This Blueberry Mint Iced Tea is so refreshing: freshly brewed black tea over ice, sweetened with a homemade blueberry simple syrup and finished with a sprig of fresh mint. You can use frozen berries instead of fresh if you want this drink when they aren’t in season.
Blueberry iced tea creates a summer mood, maybe because you can find blueberries all over. If you didn’t know about my tea obsession, you can find out more on my about me page. I am an addict (tea, that is), and my husband is a coffee addict. The good thing is we never touch each other’s stash.
As much as I love iced tea, I like to change it up a bit, and this one does the trick. You will also want to see these 21 tea flavored recipes for lots of different iced teas and foods made with tea.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 15 minutes for the blueberry syrup
- ⏳ Total Time: 20 minutes, plus cooling the syrup
- 🍽️ Serving: 1 glass, with syrup left over for many more
- ⚡ Calories: 54kcal per tablespoon of syrup
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Brisk black tea under sweet blueberry, with cool mint on the nose
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, the syrup is the only cooking
Quick Answer
Make a blueberry simple syrup: heat 1 cup of water with half a cup of sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, add 1 cup of blueberries and boil several minutes until the berries break down, then strain through a sieve and let it cool. Brew strong black tea, a Keurig pod over ice works beautifully, then stir in blueberry syrup to taste and finish with a fresh sprig of mint, more ice, and a few frozen blueberries.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Syrup sweetens where sugar cannot. Granulated sugar will not dissolve in iced tea; a simple syrup carries the sweetness and the blueberry flavor in one pour.
- Boiling the berries bursts them. A few minutes at a boil breaks the skins so the color and flavor bleed into the syrup; the sieve catches the solids for a clear pour.
- Brew the tea strong on purpose. Brewing hot directly over ice dilutes the cup, so a double strength brew lands at normal strength once the ice melts.
- Mint works as aroma, not an ingredient. A fresh sprig at the rim perfumes every sip without needing to steep; slap it once between your palms to wake the oils.
- Frozen blueberries beat ice cubes for the garnish. They chill the glass and become tea soaked snacks at the bottom instead of watering anything down.
- The syrup is a whole summer of drinks. It keeps refrigerated about two weeks and flavors lemonade, sparkling water and cocktails the same way it does this tea.
- Black tea stands up to fruit. Its tannins keep the drink tasting like tea with blueberry, instead of juice with a tea aftertaste.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A pitcher worthy upgrade to plain iced tea with one small pot of syrup.
- The syrup keeps, so one 15 minute batch flavors tea all summer long.
- Works any season. Frozen berries make the syrup just as well in January as July.
- Brew it your way: a Keurig pod over ice, bags or loose leaf; the syrup does not care.
- I don’t usually sweeten my tea, and I still love this one. The blueberry and fresh mint earn it.
- It joins a whole porch lineup with my Instant Pot blackberry iced tea, hibiscus green tea and the rest of my summertime drinks.
Key Ingredients
Five ingredients, counting the water. Quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Black Tea. I was excited to use my husband’s Keurig, the one I bought him for Christmas while trying to figure out how to get some use out of it myself, with these Black Tea pods. The newer Keurig K50 The All Purposed Coffee Maker, Black
works the same way, Lipton K-Cups, Classic Unsweetened Iced Tea 24 ct brew a clean glass, and a 40-count TEA Single Serve Cups for Keurig K Cup Brewers Variety Pack Sampler is a fun way to find your favorite. - Blueberries. One cup, fresh or frozen, boiled into the syrup. Save a few frozen ones for the glass.
- Sugar and Water become the simple syrup base.
- fresh mint.. A sprig in every glass; Fresh Mint Leaves (7 oz.) keep the fridge stocked when the garden is bare.
- Ice, and plenty of it.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
Variations & Substitutions
- Any berry works in the syrup: blackberries, raspberries or a mixed bag, same method.
- Green tea version: brew green tea instead of black for a lighter glass.
- Sparkling: top the finished glass with a splash of sparkling water.
- Lighter sweetness: start with one tablespoon of syrup per glass and work up.
- Herbal swap: basil instead of mint reads surprisingly fancy.
- Make it a party pitcher next to tea bombs for the hot drink crowd, or go all in on the cold bar with my Thai boba tea and a butterfly pea latte.
How to Make Blueberry Mint Iced Tea
- Make the blueberry simple syrup: put the water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring in the sugar until dissolved. Add the blueberries and boil for several minutes, then reduce the heat and wait until the blueberries have broken down. Pour through a sieve, strain, and let cool.
- Brew your tea strong and pour it over a glass of ice. A black tea Keurig pod brewed straight over ice is the fast route; bags or loose leaf work just as well.
