There is nothing quite as refreshing as an ice cold iced tea in the summer. Especially one that is homemade! I can’t wait for the days when I get to sit on my balcony, enjoy the sun, read a book, brainstorm new recipes and sip on that glass of homemade iced tea. 

I’ve tested 2 recipes in the past week that I’m just loving. In my opinion it is better than any store bought iced tea I’ve had. 

The first one was this lemon vanilla black ice tea. It is made of lemonade and vanilla infused black tea…this flavor combination is just amazing and with the hint of vanilla in the black tea it adds a wonderful slight sweetness. I love it!

The black tea I used is from Sirocco and I chose to do the cold brew method. With the cold brew method you can achieve an intense flavor without having the bitterness which you can get if you steep your tea for too long. Usually the case when you use hot water. With this method you simply add your tea to your water and let it steep overnight in the fridge. 

The other version of iced tea that I tried was made with strawberry and green tea. Another insanely good combo. The homemade strawberry syrup is so fruity, especially when made with strawberries that are in season. 

I will be posting this strawberry green tea iced tea recipe soon.

1. Use a really good quality tea. It makes all the difference.

2. For this iced tea I used the cold brew method which gives a much smoother flavor so you don’t have any bitterness from over steeping. I used loose tea and infused it in water overnight in the fridge. That way I was able to get the intense vanilla flavor without any bitterness.

3. Use filtered water for the best flavor. 

1. It’s customizable: I love that you can make any version and experiment with different types of teas and flavors in general. 

2. It’s cost-effective: a big bonus is that it is much cheaper to produce at home than always buying a bottle in the store or getting one at Starbucks. 

3. It’s healthier: for one you can adjust the amount of sugar that you add and also there is no artificial flavors, coloring or additives in your homemade version. 

This recipe was inspired by ohhowcivilized.com she has an amazing collection of drinks recipe so do go check out her website. 

About 400ml water, filtered
2-3 tsp Sirocco vanilla black tea 

15g sugar
200ml water
50g fresh lemon juice
ice cubes, fresh slices of lemon 

1. For the vanilla black tea simply place the water and the black tea into a jar or other container, give it a stir and let it steep overnight in the fridge.

2. For the lemonade dissolve the sugar in warm water. Let it cool down and add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and give it a mix. 

3. Add ice cubes into your glass and then add your lemonade (about 150ml or more/less depending on the size of your glass. Add lemon slices if desired

4. Top up with the vanilla black tea infusion. Enjoy! 

You will have more vanilla black tea than needed for the recipe, but you can store in the fridge for up to 1 week.