How to make peach iced tea at home with just three ingredients and in under 30 minutes. This fruity peach tea is a delicious and refreshing drink during peach season (or all year round), using a homemade peach syrup for an iced tea that can even be made sugar-free!

I’ve never made a secret of the fact that I sometimes struggle to remember to hydrate enough with water. However, pop a glass of lemonade (or pineapple lemonade), strawberry limeade, or peach iced tea – and I’ll happily sip on it all day. This peach iced tea recipe is super simple to make and is the perfect addition to your summer beverage list for days when you need something sweet and refreshing!

I’ll admit, infused water recipes have definitely played a part in getting me to drink more water year-round, but during summer, I seem to crave sweeter drinks too – which is where options like this peach iced tea recipe and blackberry Earl Grey iced tea come to play. Not only are they wonderfully sweet and packed with flavor, but they’re still primarily water-based.

More so, it’s just the latest in my line of homemade coffee shop favorites. Like this coconut vanilla bean crème Frappuccino, iced latte or iced matcha green tea latte, homemade mocha Frappuccino, and strawberries and cream Frappuccino. When making them at home, you get to reduce the amount of sugar and unnecessary additives, save a trip, and a ton of money!

And a bonus – the method to prepare this peach iced tea recipe is also surprisingly quick and simple. Combine peaches and sugar (or a sweetener) in a pan to create a delicious peach syrup for the tea, strain the mixture, brew the tea, combine the two, and mix. Serve up with ice and optionally herbs/extra peach slices – voila!

Once prepared, enjoy this refreshing peach drink at home, BBQs, potlucks, picnics, and more! You might even want to take more advantage of the peach season with dishes like grilled peach burrata salad, homemade vegan peach ice cream, or raspberry-peach and lemon tart!

You might also like these other refreshing summery drinks like watermelon juice, Mexican horchata (agua de horchata), creamy Brazilian lemonade, or even just a simple glass of freshly squeezed orange juice!

The Ingredients

• Peaches: I recommend using fresh, ripe, sweet peaches. You could also use frozen peaches (no need to thaw first as you’ll be heating them). White peaches will also work, though the color will obviously differ.
• Sugar: to make the peach syrup. Use the sugar of your choice: cane sugar, coconut sugar, maple, honey (adjust to personal taste – each will change the flavor too).
• Tea: use the tea of your choice – loose leaf or tea bags of black tea or green tea. I like to use Earl Grey or English breakfast tea (or even a combination of the two).
• Water.

Optional Add-Ins

• Citrus peel: adding a little lemon/lime/orange peel (pith removed) to the brewing tea will add a subtle but noticeable layer of flavor to the peach iced tea. Likewise, you could also serve the peach tea with a lemon/lime wedge.
• Iced peach green tea lemonade: use green tea in the mixture, brew it strong, and then top up with lemonade/sparkling water.
• Herbs: peach iced tea tastes particularly great with mint, rosemary, sage, lemon thyme, or basil.
• Rosewater: a few drops of rosewater will add a subtle fragrance of flavor to the peach tea. Lavender added to the peach syrup (just a little) could also work.
• Alcohol: there are several types of alcohol you could add to your pitcher of peach iced tea. These include rum, vodka, whisky, tequila, or bourbon.
• Other fruits: you could also combine the peach syrup with other berries or just serve the peach iced tea with extra fruits in your cups. Like berries – raspberries, blackberries, blueberries. Other fruits like mango slices or pineapple would also work.
• Vanilla: just a little vanilla extract could help to add a little extra flavor to the peach iced tea recipe.
• Ginger: a little ginger or ginger syrup added to the drink will help to add some extra “zing” to the peach tea drink.

You could also serve this peach iced tea with boba and/or coconut jelly.

How to Make Peach Iced Tea

Step 1: Prepare the tea

First, prepare the tea. If you’re using loose leaf tea, you can use a tea strainer ball or make a little cloth parcel. Alternatively, you can use teabags.

