A glass of sweet tea is one of the most refreshing things to drink on a hot summer day--which we get a lot of down here in Texas! Learn how to make my southern style hibiscus sweet tea with just a few ingredients for a fun and flavorful way to cool down whenever you want.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my tropical hibiscus lemonade, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - Making sweet hibiscus tea is a beginner friendly recipe because you don't need any fancy tools or techniques and only a few minutes of actual effort. The longest part is chilling the tea to ice cold perfection.
Simple Ingredients - You probably have most of what you need already in your kitchen. The ingredient list is short and sweet and just below!
Fresh Hibiscus Flavor - Hibiscus, also known as zobo, sorrel, jamaíca and many other names is a West African plant that spread around the world via the Diaspora and is extremely popular for both its health benefits and it's earthy, tart, and floral flavor. Check out my natural zobo drink recipe for more history.
I am captain of the hibiscus fan club and have all kinds of pretty purple drinks to prove it like my hibiscus flower latte, hibiscus punch recipe, and homemade hibiscus ginger beer plus this bougie sparkling hibiscus mocktail.
And alcoholic beverage options abound, too, with my hibiscus old fashioned or hibiscus moscow mule. Don't forget the ginger hibiscus martini and hibiscus mezcal margaritas, either!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Dried Hibiscus Flowers provide the signature deep red/purple color as well as hibiscus flavor. I recommend using organic food grade hibiscus flowers, which you can find online, at African or Latino markets, or in the global foods sections of many grocery stores. If you can't find them, hibiscus tea bags will also work just make sure they only contain hibiscus!
Black Tea preferably Luzianne or Lipton if you want good and proper Southern tea flavor. These brands use specific tea leaves known as orange pekoe that any southerner will recognize at first sip.
Sugar - I like to use either brown sugar or cane sugar because they add a little something extra to the flavor profile with molasses, honey, and even flowery notes. But you can also use granulated sugar or another sweetener of your choice.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Alcohol like bourbon or rum works well with the flavors of this floral sweet tea. Tequila and mezcal are also solid options.
Citrus is not traditionally mixed into sweet tea the way it is with hot tea or other iced teas but you can add it into the recipe or serve alongside the tea, if you like. Use lemon, limes or oranges.
Garnishes that I like and recommend include citrus slices and sprigs of fresh mint and feel free to get creative and really make this recipe your own!
Vegan Friendly - To make hibiscus sweet tea vegan, be sure to use raw brown sugar.
You can also make hibiscus sweet tea using hibiscus syrup. Check out my spiced hibiscus simple syrup recipe to try it instead of using hibiscus flowers or even to use in place of sugar in this recipe for an extra boost of hibiscus flavor.
How to Make Hibiscus Sweet Tea at Home
Step One: Dissolve brown sugar in water and bring to a boil.
Step Two: Steep black tea bags and hibiscus flowers in boiled water.
Pro Tip #1: We're only boiling half the water to save cooling time so you can get to sipping sooner. This method essentially brews double strength or very concentrated flavored sweet tea that we'll then dilute with the rest of the water, balancing out the taste and helping it reach room temperature much faster!
Pro Tip #2: If you're using tea bags, pull or cut the strings off for less mess.
Step Three: Remove the tea from the water after about five minutes.
Step Four: Then remove the flowers after another five minutes.
Pro Tip #3: Don't even think about squeezing the tea bags! You might just be trying to get every last drop of flavor but really, this releases bitter tasting tannins that will throw off even the most well-intentioned batch of sweet tea. Just lift the bags out of the water and let them drip a bit before tossing them.
Step Five: Once cooled, transfer the tea to a pitcher or other beverage container and place in the refrigerator to chill.
Step Six: Pour the cold sweet tea over ice and add any garnishes of your choosing.
Pro Tip #4: It's better to chill sweet tea by putting it in the fridge than to add ice while still warm as the latter option waters it down and dilutes the flavor too much.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope. The flavor is actually a bit tart, similar to cranberry.
You can make sweetened hibiscus tea up to three days ahead of time.
This pitcher hibiscus tea recipe makes about eight cups of tea. To spike--or add alcohol--add one shot of liquor of your choice for every serving.
Sweet tea should be refrigerated in an airtight container, if possible, and it should keep for up to five days, though you'll likely drink it all up sooner!
Yes, and frozen hibiscus tea keeps for up to three months. I recommend pouring the tea into ice cube molds for easy storage and quicker thawing when you're ready to drink.
How to Serve Hibiscus Iced Tea
This hibiscus tea drink recipe tastes fabulous straight up (ask me how I know) but I like to serve it over ice with slices of lemon and fresh mint. You can even add a shot of your favorite alcohol for the adults. I recommend whiskey, rum or tequila.
And a red sweet tea recipe is the perfect festive drink for Juneteenth celebrations so put it on your summer cookout menu!
More Favorite Southern Recipes
I hope you'll enjoy a chilly glass of hibiscus southern sweet tea soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
The Best Hibiscus Sweet Tea
Equipment
- 1 pitcher that holds at least 64 ounces
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 8 black tea bags preferably Luzianne or Lipton orange pekoe black tea
- ½ cup dried hibiscus
- ice to serve
- 1 lemon sliced for garnish
- 8 mint sprigs for garnish
Instructions
- Add four cups of water to saucepan over medium high heat and stir in brown sugar until dissolved.
- Bring liquid to a boil then remove from heat and add black tea bags and dried hibiscus flowers to steep.
- Remove tea bags after five minutes of steeping. Do not squeeze the tea bags, simply lift them out and discard.
- Remove the hibiscus after another five minutes of steeping.
- Add remaining four cups of water to a pitcher followed by the brewed sweetened tea, stir then place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 45 minutes.
- Serve teas over ice with slices of lemon and sprigs of fresh mint.
Margo says
I haven't made this yet, but wondered if this was 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar or just loosely 3/4 cup?
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Margo! It's loosely 3/4 cup. Hope you love it!
Marsha says
Wow! This sweet tea is SO good! Honestly, it was just too gorgeous not to try out. But I really loved the hibiscus flavor and I loved how easy it was to make. Will definitely be making this more this summer.