Blueberry Basil Iced Tea

Tea before bed has always been a ritual for my wife and me. We have a go-to chamomile tea we prepare before calling it a night. However, I’ve been craving iced tea. Specifically peach iced tea. But in this month’s issue of Food Network magazine, there were a handful of iced tea recipes. Their Blueberry Basil Iced Tea looked so good.

This peach iced tea craving, though, hit me hard. I was never team peach, other than needing to save her from Bowser. But lately, I’ve been craving peach tea, margaritas, candy, etc. I don’t know why. So when I saw this blueberry basil iced tea, I wanted to try something other than peach!

I’ve never made iced tea from scratch. When I looked at the label of the iced tea I was drinking, I was floored by the amount of sugar in it. That’s what also got me looking for a homemade iced tea.

Just sitting on your porch on a warm summer night, drinking blueberry basil iced tea.

This tea is refreshing. Like a-hot-summer-day-I-need-something-to-cool-me-down, refreshing. However, I’m skeptical when it comes to blueberry-anything. I love blueberry muffins, but I dislike blueberry pancakes. I’m 50-50 when it comes to eating blueberries on their own. But the blueberry in this blueberry basil iced tea does not bother me because I think this is a texture (vs. taste) thing. And the basil? It really grounds this drink with an earthy, yet refreshing vibe.

Adding herbs to drinks has been an ongoing experiment. We made rosemary ginger margaritas, we used basil in these watermelon margaritas and these peach margaritas. At our son’s first birthday party we made two fruit and herb infused water.

What I love about making your own iced tea, is how easy it is! Just boil some water, add blueberries, basil, sugar, and then steep. Super simple!

Print Recipe

Blueberry Basil Iced Tea

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By Food Network – Serves: 6-8

Prep Time: 5 minutes – Cooking Time: 15 minutes – Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup blueberries + more for garnish
• 1 cup basil leaves + sprigs for garnish
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 12 white tea bags
• 3 cups cold water (save for the end)

Instructions

1

Bring 4 cups water to a boil with 1 cup blueberries, 1 cup basil leaves, and 5 tbsp sugar.

2

Stir to dissolve the sugar.

3

Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

4

Add 12 white tea bags and steep 5 minutes.

5

Strain into a pitcher while gently pressing on the solids.

6

Stir in 3 cups cold water.

7

Chill.

8

Serve over ice, blueberries, and garnish with basil sprigs.