Add the tea (black or green) and hot water to a large jug and allow it to steep while preparing the remainder of the peach iced tea.

Be careful to use a heat-proof jug at this point. Thin glass jugs can explode if boiling water is added to them.

Step 2: Prepare the peach syrup

First, prepare the peaches by washing them well and cutting them into slices. I leave the skin on as it helps with the color and reduces waste.

Add the sliced peaches to a large saucepan or skillet and heat over medium heat to soften.

Then add your sugar of choice (unless you’re using honey, which is best when kept raw), and then use a potato masher (or fork, though it will take longer) to mash the peaches.

If the peaches aren’t very juicy, I recommend adding up to a cup of water to help dissolve the sugar and prepare the syrup. I don’t add water only if the peaches are super juicy.

Bring the mixture to a soft boil while mashing the peaches and allow to boil for a minute. Then, once all the sugar is fully dissolved, it’s time to strain the syrup. I like to allow it 5-10 minutes to “infuse” and cool down slightly first, though.

You may also be able to use an immersion blender to puree the peach mixture. However, I haven’t tried this, so I’m not sure how it impacts the straining process.

Transfer the mashed peach mixture to a sieve and press with a spatula to get out as much of the syrupy juice as possible.

Chef’s Tip: Don’t throw away the leftover pulp. This can be used to prepare peach leather or add to smoothies, overnight oats, over ice cream, yogurt/granola bowls, etc. Sometimes, I just spread it over some bread with a dollop of yogurt (delicious!).

Step 3: Combine the peach iced tea

Remove the tea bags/parcel from the tea and then add the syrup, stirring well. If you’re serving it all immediately, then add ice directly to the jug. Otherwise, I recommend adding the ice to individual glasses so you don’t water down the entire batch of peach iced tea.

Optionally add some extra peach slices and herbs (like fresh mint) for serving.

How to Store Peach Iced Tea?

Make ahead: you can prepare and store the peach syrup for the tea in the fridge for between 7-10 days. You can then make individual cups too – prepare one cup of black or green tea, allow to cool, then add 1 Tbsp of the syrup to begin, increasing to personal taste (then serve with ice). You can also store the syrup in an ice cube tray in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Store: once prepared, store the peach iced tea in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. Make sure not to add the ice directly to the pitcher; otherwise, it will become watered down.

Recipe Tips and FAQs

• Can you make sugar-free peach iced tea? Yes! Feel free to use a sweetener in place of the sugar. However, the peach syrup will be thinner than when using sugar, and the taste will obviously differ slightly.
• Can I use cold brew tea? Of course, you can! In fact, using cold brew tea can help eliminate the risk of “bitterness” in your iced tea. To use the cold brew method, allow the tea/tea bags to brew in cold water for 6-8 hours/overnight.
• How much loose tea should I use? I recommend using 1 Tbsp of loose tea leaves per one teabag. This may differ for different types of tea, but I tend to use this amount.
• Adjust the sweetness: depending on how ripe the peaches are, you may need less or more sugar for the syrup.
• Adjusting the tea “strength”: if you prefer a weaker tea flavor, then simply use less tea, or allow it to steep for less time and vice versa for stronger. Over-steeping the tea can lead to bitterness; however, leaving it to steep while preparing the syrup works well for me. Though you can remove it after 4-5 minutes if preferred.
• For an even quicker version: puree the peaches before adding them to the pan to simmer and cook down with the sugar. This will reduce the cooking time by up to 10 minutes.

Other Summery Drinks You’ll Love

• Pineapple orange juice
• Bloody Mary (classic or Virgin)
• Cucumber lemonade
• Ginger pineapple lemonade
• Blueberry Frappuccino
• Vietnamese avocado shake (Sinh To Bo)
• Mango lassi
• Guava smoothie
• Lebanese Mint Lemonade (Limonana Mint)

Or browse through my complete collection of 40+ summer drink recipes!

If you try this homemade peach iced tea recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and feel free to tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!