This blueberry mint iced tea is a cold brew tea that requires very little work as it steeps overnight in the refrigerator. Made with a homemade blueberry syrup, it is refreshing and sweet, perfect for hot summer days.
I absolutely adore homemade iced tea. It makes long hot summer pass faster. I’ve already shared this chamomile iced tea with apricots and this nettle tea. This cold brew iced tea falls somewhere in the middle. It combines sweet fragrant blueberries with fresh smelling mint. Together they are a summer dream.
About the recipe
I make the base with cold brew mint tea, which is just water combined with tea and steeped overnight in the refrigerator. To make things easier and more convenient I’m using tea bags. You can use loose leaf mint tea instead, enough for 5 cups of tea. But nothing beats the convenience of tea bags.
I then add flavor and sweetness to the iced tea with blueberry simple syrup that is homemade. It is amazingly potent and simple to make. To do it quickly, I use pure blueberry juice from the store.
Pure juice (of any flavor) is 100% juice, with no sugar, salt, additives. It’s concentrated and very strong-tasting. All the pure juices I’ve tried so far (blueberry, cranberry, pomegranate) are very tart. You might even say they taste bad. But that just means they’re good.
You want that pure, concentrated flavor. You can drink a juice like that diluted with water, to enjoy its benefits or you can use it to make syrup, like I did.
A classic simple syrup that you use in drinks is made with one part water and one part sugar. But I made the blueberry syrup with 1 part sugar and 1 part blueberry-water mix. The end result is magic! You get a deep violet-red syrup, sweet and bursting with blueberry flavor.
The blueberry simple syrup lasts quite a while in the refrigerator. To make the blueberry mint iced tea, you just have to combine the two in a pitcher with ice. I also like to add fresh mint and some lime slices as I serve it.
More non alcoholic drink recipes to explore
- Blueberry elderflower mocktail with lime (Like a spritz but without alcohol! This goes with everything.)
- Carrot pineapple orange coolers (Really refreshing and vibrant, great with breakfast or for summer dinners.)
- Homemade tea blend recipe (Use this as a guide if you want to make a delicious summer tea with your homemade loose tea blend.)
- Watermelon coconut water (This is incredibly refreshing and great to make when there’s an abundance of watermelons.)
Recipe
Cold brew blueberry mint iced tea
Ingredients
- 5 mint tea bags
- 2/3 cup pure blueberry juice
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 limes sliced
- fresh mint
Instructions
- Pour 4-5 cups of water to a large pitcher. Add the tea bags, cover pitcher with lid and refrigerate overnight (or at least 12 hours for maximum flavor).
- Make a blueberry syrup by combining blueberry juice, sugar and 1/3 cup (80 ml) water in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- When the sugar dissolves completely, after about 1-2 minutes, remove syrup from heat and transfer it to a heatproof jar. Let cool completely, then store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To make the iced tea, first discard the tea bags. Then stir in bluberry syrup, until it dissolves and top up the pitcher with as much ice as possible. Serve iced tea over ice with lime slices and mint.