The best herbal iced teas for spring and summer are hibiscus lime, mint limeade, butterfly pea lemonade, chamomile peach, rose lavender, nettle mint and rooibos orange ginger. Each one starts with 4 cups of boiling water poured over the herbs, steeps for 5 to 15 minutes, then gets strained, sweetened and chilled fast. Fruit, juice and bubbles go in at the glass.

Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) advises brewing herbal tea with boiling water and steeping it for at least five minutes, so that’s the floor for every tea here. If your package says longer, follow the package. Harney & Sons gives the same boiling-water, five-minute advice for herbal infusions, and Simply Recipes brews its agua de jamaica hot before chilling it.

Ingredients and Infusion Times

Each option starts with 4 cups (32 fluid ounces) water and makes four portions of strained tea, with volume losses to the botanicals. Use a heat-safe vessel holding at least 6 cups; a quart jar is too small for four cups water plus herbs. Ice and optional sparkling water are extra. Wash fresh fruit and herbs under running water.

Use products labeled for food or tea, not decorative flowers, essential oils, supplement extracts or foraged plants you can’t name with certainty. Read the species, ingredients, brewing directions and any warnings on the package, since a plant that suits one person may not suit another. The versions made with honey aren’t for babies under 12 months.

1. Hibiscus Lime Cooler

  • 1/4 cup dried food-use hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 4 small washed mint leaves, optional

Infusion time: 10 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

2. Mint Limeade Tea

  • 1/2 cup washed fresh spearmint leaves
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 4 lime wheels, optional

Infusion time: 5 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

3. Butterfly Pea Lemonade

  • 2 tablespoons dried food-use butterfly pea flowers (Clitoria ternatea)
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 2 teaspoons agave nectar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 4 lemon slices, optional

Infusion time: 5 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

4. Chamomile Peach Fizz

  • 4 single-cup pure chamomile tea bags, each labeled for 8 fluid ounces
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 1/4 cup commercially pasteurized peach juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 cup chilled sparkling water, optional, divided across 4 glasses

Infusion time: Follow the package, at least 5 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

5. Rose Lavender Iced Tea

  • 1 tablespoon dried food-use rose petals (Rosa damascena)
  • 1 teaspoon culinary lavender buds (Lavandula angustifolia)
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 2 tablespoons honey

Infusion time: 5 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

6. Nettle Mint Tea

  • 4 single-cup nettle leaf tea bags, each labeled for 8 fluid ounces
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 8 washed fresh spearmint leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 4 washed cucumber slices, optional

Infusion time: Follow the package, typically 10 to 15 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

If you like nettle, two more of our recipes go further with it: a nettle and oatstraw iced tea and a stronger nettle oatstraw infusion with red clover. Each has its own blend and steeping directions.

7. Rooibos Orange Ginger

  • 4 teaspoons loose rooibos (Aspalathus linearis)
  • 1 teaspoon dried food-use ginger pieces
  • 4 cups freshly boiling potable water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 4 washed orange wheels

Infusion time: 5 to 10 minutes. Sweetener and fruit additions come after straining.

Harney & Sons brews butterfly pea flower tea with boiling water for five minutes. Lemon juice changes its color. The chamomile and nettle versions use single-cup tea bags, because loose-leaf spoonfuls and bags don’t swap one for one. Traditional Medicinals prints brewing directions and cautions for its chamomile and nettle leaf teas, so read those for the brand you buy. Make sure your chamomile is plain chamomile and not a blend with senna, which is a laxative.

Seven glass pitchers of colorful herbal iced tea recipes including bright red hibiscus tea, green mint tea, and blue butterfly pea flower tea with ice cubes and fresh herb garnishes on outdoor table in spring sunlight
Seven herbal iced teas, each brewed hot and then chilled fast.

