Artificial Food Coloring Free Cranberry Orange Iced Tea
This vibrant iced tea gets its gorgeous ruby-red color entirely from real ingredients — steeped black tea, pure unsweetened cranberry juice, and fresh orange zest — with zero synthetic dyes in sight. That's actually harder to pull off than it sounds, since many bottled cranberry drinks and flavored teas sneak in artificial colorings to boost their visual appeal. Here, maple syrup steps in as the sweetener, adding a subtle warmth that plays beautifully against the tart cranberry and bright citrus notes. The steeping process draws out deep, fragrant flavor from both the tea bags and those long strips of orange zest, so every sip tastes layered and intentional. After a couple of hours in the fridge, it chills into something genuinely refreshing — the kind of drink that looks stunning in a glass without any artificial help. Garnished with fresh orange slices and mint, it's as pretty as anything you'd order at a café, and you made it yourself with a handful of clean, recognizable ingredients.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the tea
- 6 cup water
- 4 black tea bags
- 3 strips orange zest (each about 3 inches long), peeled with a vegetable peeler
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 cup pure unsweetened cranberry juice (100% cranberry, no added sweeteners or apple juice)
For serving
- ice cubes, for serving
- orange slices, for serving (optional)
- fresh mint sprigs, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the tea bags and orange zest strips, and steep for 5 minutes, until the tea is deep amber and fragrant.
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