Simple Rooibos iced tea – Easy caffeine-free iced tea recipe
Making iced rooibos tea is beyond compare. Now when March is Caffeine Awareness Month I started to play around with rooibos more than normally and turned the mildly nutty rooibos tea into a refreshing beverage for hot summer days with some honey and zesty lemon!
Benefits of rooibos and what it is
Red rooibos leaves come from the Rooibos plant, which means « red bush » in Afrikaans. However, the leaves of rooibos are green before the oxidation process prepares them for turning red. Though rooibos is misleadingly called Rooibos tea, it is not a family with tea plants but surprisingly a pea plant native to South Africa. (Read here more about Rooibos.)
A cup of rooibos tea is more than a tasty hot beverage. Rooibos contains plenty of antioxidants that are important for boosting the immune system and preventing heart diseases and other diseases.
Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free and that is why many tea drinkers love to sip it instead of true teas late at night.
Other caffeine-free drinks to enjoy
Tips for making iced rooibos tea
- Add the honey to the hot tea, to make it melt perfectly.
- Though rooibos doesn’t get bitter as easily as loose-leaf tea, do not let it steep too long for it will have some bitter notes.
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Ingredients you need for rooibos iced tea
- Rooibos tea leaves: can be substituted with rooibos tea bags
- Honey
- Lemon: for this recipe, you’ll need both lemon juice and slices of lemon
- Water: hot water to make the tea and cold water to add after steeping
- Ice cubes
You can find the exact measurements on the recipe card.
Tools you may need
- Teacup or a small jug
- Tea infuser, tea strainer, or a regular strainer
- Pitcher
- Cutting board and fruit knife
- Glasses for serving
How to make iced tea with rooibos
The method of this iced tea recipe is to make a strong tea first with hot water and rooibos and then sweeten and season it, and cool it with more water and ice so that you can make it right before serving or in advance in the fridge.
Step one: Make the hot rooibos tea
Boil water, using an electric kettle, for example. For rooibos 95°C (203°F) is the ideal water temperature. Pour the boiling water over the loose-leaf rooibos through an infuser and let it steep for 3-5 minutes in a cup or small teapot.
Step two: Sweeten the tea
Discard the rooibos leaves and sweeten the tea with honey. The important is that you add the honey before cooling the tea to let the honey melt and mix well.
Step three: Dilute, cool and season
Pour the cold water over the sweetened tea and pour some lemon juice to add the balance. Test the flavor and add more if needed.
Step four: Store or serve
Now your rooibos iced tea is ready to be served. If you are making your iced tea for a crowd beforehand just store air tightly in the fridge and add ice cubes and garnish right before serving.
How to serve rooibos iced tea in a glass
Pour some ice and lemon slices into glasses and pour the iced tea over the ice. Enjoy right away.
How to serve rooibos tea in a pitcher
Choose a nice big pitcher, glass bowl, or glass jar, and add plenty of ice with some lemon slices. Notice that the lemon slices will still give some flavor and acidity to the iced tea, so add all right before serving not to overdo the zing of citrus.
How to store rooibos iced tea
You can store the rooibos iced tea in an airtight container in the fridge for up to about one week.
How to tweak this recipe
- If you don’t prefer honey flavor try to sweeten with dark syrup or maple syrup instead.
- Swap lemon with lime to give that oomph.
- Use your favorite flavored rooibos tea to give a beautiful twist to your rooibos iced tea.
- Add a cinnamon stick to steep with the hot tea to spice it up.
- Add some orange juice for a ore fruitier flavor.
How to make lemon ice cubes
Use the lemon ice cubes to upgrade your beautiful Rooibos iced tea! Cut lemon slices and divide them into quarters. Place one-quarter of the lemon slice into each ice cube hole in the ice cube tray and fill it with water. Cool in the freezer until solid.
Little Helper
Iced teas are so fun to make with tiny chefs. When it is to make the iced cubes or mix the ingredients little ones do love all of them. Use a huge glass jar or a large jug to make the mixing easier and less splashy than with an open bowl. Let them decorate and garnish their portions with the ice cubes and slices as they wish. A perfect summer project for little ones on a hot day during the summer months!
More iced tea recipes
Have you made some iced tea with rooibos yet?
Tag me on Instagram with @blue.tea.tile or let me know in the comments, I would love to know how your iced rooibos tea turned out!
You can find the recipe card below!
Short on time?
Pin it for later!
Rooibos iced tea
Making iced rooibos tea is beyond compare. Now when March is Caffeine Awareness Month I started to play around with rooibos more than normally and turned the mildly nutty rooibos tea into a refreshing beverage for hot summer days with some honey and zesty lemon!
Ingredients
- 200 ml boiled water
- 3 tsp rooibos tea
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 200 ml cold water (or more)
Garnish
- Ice cubes
- Lemon slices
Instructions
- Step one: Make the hot rooibos tea
Boil water, using an electric kettle, for example. For rooibos 95°C (203°F) is the ideal water temperature. Pour the boiling water over the loose-leaf rooibos through an infuser and let it steep for 3-5 minutes in a cup or small teapot. - Step two: Sweeten the tea
Discard the rooibos leaves and sweeten the tea with honey. The important is that you add the honey before cooling the tea to let the honey melt and mix well. - Step three: Dilute with water and season
Pour the cold water over the sweetened tea and pour some lemon juice to add the balance. Test the flavor and add more if needed. - Step four: Store or serve
Now your rooibos iced tea is ready to be served. If you are making your iced tea for a crowd beforehand just store air tightly in the fridge and add ice cubes and garnish right before serving.
How to serve rooibos iced tea in a glass
Pour some ice and lemon slices into glasses and pour the iced tea over the ice. Enjoy right away.
How to serve rooibos tea in a pitcher
Choose a nice big pitcher, glass bowl, or glass jar, and add plenty of ice with some lemon slices. Notice that the lemon slices will still give some flavor and acidity to the iced tea, so add all right before serving not to overdo the zing of citrus.
How to store rooibos iced tea
You can store the rooibos iced tea in an airtight container in the fridge for up to about one week.
Notes
- Check out the tips on making the rooibos iced tea.
- Make lemon ice cubes to finalize your beautiful drink!
- Adjust the recipe to your liking, find the tips under the header: How to tweak this recipe.
- Read more about the health benefits of rooibos tea from the post.
