When that summer sun just won’t quit, you need a drink that hits different. Forget those sugary mixes that taste like cough syrup mixed with water! Trust me, I spent way too many afternoons experimenting before I landed on this absolute winner. This is, hands down, the simplest, most refreshing **Cherry Iced Tea** you will ever bother making, and I guarantee it will be your new go-to pitcher drink.

I stumbled onto the perfect ratio years ago when I was trying to use up some leftover cherry juice concentrate. I thought it would be too thick, but when I paired it with a nice, robust black tea base, the flavors just exploded! It’s that perfect sweet-tart sip that chills you right down to your toes. You’re going to love how quick this comes together before you even have to wait for it to chill.

Why This Simple Cherry Iced Tea Recipe Works (Expert Tips)

People always ask me why my **Cherry Iced Tea** tastes a million times better than the store-bought stuff, and honestly? It’s the efficiency of this method. We skip the messy work of simmering whole cherries, which can sometimes taste bitter or need fussy straining. Using concentrate is my secret weapon; it packs a huge punch of true cherry flavor quickly.

You’re brewing a strong base, then cutting it with two cups of cold water. This technique locks in that deep black tea flavor so it doesn’t get washed out by the cherry sweetness once it chills down. It’s all about the balance here, folks. You need that tannic backbone from the tea to stand up to the fruit.

We use a quick boil and steep, which is faster than cold-brewing but gentler than boiling the leaves right in the juice concentrate.
The one-two punch of cherry concentrate and granulated sugar gives you control over the final taste profile.
Chilling is non-negotiable! That hour in the fridge lets the flavors marry properly.

Achieving the Perfect Cherry Iced Tea Sweetness Balance

Listen up: cherry juice concentrate sweetness levels vary wildly! Some brands are tart little devils, and others are practically syrup. Before you chill your tea, take a small sip. If it tastes bland, add sugar a tablespoon at a time. If it’s already perfect when warm, you might even skip that granulated sugar entirely. Always taste before the long chill!

Steeping Guide for Optimal Black Tea Flavor in Your Cherry Iced Tea

Five minutes is the sweet spot for a medium-strength tea that complements the cherry. If you like a really robust, almost smoky tea to cut through the fruit, go ahead and steep for seven minutes. Don’t go past eight, though, or you’ll pull out too much tannin and your tea will taste dry and bitter. We want refreshing, not astringent!

Ingredients for Your Refreshing Cherry Iced Tea

Okay, this is where we keep things super simple. You don’t need anything crazy here—just the basics to create that vibrant, delicious homemade iced tea flavor profile. I always keep these staples tucked away for emergency thirst-quenching sessions!

You’ll need:

Four cups of water total, but we split that up, so pay attention!
Four black tea bags—use whatever good quality bags you have on hand.
About half a cup of that concentrated cherry juice; this is where the real flavor comes from.
A quarter cup of sugar, but you can mess with this later.
Plenty of ice cubes ready to go, naturally!
And if you’re feeling fancy, grab some fresh mint sprigs for garnish. It makes those glasses look incredible.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Cherry Iced Tea

Making this drink is so straightforward, you won’t believe you haven’t been doing it this way forever! We’re going to handle the tea first, making sure we pull out all that lovely caffeinated goodness without making the final **Cherry Iced Tea** taste muddy. You’ll want to move quickly once the hot water is out of the equation.

When you’re done, you’ll have a perfect, ready-to-chill liquid base. If you want to know more about keeping hydrated during the dog days of summer, I always point people back to this great guide on keeping your electrolytes up, even with a little sugar in your drink. It’s all about balancing hydration when the heat is intense!

Brewing the Black Tea Base for Cherry Iced Tea

Grab a small saucepan—nothing fancy needed here. Bring two cups of your water just to a rolling boil, then immediately pull it off the heat. Seriously, take it away from the burner! Then, toss in your four black tea bags. I let those steep quietly for exactly five minutes. This is the most important timing step. Once five ticks pass, fish those bags out immediately and toss them away.

If you leave them sitting longer, those tannins start leaching out, and trust me, bitter tea ruins the whole cherry experience. We want clean, sharp black tea flavor here!

Mixing and Chilling Your Cherry Iced Tea

Now for the fun part! With the hot tea base clear of bags, pour in your sugar and that bright red cherry juice concentrate. Stir it vigorously until you cannot feel any sugar grit on the bottom of the pan—it has to be totally dissolved, or it’ll just settle later. Once smooth, pour this warm, sweet mixture into your serving pitcher. Then, add the remaining two cups of cold water.

Give it one final stir and cover it up nice and tight. This part takes patience! You need to pop that pitcher in the fridge for a minimum of one hour. I usually forget about it until the next day, which makes it even better when you finally pour it over icy cold glasses later on.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Cherry Iced Tea

You absolutely must taste your mixture before it goes into the fridge, as that note about sugar is critical for this **Cherry Iced Tea**. If your cherry concentrate is super sweet—maybe it’s one of those really syrupy cocktail mixes—you might cut down that quarter cup of sugar entirely! Another thing that really bumps up the flavor, speaking of sugar and fruit, is the natural sugar content in fruits, which you can read about here if you’re curious about the surprising sugar content of fruits.

