Sweet, fruity, and perfectly refreshing, this homemade peach iced tea is the kind of drink you’ll want to sip all summer long.
It’s made with real peaches, black tea, and just the right amount of sweetness thanks to an easy homemade peach syrup. Pour it over ice, garnish with a few peach wedges, and enjoy!
Whether you’re cooling off on a hot afternoon or making a big batch for a cookout, this recipe is as simple as it is delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Peach Iced Tea
Naturally flavored – Made with real peaches and a homemade peach syrup for fresh, juicy flavor.
Easily customizable – Adjust the sweetness or tea strength to taste.
Party-friendly – Great for making ahead in bigger batches for BBQs, showers, or summer gatherings.
Budget-friendly – Especially affordable when fresh peaches are in season or on sale.
So refreshing – Poured over ice with peach slices, it’s the definition of summer in a glass.
Ingredients Needed
- Black tea bags – I use Lipton family-size tea bags, perfect for iced tea.
- Peach syrup – Fresh peaches + granulated white sugar for making the syrup.
- Filtered water – Clean water makes a noticeable difference in taste.
- Ice – For serving.
Shopping Notes
Peaches – Fresh peaches are best when in season, but frozen work just fine for the syrup.
If preferred, you can use a store-bought syrup like this Torani peach syrup in place of homemade peach syrup.
Tea – Traditional peach tea is made with black tea, but green tea, white tea, or even an herbal tea like passion can work too.
Tea Bag Tip
Family-size iced tea bags are perfect to keep on hand for easy summer brewing! Each one equals about 4 regular tea bags, so they’re super convenient when making large batches of iced tea.
If you only have standard-size tea bags, just use 4 for every family-size bag the recipe calls for.
How to Make Homemade Peach Iced Tea
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
Quick Steps
- Make the peach syrup
- Brew the tea
- Combine tea and syrup
- Chill and serve
1. Make the peach syrup (15 minutes)
- Add sliced peaches and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain the peach juice through a fine mesh sieve into a heat-safe bowl or measuring cup, pressing lightly on the fruit to extract more juice.
- You can weigh the liquid at this point and stir in an equal amount of granulated white sugar by weight (this gives the most accurate sweetness). If you’re not weighing, stir in about 1¼ cups of sugar.
- Pour the peach juice and sugar into a clean saucepan and return to medium heat. Stir just until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Want more details? Check out my full post on how to make homemade peach syrup.
2. Brew the tea (5 minutes)
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, then steep 2 family-size black tea bags for 5 minutes. Remove the bags, let the tea cool slightly, then transfer to a pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water.
Watch your brew time – Only steep black tea for about 5 minutes to prevent it from turning bitter.
3. Combine the tea and syrup
Stir in the peach syrup to taste. Start with 1 cup for a half gallon, but feel free to adjust for additional sweetness and flavor. You can also sweeten by the glass if you’re serving guests who like different levels of sweetness.
Tip: Making this for a group? You can stir the syrup into the whole pitcher or let guests sweeten their glass to taste. Either way works!
4. Chill and serve
Let the tea chill in the fridge or place the pitcher in an ice bath if you’re short on time. Serve over ice with peach wedges or mint sprigs, if you like.
Recipe Notes
Make ahead – Both the tea and the peach syrup can be made in advance and stored in the fridge.
Don’t dilute! – Skip adding ice directly to the pitcher. Instead, pour the tea over ice when serving to avoid watering it down.
Peach tea ice cubes – For parties, freeze extra peach tea into cubes. They’ll keep your drink cold without changing the flavor as they melt.
If using a different tea – Green, white, and herbal teas can all work, but be mindful of their water temperature and steeping time.
Most don’t do well in boiling water, so it’s worth checking the label for the best steeping temp and time. This Cuisinart electric kettle has built in temp setting buttons. I use mine every single day!
More Iced Tea Recipes to Try
If you love fruity iced teas, here are a few more refreshing ideas:
- Strawberry Iced Tea – Made with real strawberry syrup for a sweet and summery twist. You can also check out my homemade strawberry syrup recipe to use in other drinks.
- Raspberry Iced Tea – Tart, sweet, and perfect for berry season. The raspberry syrup recipe is great to keep on hand for cocktails and other drinks, too.
- Hibiscus Iced Tea – A bold, tart herbal tea that’s as pretty as it is refreshing. For something with a citrusy kick, try hibiscus lemonade too!
Homemade Peach Iced Tea
Ingredients
For the Peach Syrup
- 4 peaches, washed and sliced
- 1 cup water, preferably filtered
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
For the Peach Iced Tea
- 2 tea bags, family size (or 8 regular tea bags)
- 8 cups water, divided
- 1 1/2 cups peach syrup
- ice, to fill glasses
- sliced peaches, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the peach syrup. Wash peaches and cut into 8 wedges each. Bring peaches and water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, strain peach juice into a heatproof container, pressing gently to extract all the juice, Rinse the saucepan to remove any bits of peach pulp. Return the juice to the saucepan and add sugar over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved (about 1 minute), then remove from heat and set aside to cool. Here's my detailed peach syrup recipe with guided pictures.
- Brew tea concentrate. While the peach syrup is simmering, boil 4 cups water and pour over tea bags in a heat-proof container. Steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and pour tea into a pitcher. Add 4 cups cold water. (For stronger tea add less water. For peach iced tea lemonade, add 4 cups lemonade in place of the cold water.)
- Make pitcher of peach iced tea. When the peach syrup has cooled, stir it into the tea. (For stronger peach flavor, add in a small amount of peach extract.)
- To serve: Add ice to glasses and fill with iced tea. Add-in peach wedges (I like to use frozen peaches for this), and garnish each drink with a peach wedge.
Notes
Make ahead: Both the tea and peach syrup may be prepared in advance. You can keep them separate and combine when you make a dink, or mix both together at once.
Stronger black tea: For stronger tea, use additional tea bags or less cold water, but don't steep beyond 5 minutes. This will make your tea bitter.
Peach Iced Tea Lemonade: For a citrusy twist, sub in iced cold lemonade for the 4 cups cold water.
Single serving: Don't need an entire pitcher of peach iced tea? Simply steep 2 normal size tea bags in 1 cup boiling water for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags, add in 1 cup cold water, and stir in 3 tablespoons of peach syrup. Chill, then pour over ice.
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