Name: Blackberry Iced Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 4 large or 8 small black tea bags, or 1/4 cup loose black tea; 4 cups boiling water; 2 to 3 cups cold water, as needed; 1 to 1½ cups blackberry simple syrup, cooled; 1/4 cup lemon juice; Frozen blackberries, lemon slices, and fresh mint for serving; Ice for serving

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Blackberry Iced Tea is what happens when regular iced tea gets dressed up for summer. It’s fruity, refreshing, and just tart enough from the lemon to keep the sweetness in check.

This recipe uses my homemade blackberry simple syrup, so there are no seeds or bits of berry floating around in your glass. Just smooth blackberry flavor and a gorgeous deep berry color. (I provided an alternative method to make this tea without having to use the simple syrup if making it isn’t your jam.)

Two glasses and a pitcher of blackberry tea on a white cutting board.

The nice thing about using the syrup is that you can make it ahead of time. Once it’s waiting in the fridge, a pitcher of blackberry tea takes only a few minutes of actual work. The hardest part is waiting for it to chill… and trying not to “check the sweetness” six times while it does.

🌟Ingredient Highlights

Black tea – Regular black tea gives this drink that familiar iced tea flavor. You can use 8 regular tea bags, 4 family-size tea bags, or loose black tea. Orange pekoe works beautifully, while Earl Grey adds a light citrusy flavor from the bergamot.
Boiling water: This is used to brew a strong tea concentrate. We dilute it after adding the blackberry syrup and lemon juice.
Blackberry simple syrup: (Find the recipe card below for an alternative method to make this tea without making the simple syrup). My homemade syrup is made with fresh or frozen blackberries, sugar, and water. Start with 1 cup, then add more if you want sweeter, fruitier tea. Homemade blackberry syrup can vary slightly from batch to batch, so tasting is more reliable than blindly dumping it all in.
Lemon juice: Lemon brightens the blackberry flavor and balances the sweetness. Fresh lemon juice has the brightest flavor, but bottled lemon juice works perfectly well here too.
Cold water: Add only as much as needed to bring the finished tea to 8 cups. This keeps the yield consistent even if you use a little extra syrup.
Ice and garnishes: Add the ice to the glasses, not the pitcher. Fresh or frozen blackberries, lemon slices, and mint are all pretty extras, but the tea will still taste wonderful without the full garden party floating on top.

Black simple syrup in a large glass with lemon wedges and blackberries beside it. Tea bags lay on the ceramic cutting board. — Tea Bags, Blackberry simple syrup, and lemons for the ingredients. (Sugar is not pictured here).

How to Make This Easy Blackberry Tea Recipe

Place the tea bags in a large heatproof measuring jug, bowl, or saucepan. Pour 4 cups of boiling water over them and let the tea steep for 5 minutes. (If you like stronger tea, give it another minute or two, but don’t wander off and leave it for half an hour. Black tea can become bitter when it’s steeped for too long.)
Remove the tea bags without squeezing them. Squeezing the bags can release additional tannins into the tea, which may give it a harsh or bitter taste. Let the brewed tea cool for about 10 minutes.

Black tea bags in hot water to make tea.

Remove the tea bags without squeezing them harshly. Squeezing the bags too much can release additional tannins into the tea, which may give it a harsh or bitter taste. Let the brewed tea cool for about 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup of blackberry simple syrup to a large pitcher, followed by the lemon juice and brewed tea. Stir everything together, then taste it. Add up to another ½ cup of syrup if you want more blackberry flavor or sweetness.

Adding the blackberry simple syrup to the black tea to make blackberry iced tea.

Add enough cold water to bring the total amount of tea to 8 cups. Cover the pitcher and refrigerate it for 1 to 2 hours, or until properly chilled.
Serve the blackberry tea over ice. Garnish individual glasses with blackberries, lemon slices, or fresh mint if you like. Adding the ice to each glass keeps the entire pitcher from becoming watered down before everyone comes back for seconds.

Two glasses of iced tea with a pitcher in behind them. In front there is a small pile of blackberries with mint.

Using loose tea? Use approximately 3 tablespoons of loose black tea. Steep it in the boiling water as directed, then pour the tea through a fine-mesh strainer before adding it to the pitcher.

Make It as Sweet as You Like

Blackberries can be sweet, tart, or somewhere in the middle, depending on the batch. That’s why I recommend beginning with 1 cup of syrup instead of committing the whole pitcher to maximum sweetness right out of the gate.

For lightly sweetened tea, start with ¾ cup of syrup. For sweeter, Southern-style tea, use the full amount, but it’s a smart move to taste as you go, and only add the syrup in increments.

Add any extra syrup before adding the cold water. That way, you can still bring the pitcher to the correct final volume without accidentally making enough blackberry tea to fill the bathtub.

If you make it too sweet, it isn’t ruined. Add more brewed black tea, cold water, or a squeeze of lemon until it tastes balanced again. We’re making iced tea, not performing surgery. It’s very forgiving.

