Lemonade iced tea made with sun tea
Skip the store-bought drink mixes and make a pitcher of fresh lemonade iced tea at home. This easy summer drink combines smooth, sun-brewed tea with tangy homemade lemonade for a refreshing twist on a classic Arnold Palmer. It’s simple to make, perfect for backyard cookouts, and one of the best ways to cool off on a hot afternoon.
I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
You may also be interested in my strawberry Arnold Palmer and my lemon thyme lemonade recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my drinks in one place.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
🍋 Easy to make ahead – Lemonade iced tea will keep for days in the refrigerator.
🍋 Great for entertaining – Make big batches for outdoor parties or BBQ’s.
🍋 Uses pantry ingredients – Sugar, water, tea and a few lemons are all you need.
Pook’s Pantry participates in affiliate programs. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.
Lemonade Iced Tea
Growing up, summertime was all about pitchers of sun tea and lazing around in the sun, usually slathered in baby oil, with Sun-In in our hair. While we no longer bake in the sun and spray our hair, sun tea with lemonade is still very much a part of our summer rituals.
Everything You Need to Know About Sun Tea
- What is sun tea? Sun tea is made by steeping tea bags in water in direct sunlight, creating a smooth, refreshing brew without boiling water.
- How many tea bags should I use? Plan on about 1 tea bag per cup of water, adjusting to your preferred strength.
- How long should it steep? Depending on the sunshine and desired strength, 3 to 5 hours is usually enough.
- Is it safe? Traditional sun tea is brewed at low temperatures, so some food safety experts discourage traditional sun tea because the water may not reach temperatures high enough to inhibit bacterial growth. You can achieve a similar flavor by cold brewing tea in the refrigerator for roughly 5 – 6 hours, or by brewing hot tea, then letting it cool. If you make sun tea, use clean equipment and refrigerate it promptly after steeping.
Whether you choose sun tea, or cold brewing, the slower extraction makes for a milder, smoother glass of tea than pouring boiling water over the tea.
Ingredients
- Tea – Plan on 8 – 16 bags of black tea per gallon, depending on length of brew time and strength of tea.
- Substitutions: You can use more or less tea to suit your preferences. You can use loose tea instead of bags – keep in mind, you’ll need to strain the tea.
- Sugar – Just a touch to sweeten the tea, add more or less to taste.
- Lemons – You’ll need 3 or 4 lemons for a gallon of tea.
- Filtered water – For best results, use filtered water. I use a ZeroWater pitcher or bottled water, as our tap water isn’t great.
- Ice – We want our tea well chilled.
How to Make
Here’s a quick summary of how to make this easy pitcher drink for summer. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.
For this lemonade tea, you’ll need to juice a few lemons (please do not use bottled lemon juice). This is the electric citrus juicer that I bought a few months back.
- To make sun tea, you’ll need a one gallon glass jar. This is the same jar I have and recommend. It has a screw top lid, so nothing can get inside while it’s sitting outside. Fill your glass jar with filtered water, add 8 tea bags and put the lid on the jar. Make sure it is screwed on tightly because it will be sitting outside for a few hours.
- While the tea is brewing outside (or in the refrigerator), make a simple syrup to sweeten the tea.
- When the tea has brewed to your liking, bring it inside and add the sugar syrup and lemon juice. I prefer to use a plain jar for brewing and then transfer the tea into a glass pitcher for serving tea.
- Pour over plenty of ice, garnish with lemon wedge, and enjoy.
FAQ’s
It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Give it a stir before serving if it has been sitting.
An Arnold Palmer is the classic combination of iced tea and lemonade. This version uses homemade lemonade and sun-brewed tea for a smooth, fresh summer drink.
You can, but freshly made lemonade gives the drink a cleaner, brighter flavor and lets you control the sweetness.
Best lemonade to tea ratio
The best ratio for iced tea lemonade is the one that tastes best to you. Here’s a quick reference guide to help you decide.
| Tea | Lemonade | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 1:1 | Classic Arnold Palmer flavor |
| 2:1 | 1 part lemonade | More tea-forward |
| 1:2 | 2 parts lemonade | Sweeter, citrus-heavy |
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Which Teas Work Best for Arnold Palmers
- Choose black tea for a classic flavor.
- Orange pekoe makes a lighter tea.
- Brew green tea for a milder drink.
Variations and Substitutions
- Herbs – Add a sprig of basil or mint to bring an herbaceous note to this sun tea recipe.
- Sweetener – If you prefer to use a sugar alternative, agave or date syrup is a great option.
- Popsicles – Consider freezing in popsicle molds to make Arnold Palmer popsicles.
Serving Suggestions
Having a BBQ this summer? This Arnold Palmer recipe is right at home with summer foods or anything coming off the grill. Try it with:
Helpful Tools and Equipment
- a 1 quart saucepan to make simple syrup (sugar syrup)
- tall highball glasses for serving tea
- a long spoon for stirring – these spoons are beautiful!
- your favorite tea
- yellow and white striped paper straws
Please Share
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! I hope you love this citrus iced tea recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting.
Your shares help this site to grow and I appreciate it so much. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.
Lemonade Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 8 – 12 tea bags If you like your tea STRONG, you can use up to 16 bags.
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice from 3 – 4 lemons
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 gallon filtered water
- lemon slices for garnish optional
- ice
Instructions
- Fill a one gallon glass jar with 15 cups of water (one gallon, minus 1 cup) and place 8 tea bags inside. (Use 12 bags for medium strong tea, up to 16 for REALLY strong tea.)
- Tightly screw the lid on the glass jar and it outside in direct sunlight for 3 – 5 hours. *The longer it steeps, the stronger the tea. (Keep in mind when the sun moves, you may have to move your jar.)
- While tea is brewing in the sun, combine ½ cup of sugar with remaining cup of water in a small saucepan.
- Bring sugar and water mixture to a simmer for 4 – 5 minutes, or until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.
- When tea has reached desired strength (you can tell by color), bring it inside and remove tea bags. Add cooled sugar syrup and fresh lemon juice to tea and stir to combine.
- Serve over ice in tall glasses with lemon slices, if desired.
- Refrigerate remaining tea for up to 3 days.
Chef’s Notes
- Tea bags can be composted, if you have one.
- If you are COLD BREWING tea in the fridge, don’t leave the tea bags in longer than 24 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. Use your preferred nutritional calculator using the products and brands you are using for exact information.
Buy me a coffee? If you ever wondered how you can lend a hand, show a little support or just say “thanks” for the recipes? You can “buy me a coffee” to help me keep the free recipes coming.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂
Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe (other than for personal use) without prior written permission. Thank you!
Originally published 5/27/20, most recent update 6/19/26.