BHA & BHT Free Raspberry Lemon Iced Tea

Total time1 hr 20 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time10 min

Tart, floral, and deeply refreshing, this homemade iced tea is the kind of drink that makes you want to sit on a porch and do absolutely nothing for an hour. Fresh raspberries are simmered down into a jewel-red syrup with maple syrup and water, then strained smooth and stirred together with brewed black tea and bright lemon juice. Every single ingredient is whole and recognizable, which matters when you're trying to avoid the synthetic preservatives that sneak into so many bottled teas, flavored syrups, and store-bought drink mixes. Making your own raspberry syrup from scratch is genuinely simple — just a few minutes on the stove and a pass through a fine-mesh strainer — and the payoff in flavor is enormous compared to anything from a bottle. The maple syrup adds a gentle, rounded sweetness that plays beautifully against the tartness of the lemon and the berry. Poured over ice with a few lemon slices and a sprig of mint, it looks like something from a café menu but costs a fraction of the price to make at home.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the tea

6 cup water
4 black tea bags
Lipton Black Tea, 8 oz Twinings of London Black Tea English Breakfast - 20 Count Twinings of London Black Tea English Breakfast Decaffeinated - 20 Count PG Tips Black Tea - 40 Count Stash Black Tea English Breakfast - 20 Count
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3 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)

For the raspberry syrup

6 oz fresh raspberries (about 1 ½ cups)
½ cup water
¼ cup maple syrup

For serving

ice, for serving
lemon 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. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags, then let the tea cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
2
While the tea steeps, combine the raspberries, 1/2 cup water, and maple syrup in the same saucepan (or a small one) over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally and pressing the raspberries gently with the back of a spoon, until the berries have broken down completely and the liquid is deep red, about 5–6 minutes.

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