- Add blueberry simple syrup to taste, a fresh sprig of mint, more ice, and a few frozen blueberries.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Brew double strength whenever the hot tea will meet ice; it lands just right after the melt.
- Cool the syrup before it hits the glass or it melts the ice and thins the drink.
- Strain while warm. The syrup pours through the sieve easily warm and sluggishly cold.
- Slap the mint. One clap between your palms releases the aroma without bruising the leaves black.
- Syrup keeps about two weeks in a sealed jar in the refrigerator; it also flavors lemonade and sparkling water.
- Nutrition note: the calorie count is for one tablespoon of syrup, so you control the final number glass by glass.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Serve it in a mason jar or tall glass with the mint riding high and a few berries at the bottom. It is the pitcher drink for porch afternoons, cookouts and baby showers, and it holds its own on an afternoon tea table as the cold option next to the teapot, with a slice of my afternoon tea cake.
For the rest of the drink board, the oat milk matcha latte covers the warm corner, the iced blueberry matcha latte doubles down on the berries, the mango detox smoothie handles breakfast, and how to brew Earl Grey is there for the purists. Everything else pours from my tea beverages archive.
Blueberry Iced Tea FAQs
Yes, for both jobs. Frozen berries break down into the syrup even faster than fresh, and a few dropped in the glass work like ice cubes that you get to eat afterward.
About two weeks in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. Make a batch and flavor iced tea, lemonade and sparkling water all summer long.
Yes. Brew the tea double strength, stir in syrup to taste while it is still warm, and refrigerate. Add ice, mint and berries to the glasses, not the pitcher, so nothing gets watery or wilted.
Not at all. Any strong brewed black tea works: bags, loose leaf or pods. The Keurig trick is just the fastest route from zero to one cold glass.
Let the brewed tea cool a bit before it meets the ice, and skip the refrigerator while it is piping hot. Quick chilled hot tea clouds; gradually cooled tea stays clear.
Yes. Simmer the blueberries in water alone and sweeten each glass with your favorite substitute, or make the syrup with a cup for cup sugar replacement.
Blueberry Mint Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 1 Lipton Black Tea Keurig pod
- Ice
- Fresh Mint
Blueberry Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Blueberries
Instructions
- Take your water and put it in a medium saucepan over medium heat, while stirring in the sugar until dissolved. Add the blueberries and boil for several minutes. Reduce heat and wait until the blueberries have broken down. Put through a sieve and strain. Let cool.
- One you have brewed your tea over ice, add some blueberry simple syrup and a fresh sprig of mint. You can add more ice and a few frozen blueberries.
@shari_lynne says
Tis the season for Ice Teas and I just love all of your fantastic ideas Candi! YUM! Also LOVE Blueberries! 🙂
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candielm says
Thanks Shari, there are a lot of choices aren't there. Its fun to create different flavors.
@sweetsvryspence says
I am a huge tea fan myself and can't wait to make this. I have a ton of blueberries right now. Can't wait! Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest board.
candielm says
Thanks, blueberries are great and so good for you.
@GirlGoneMom says
I love mint in drinks – whether tea, a cocktail or smoothie. This looks tasty!
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candielm says
It also makes it look so pretty doesn't it.
jody53 says
I'm so glad I found this on Bloggers Brag Pinterest Party! I just love anything blueberries. I can't wait to try this! Pinned.
candielm says
Thanks for stopping by, I am glad you found my recipe.
Megan says
This looks so refreshing! Can't wait to try this recipe from, looks like a great alternative to plain tea.
candielm says
Thanks Megan, it adds just a little something to your tea.
Heidi says
I'm not a tea drinker, but that sure sounds like a yummy flavor combination!
candielm says
Thanks Heidi, I think you are either a tea or coffee drinker, what is your preference?
Christina says
We have tons of blueberries on our bushes so this would be perfect! Thanks so much!
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candielm says
I have never seen a blueberry bush. I bet that would be very cool to have.
Alexis Grace says
OOOhhh– I really like the idea of a blueberry simple syrup! I am a tea fanattic as well- but typically go for an unsweeted version with a ton of lemon…
@SuperMommyClub says
I keep hearing good things about those Keurig machines – I might think about giving one as a gift for Christmas!
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KRystal says
I love the blueberries! Thanks for sharing this idea. Bonus: It's from a Keurig! Gotta love that.
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Rose Atwater says
I’ve had blueberry iced tea before but never with mint! What a great addition to the drink. I’ll have to try this out! Thanks for linking up with Delicious Dishes Recipe Party!
Shirley Wood says
As a southerner, I’ve drank a lot of iced tea but never had blueberry flavored. My brother used to make orange tea. I’ll have to share this recipe with him. Thank you for sharing with us at Merry Monday.
Tina Rai says
I am very excited to try this blueberry mint iced tea. What an excellent idea came to your mind.
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