How to make tea with fruit

Pineapple Iced Tea

4 quarts boiling water

16 tea bags

2 cups granulated sugar

4 cups pineapple juice

Fresh pineapple ring halves, lemon wedges, or mint leaves, for garnish

Bring the 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the 16 tea bags to the water and then remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags (squeeze them to extract the extra flavor) and add the 2 cups of sugar and 4 cups of pineapple juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Chill before serving.

Orange Mint Tea

1 quart of water

3 tea bags

3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 cups orange juice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Fresh orange or lemon wedges and mint leaves, for garnish

Bring the 1 quart of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the 3 tea bags, 3 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves, and 3 tablespoons of sugar and then remove from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags, squeezing them to extract all of the flavor. Pour the tea into a large pitcher with the 4 cups of orange juice and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and stir to blend. Chill before serving.

Fruit tea is a staple here in middle Tennessee. Many restaurants boast the very best “Southern Fruit Tea” which is a sweetened tea mixed with a variety of fruit juices like orange and lemon. Now you can make it at home!

How to make tea with fruit

What is Fruit Tea?

Now, we’re not talking about the flavored variety of tea bags here. Nope, we’re talking about Southern Fruit Tea! It’s sweet tea (Southern staple) combined with a variety of fruit juices, almost like a fruit tea punch. But we just call it “Fruit Tea” here. It’s a Nashville staple.

First thought to have been served from Miss Daisy’s Tea Room in Franklin, TN, you’ll find variations of this sweetened fruit tea punch all over middle Tennessee. Everyone has a favorite and the loyalty is strong!

I love the fruit tea at Loveless Cafe, The Picnic Cafe in Belle Meade, and Calypso Cafe. I spent many lunches with friends at Calypso, sipping fruit tea (and their famous salads) while in college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Not only in the middle Tennessee area, but all across the South, you’ll find variations of this fruit tea. It’s always served ice cold and perfectly sweetened.

How to make tea with fruit

It’s refreshing, full of my favorite citrus flavors, and easy to make. You can tailor it to your favorite flavors (a little more pineapple here, a little less orange there – lots of possibilities). Find my favorite recipe below!

Boozy Southern Fruit Tea

Can you make fruit tea into the perfect cocktail? Absolutely! It’s one of my favorite party beverages to date.

Trust me, you’ll want to keep a pitcher of this cocktail on hand for spring and summer parties.

To make this fruit tea into a cocktail, all you have to do is simply add dark rum. I’d recommend about 1 cup of dark rum if following my recipe below (for 8-10 servings). For a tropical twist, try with coconut rum!

How to make tea with fruit

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

  • Simple Ingredients: You can find these ingredients at any grocery store! We’ve made this fruit tea on vacation in little towns at the beach and mountains, and we can easily find everything we need!
  • It’s a crowd-pleaser: This fruit tea is great for a crowd! You can also double the recipe for large parties!
  • Tons of variations: Switch it up! Add dark rum for a boozy version or simply switch it up with lime juice or even cranberry juice during the holidays.

What to serve with Fruit Tea?

Hosting a shower or party and need a few bites to eat that pair well with this tea? These are perfect! I also have lots of fabulous party recipes in my cookbook, The Southern Entertainer’s Cookbook!

For parties, I usually like to have one signature drink (like this tea) along with water and a tray of garnishes (like citrus fruits and mint). If you can’t find mint in the grocery store, I highly suggest growing your own! I have a black thumb, but I can grow mint, it’s super easy to grow and versatile as a garnish for foods and drinks.

How to make tea with fruit

How to Make Fruit Tea:

The first step is to make a simple simple tea, but with the “secret ingredient” of a cinnamon stick. The addition of the cinnamon stick gives the fruit tea that little something “extra” that will have all your friends asking for this recipe!

Be sure you don’t buy already-sweetened tea bags. Just plain black tea bags will do the trick as we will sweeten the tea ourselves.

Once you have your tea made (full recipe below), you sweeten it with sugar (yes, you can substitute in your preferred sweetener of choice) and add the following:

  • 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate thawed
  • 1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate thawed
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice

Next is chilling the tea in the refrigerator so it’s nice and ice cold to drink! Leave the cinnamon stick in while chilling and discard before serving. That’s it, easy fruit tea is ready!

This is a super simple iced fruit tea punch, and it’s great to have in your “recipe notebook” or wherever you keep recipes. It’s perfect for parties, showers, potlucks, and year-round entertaining.

Serve your fruit tea punch with anything from sandwiches and BBQ or “fancy it up” in a stemmed glass and a pretty garnish for a dinner party.

Garnishing is always a must in my book. It instantly takes things from a “drink” to a “fancy cocktail” with a garnish.

Just grab a few lemons, oranges, and a pineapple. I love how the fresh fruit infuses the drink with even more flavor too.

So find a hammock or porch swing, sit back, and sip away with this drink, y’all!

Don’t miss these other favorite drink recipes:

How to make tea with fruit

Author: Courtney Whitmore

A classic Southern staple, you'll love this refreshing fruit tea.

Print Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

  • 2 quarts water - (8 cups)
  • 2 family-size tea bag - (or 6 standard size bags)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate - thawed
  • 1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate - thawed
  • 1/2 cup pineapple juice

  • In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and add tea bags (tie strings together for easy removal later) and cinnamon stick.

  • Allow to steep for 8-10 minutes. Remove tea bags.

  • Add sugar and stir to dissolve.

  • Stir in orange juice and lemonade concentrates as well as the pineapple juice. Pour fruit tea into pitcher, cinnamon stick included. Chill until cold. Discard cinnamon stick before pouring.

  • Pour fruit tea over ice and garnish with fresh citrus slices and mint sprigs. Enjoy!

Garnish your Southern Fruit Tea with any of the following:

  • mint sprigs
  • orange slices
  • lemon slices
  • pineapple wedges
  • cinnamon sticks
  • maraschino cherries

Calories: 163kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 14mgPotassium: 152mgFiber: 1gSugar: 40gVitamin A: 69IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg

How to make tea with fruit