How to Keep Iced Tea Smooth, Not Bitter

There are a few little things that make a surprisingly big difference:

Just to note: Use a heatproof container for brewing. An ordinary glass pitcher could crack when boiling water is poured into it.
Steep black tea for 5 to 8 minutes. Longer doesn’t always mean stronger in a good way. Sometimes it’s just bitter and honestly, we don’t have time for that.
When removing the tea bags, giving them a gentle squeeze if you like. Avoid aggressively pressing or wringing them out, as that can add a slightly bitter or astringent taste.
Let the brewed tea cool slightly before adding it to the pitcher and refrigerating it.
If the tea becomes slightly cloudy after chilling, it’s usually harmless. Compounds naturally found in tea can bind together as the drink cools. Stirring in a small splash of room-temperature water will often clear it.
If you’re serving it at a party, having it in these easy drink dispensers are not only pretty, but perfect so everyone can serve themselves exactly how much they’d like. You can also make large pitchers of the blackberry iced tea and serve it alongside other fruity and tropical drinks on a drink table.

One glass of sweet tea with blackberries on a white tray. There is a lemon in the background on the right.

Serving and Storing Blackberry Iced Tea

Keep blackberry iced tea covered in the refrigerator and enjoy it within 3 to 4 days for the best flavor. Give it a good stir before pouring because homemade fruit syrup can settle slightly as it sits.

Add mint, lemon slices, and whole berries to individual glasses instead of storing them in the pitcher. Lemon peel can make the tea bitter over time, mint may become overpowering, and softened berries eventually look a little sad. Nobody wants a gloomy blackberry staring back at them from Thursday’s iced tea.

If you’re making the tea for a party, prepare it the day before and keep it covered and cold. Set out a bowl of ice and a small plate of garnishes so everyone can finish their own glass.

You can also freeze some of the prepared tea in an ice cube tray. The tea cubes keep each glass cold without diluting the blackberry flavor, which is especially handy on a hot day.

This blackberry iced tea is simple enough for an ordinary afternoon but pretty enough for a shower, barbecue, or summer brunch. Once the syrup is made, the rest is easy… brew, stir, chill, and pour.

Did you try this Blackberry Iced Tea recipe? Did you add any other berries? How did you serve it? I’d love to know. Please leave a comment below and don’t forget to leave a ***STAR*** rating in the recipe card.

Thank you for stopping by The Salty Pot and I hope you have a wonderful day!

~Joanne

Blackberry Iced Tea

Yield: 8 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Refreshing and cool, blackberry iced tea is sweet, fruity, delicious, and tasty to cool yourself down on a hot summer day.

4.0 Stars (1 Review)

Ingredients

4 large or 8 small black tea bags, or 1/4 cup loose black tea
4 cups boiling water
2 to 3 cups cold water, as needed
1 to 1½ cups blackberry simple syrup, cooled
1/4 cup lemon juice
Frozen blackberries, lemon slices, and fresh mint for serving
Ice for serving

Instructions

Place the tea bags in a large heatproof measuring jug, bowl, or saucepan. Do not pour boiling water into an ordinary glass pitcher unless it is specifically rated for boiling liquids.
Pour the 4 cups of boiling water over the tea bags. Steep for 5 minutes. For stronger tea, steep for up to 8 minutes, but avoid squeezing the tea bags because that can make the tea taste bitter.
Remove and discard the tea bags. Let the tea cool for approximately 10 minutes.
Pour 1 cup of blackberry simple syrup into a large pitcher. Add the lemon juice and brewed tea, then stir well.
Add enough cold water to bring the total volume to 8 cups. Taste and add up to another ½ cup blackberry syrup if you would like sweeter, fruitier tea. If you add more syrup, reduce the cold water so the final volume remains approximately 8 cups.
Cover and refrigerate for 1–2 hours, or until thoroughly chilled.
Serve over ice. Garnish individual glasses with blackberries, lemon slices, or fresh mint, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

For sweeter tea: Use the full 1½ cups of blackberry syrup.

For lighter tea: Begin with ¾ to 1 cup syrup.

Using loose tea: Replace the tea bags with approximately 3 tablespoons loose black tea. Steep as directed and strain before assembling the pitcher.

No Blackberry Syrup? Combine 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, ¾ cup sugar, and 1 cup water in a saucepan. Simmer for 5–10 minutes, lightly mashing the berries, until the sugar dissolves and the berries release their juices. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and use this mixture in place of the blackberry simple syrup. Prepare the tea as directed, then add enough cold water to bring the finished tea to 8 cups.

Storage: Keep the tea covered in the refrigerator and use it within 3–4 days for the best flavour. Add mint, lemon slices, and whole berries to individual glasses rather than storing them in the pitcher.

Make-ahead: The blackberry syrup can be made up to two weeks ahead and refrigerated.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 75Sodium: 10mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 19gProtein: 0g

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.