Artificial Food Coloring Free Green Tea Citrus Lemonade
That vibrant pale gold-green color in your glass comes entirely from real green tea and freshly squeezed citrus — no dyes, no artificial enhancers, just ingredients doing exactly what they're supposed to do. Store-bought lemonades and flavored drinks are some of the sneakiest offenders when it comes to hidden colorants, so making your own is genuinely the easiest way to sidestep the whole issue. The green tea base is steeped just long enough to pull a clean, grassy flavor without bitterness, then sweetened with maple syrup for a rounded, natural sweetness that plays beautifully against the bright lemon and orange. Fresh-squeezed juice from real lemons and a whole orange gives this drink a citrus punch that no bottled concentrate can match. Everything gets strained, chilled, and poured over ice for a refreshing glass that looks as good as it tastes — a lemon slice and a sprig of mint make it feel downright fancy. It's the kind of drink you'll want to keep a pitcher of in the fridge all week.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the green tea base
- 3 cups water
- 3 green tea bags
- ¼ cup maple syrup
For the citrus blend
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 large orange)
- 1 cup cold water
For serving
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 4 lemon slices, for garnish (optional)
- 4 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat. Add the green tea bags and steep for 3 minutes, until the tea is a clear, pale gold-green color. Remove and discard the tea bags — do not squeeze them, as this releases bitter tannins.
- 2
Stir the maple syrup into the hot tea until fully dissolved. Let the sweetened tea cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes, then refrigerate until cold, at least 10 minutes.
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