Rose sweet iced tea is a fresh, floral take on the traditional summer sweet iced tea drink. Using black tea, plenty of ice, and homemade rose syrup, you get a beautifully refreshing drink to enjoy by yourself or with friends at your next gathering.
Sweet tea is an iconic summertime drink. If you’ve ever taken your first sip of sweet tea while sitting on a porch on a hot summer afternoon to supervise backyard shenanigans, you know exactly what type of joy that first sweet, sweet first sip brings to your soul. Cool, refreshing, and decadent. To me, it tastes like relaxed happiness when the hot weather makes me grouchy. (Does anyone else get grouchy when it gets blazing hot?)
Related: This summertime drink is mellow compared to lemonades and other mocktails. It's a nice drink pairing for Easy White Chicken Chili.
Why You'll Love It
- This can be made in large or small quantities, so you can serve a large group or make a single serving for yourself when the mood strikes.
- It’s a fresh take on a classic drink, which brings an element of novelty to a traditional drink.
- It can be made and chilled in advance, which frees you up to focus on other hosting preparations.
Ingredients
- Homemade rose syrup - this is how you will sweeten the tea, so you won’t need additional sugar.
- Plain black tea - this should be regular strength, plain black tea, brewed and cooled before you add the rose syrup. Don’t use black tea that has any added flavoring. So don’t use Earl Grey, English Breakfast, or Irish Breakfast. Lipton is a great brand to use. You can get the instant tea variety or the tea bags. Lipton makes a gallon-sized tea bag, which is extra convenient if you make iced tea frequently.
- Rose water - Rose water will not add any taste to the tea, but it will greatly enhance the flavor of it. See the Ingredients section of my Rose Lemonade recipe to learn more about taste versus flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
If you want to offer a variety of ways to add unique flavors to the classic sweet tea, you can serve unsweetened tea alongside various flavored syrups, such as Rosemary Simple Syrup or Sage Simple Syrup (my personal favorite for sweet tea if rose isn't an option).
If you need a decaffeinated tea for dietary preferences, Lipton has a Decaffeinated selection.
Tips
Make sure that you leave yourself enough time to brew and cool the tea ahead of time. It can be done 1-2 days ahead of time.
The rose syrup should be made ahead of time as well. However, you shouldn’t mix them until an hour or so before serving the drink.
Hosting Tip
To appeal to more guests' personal sweetness preferences, lightly sweeten the tea with rose syrup. Then, provide additional rose syrup in an easy-to-pour bottle so your guests can adjust the overall sweetness level of their individual drink.
Pairings
Rose Sweet Tea is perfect for breakfast or lunch. If you're looking for ideas on what to serve for breakfast or brunch, here are some suggestions:
📖 Recipe
Rose Sweet Iced Tea
Equipment
- Large pitcher
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rose simple syrup
- 5 cups black or green tea cooled
- Juice from one lemon
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and serve.
- Optional: Garnish with a lemon peel twist or small lemon slice.
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