Shared Method

  1. Put only the selected tea botanicals into a clean heat-safe vessel. For nettle mint, include the mint with the bags. For rooibos ginger, include the ginger with the rooibos. Keep fruit, sweetener, garnishes and sparkling water separate.
  2. Pour 4 cups freshly boiling potable water over the botanicals. Cover and infuse for the option’s stated time, at least 5 minutes and any longer time required by the package. Protect hands from steam and hot glass.
  3. Strain or remove the bags. Stir in the selected sweetener while the infusion is warm.
  4. Cool promptly using a clean ice-water bath around the vessel or divide into shallow heat-safe containers and refrigerate promptly. Do not wait for the tea to cool completely on the counter. Keep covered once chilled at 40 F (4 C) or below.
  5. Add the measured juice and prepared fruit at service. For the chamomile option, stir in the 1/4 cup peach juice, divide into four glasses and optionally add 1/4 cup sparkling water per glass. For the rooibos option, divide the orange wheels among four glasses. Add optional garnishes and serve over ice.

Preparation takes about 10 minutes, plus 5 to 15 minutes of steeping and however long chilling takes. Go by temperature rather than the clock, and serve once the tea is cold all the way through. The herbs soak up some water, so four glasses come out a little under 8 ounces each.

Close-up of hibiscus tea in a glass pitcher with dried hibiscus flowers, condensation on the glass and ice cubes nearby on a marble countertop
Dried hibiscus gives the deepest red of the seven teas.

Storage and Variations

Make only what you’ll drink that day, refrigerate it promptly and finish it the same day. For tea ice cubes that won’t water down your glass, freeze a freshly made, chilled batch in clean covered trays.

For eight portions, double every measured ingredient and the starting water, using a vessel with adequate spare capacity. Keep the same infusion time; chill in smaller containers. Optional sparkling water is added at service. Do not mix botanical recipes into a new medicinal blend. An optional sweetener omission changes flavor; a juice substitution must be commercially pasteurized and used at service.

Keep the tea at 40F (4C) or below, and use a thermometer if you’re unsure. FoodSafety.gov’s rule is to throw out perishable drinks that have been out of the fridge for more than two hours in total, or one hour when it’s above 90F (32C). A pitcher sitting next to ice or in the shade isn’t necessarily cold, and tea that smells fine can still have been left out too long.

Use drinkable tap or bottled water. Filtered water can taste cleaner, but boiling is what matters for brewing. Tea bags hold different amounts from brand to brand, so there’s no single bag-to-loose-leaf conversion. Skip sun tea and long counter steeps, since every tea here is brewed hot and chilled fast.

Overhead flat lay of seven different herbal iced tea recipes in clear glasses with ice showing red hibiscus tea, purple butterfly pea lemonade, green mint tea, pink rose lavender tea, amber rooibos tea with orange slices and fresh herb garnishes on white marble
Hibiscus, butterfly pea, mint, rose lavender and rooibos teas side by side.

Common Questions

What is the best herbal tea for iced tea?

Hibiscus is the boldest: tart, deep red and good with lime. Mint, chamomile and rooibos are gentler and take well to fruit. Butterfly pea is the one people make for the color, since lemon juice changes it.

How do I make herbal iced tea?

Pour 4 cups of freshly boiling water over the herbs or tea bags, cover and steep for at least 5 minutes, or longer if the package says so. Strain, stir in the sweetener while it’s warm, then chill it quickly in an ice-water bath or the fridge. Add juice, fruit and sparkling water when you serve it.

Can you cold brew herbal tea?

The teas on this page are all brewed hot. BfR advises boiling water and at least five minutes of steeping for herbal tea, so start hot and chill afterward.

How many tea bags do you need for a pitcher of iced tea?

For the chamomile and nettle teas here, 4 single-cup bags, each labeled for 8 ounces, go into 4 cups of water. For a bigger pitcher, double everything, including the water, and use a vessel with room to spare.

How long does homemade herbal iced tea last?

Plan to drink it the same day. Keep it covered in the fridge at 40F (4C) or below until you pour it.