Don’t forget the fizz option! If you swap those two cups of cold water for cold sparkling water right before serving, you get a totally different, fizzy experience. It makes it feel extra fancy! For the best black tea, skip the generic dusty bags and look for a quality Ceylon or Orange Pekoe blend. They hold their brightness much better after chilling.

Serving Suggestions for Your Homemade Cherry Iced Tea

A perfectly balanced pitcher of this pink delight just begs for the right snack nearby! Because the tea is refreshing but has that lovely fruit edge, it pairs shockingly well with salty things. Think about serving it alongside crisp potato chips or maybe some buttery pretzel bites.

For something sweeter, it’s amazing beside a plain, buttery shortbread cookie. If you’re looking for a recipe centerpiece, check out these amazing cookies that are perfect for any casual get-together I found here. And seriously, don’t forget that garnish! Even one little sprig of mint makes the whole presentation pop.

Storage and Reheating Instructions for Leftover Cherry Iced Tea

This lovely **Cherry Iced Tea** keeps really well! I find it tastes best within three days tucked away in a sealed container in the fridge. Because we mixed sugar in while it was warm, sometimes things can settle a tiny bit when it gets super cold. Before you serve any leftovers, give that pitcher a solid, good stir to remix everything.

If you keep it longer than four days, the tea flavor might weaken a bit, but it’s still safe! Just pour over fresh ice, give it a good shake in a cocktail shaker if you have one, and enjoy that blast of cherry flavor all over again.

Frequently Asked Questions About Making Cherry Iced Tea

I get so many questions whenever I make a batch of this drink! It proves you all love a good, easy, refreshing beverage. Here are the most common things folks ask me when they try to whip up their own batch of **Cherry Iced Tea** for the first time.

Can I use fresh cherries instead of concentrate for this Cherry Iced Tea?

Oh, absolutely you can, but it takes more elbow grease! If you want to use fresh or frozen sweet cherries, you’ll need to simmer about a cup of them with a half cup of water and your sugar until they break down completely—maybe 10 minutes. Then you MUST strain that mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pushing down on the solids. It won’t be as intensely flavored as the concentrate, but the freshness is divine!

What type of black tea works best for homemade iced tea?

For any **homemade iced tea** where you are adding strong flavors like cherry or lemon, you need a black tea that won’t disappear into the background. I always recommend something bright and citrusy like a Ceylon tea. Orange Pekoe grades are fantastic because they have a clean, brisk finish that stands up beautifully to chilling and mixing without getting dull. Avoid anything too earthy or smoky, as that clashes a bit with the cherry.

If you’re looking for something totally different and want to take your tea focus to dessert territory, I found the sweetest recipe for a tea party cake recently that uses an Earl Grey infusion!

Estimated Nutritional Information for Cherry Iced Tea

Just a little heads up about the numbers floating around regarding this tasty drink. Since everyone sweetens their batch differently—and cherry concentrates vary so much from brand to brand—any nutritional data is just an estimate! The calories and sugar content I usually calculate are based on using the full quarter cup of sugar, but seriously, adjust that sweetness to your liking.

Please treat these figures as a general guideline only, not a strict label requirement. You are in charge here!

Share Your Perfect Cherry Iced Tea Creation

That’s it! You’ve got the simplest, most amazing **Cherry Iced Tea** recipe in your hands now. I truly hope you love it.

When you make a pitcher, please come back and tell me how you liked it! A star rating (out of five!) helps other folks decide. Even better, snap a picture and tag me on social media! If you need to get in touch about substitutions or questions, you can always find my contact page here: reach out anytime!

Simple Cherry Iced Tea

Author: ferecipe.com
Total Time: 65 min
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

A refreshing homemade iced tea flavored with cherry.

Ingredients

Scale

4 cups water
4 black tea bags
1/2 cup cherry juice concentrate
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
Ice cubes
Fresh mint sprigs for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
Remove the water from the heat and add the tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes.
Remove the tea bags and discard them.
Stir in the cherry juice concentrate and sugar until the sugar dissolves completely.
Pour the tea mixture into a pitcher. Add the remaining 2 cups of cold water.
Chill the tea in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Serve over ice cubes and garnish with mint if desired.

Notes

Adjust the amount of sugar based on the sweetness of your cherry concentrate.
For a stronger tea flavor, steep the tea bags for a longer period.
Use sparkling water instead of still water for a fizzy version.

Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 5 min
Category: Beverage
Method: Stovetop/Chilling
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 75
Sugar: 18g
Sodium: 5mg
Fat: 0g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 19g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: cherry iced tea, black tea, homemade iced tea, refreshing drink, cherry flavor