Strawberry Hibiscus Sweet Tea Recipe

Hibiscus sweet tea is a wonderful summer treat that can cool you down on a warm day. With just a few ingredients we will show you how to make sweet tea With Lipton tea bags and add any flavor you like.

Hibiscus Iced Tea

This is one of our favorite baby shower drinks because you can not only make this flavor but many others too. Use the base of this and a variety of syrups to make all different types of flavors too for your guests. With a slice of fresh lemon this will surely quench your thirst and remind you of days in the South with your grandmother.

You only need 3 basic ingredients to make sweet tea, 2 if you want it unsweetened, and can make it sugar free with Stevia or caffeine free too. Agua de Jamaica or Flor de Jamaica known to many, this dried flower is a delicious way to enjoy the hotter months with friends on your front porch.

Hibiscus Sweet Tea

If you grew up in the South this may have been a summer drink always in your fridge. I spent a lot of time in Georgia and if you asked for tea in a restaurant they assumed you meant sweet (’cause there shouldn’t be any other way). 😉 That is when I acquired a taste for this goodness and 35 years later I still crave it on a sweaty day like today.

Southern Style Sweet Tea

If you have made regular iced tea with tea bags, or my Sun Tea Recipe before this isn’t much different other than the flowers and/or flavoring. You can add either one or both of these in your pitcher depending on how strong you want the flavor to become.

Strawberry Sweet Tea

Adding some fresh berries both mulled and fresh is a great addition to this drink and our  Strawberry Biscuit Recipe as well. I offer both options for you below. It’s great both ways it just depends whether I can find berries on sale at the store and what I feel like at the time. You could substitute for raspberries instead and boil as directed below with the sugar.

If you choose to skip this then you’ll use the full 1.5 cups of sugar into the hot hibiscus sweet tea itself. The flavoring I link to below is great. Many use them in coffee and smoothies as well. You can find a ton of different varieties of Torani syrups here so you can switch it up throughout the year.

Below are stovetop directions for boiling the water. Alternatively you could make Instant Pot Hibiscus tea by putting the water, bags and sugar inside your pressure cooker for 15 minutes. Allow for a natural release for 5 minutes and then add berry mixture if you chose to do so made separately. We share How to Cook Boba for Bubble Tea here too which is a fun add in.

Hibiscus Iced Tea Recipe

You can print recipe card for this below but here is a brief step by step of how we made it. The difference between fruit and no fruit would be like our fresh squeezed lemonade recipe and our raspberry lemonade. Both great but different for sure.

• If you are adding strawberry flavor
  • Place the strawberries, 2 cups water and 1 cup white sugar in a medium saucepan.
  • Bring ingredients and water to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • Stir occasionally, reduce heat to medium low until strawberries are well softened and liquid reduces by half.
  • Drain the strawberries using a fine-mesh sieve and set the strawberry syrup aside to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, boil 5 cups of water and then add the tea bags, then remove from heat. (add strawberries if you made them) Once the tea has cooled slightly, remove the tea bags and pour the tea into the pitcher.
• Stir in the baking soda, 1/2 c. sugar (if you added the strawberries) or 1.5 c. sugar if you didn’t add strawberry mixture
  • add in 1/3 c lemon juice if you want to add a citrus flavor.
  • Allow to cool slightly.
  • Add hibiscus simple syrup, or dried which is said to lower blood pressure, taste and adjust if you want more

It is best if you put this made pitcher into the fridge for several hours to really cool down before serving, tastes best that way.

Southern Iced Tea

You will want to buy tea bags, you can sometimes find hibiscus tea bags to further accentuate the flavor, water, sugar and dried hibiscus flowers are a nice garnish. If you just wanted a very little hint of this flavor you could steep them in the hot water and then remove after about 15 minutes.

Any way you make it you should serve over ice even after it has been chilled in the fridge for many hours for best results. Other garnishes could be a slice of fresh lemon or lime juice squeezed on the very top before enjoying.