is totally optional, but if you'd like, you may stir in a little vanilla syrup, honey mixture, or sugar. A few of my favorites are Plum Deluxe's honey dust, or there's creamed honey if you prefer, and last but not least is the delicious vanilla sugar dust.
The final step is taking your prepared tea and pouring it into your ice cube tray and then placing it into the freezer to solidify. When you're ready for these fabulous tea cubes, simply pop them out and enjoy! They're great to place in individual cups—one or two per glass—or to put into a pitcher.
