Southern Style Sweet Fruit Tea Recipe, Three Ways - The Spruce Eats

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• Drinks & Cocktails
• Non-Alcoholic Drinks
• Teas

Southern Style Sweet Fruit Tea Three Ways By Diana Rattray Diana Rattray Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 11/6/25 Tested by Carrie Parente Tested by Carrie Parente Carrie is a food stylist and culinary producer who loves having a table full of guests. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process (47) Save Write a Review Print Close

Prep: 5 mins Cook: 5 mins Steep and Chill: 5 hrs Total: 5 hrs 10 mins Servings: 16 to 32 servings Yield: 2 gallons 47 ratings Write a Review Add a comment SaveRecipe

• Make two full gallons of refreshing fruit tea for your next cookout or tailgate.
• Southern fruit tea combines black tea with pineapple, orange, and lemonade flavors.
• Prep is fast and easy with basic pantry ingredients and simple assembly steps.

Southerners love their iced tea, and these three fruit teas are fresh and delicious alternatives. Treat your family and guests to these delicious drinks.

The basic fruit iced tea makes a big batch of two 1-gallon jugs, perfect for a family gathering or tailgating event. The pineapple tea and orange mint tea can be scaled up quite easily for a crowd.

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"I am a tea girl, a coffee girl, a seltzer girl, and a mocktail girl...you get the hint. This fun drink is perfect for quenching the thirst of your BBQ guests, kids at the pool party, and even a lazy Sunday. It makes a lot, so be sure you have a large enough container." —Carrie Parente

A Note From Our Recipe Tester Keep Screen Awake

• 18 to 24 tea bags

• 1 1/2 quarts boiling water

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 48 ounces canned pineapple juice

• 12 ounces canned frozen orange juice concentrate

• 12 ounces canned frozen lemonade concentrate

• Lemon, for garnish, optional

• Mint leaves, for garnish, optional

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Place 18 to 24 tea bags in bowl or pitcher. Pour 1 1/2 quarts of boiling water over tea bags.

3. Add 2 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Let tea bags steep in sugar water for several hours or overnight.

4. Squeeze tea bags to wring out extra flavor before discarding.

5. Pour tea into a large bowl or pot. Add cans of pineapple juice, frozen orange juice, and lemonade.

6. Stir until the concentrate has thawed.

7. Pour equal amounts into 2 (1-gallon) jugs.

8. Add cold water to each jug to fill and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Shake well before serving. Garnish as desired.

Tips

• This recipe makes 2 gallons of fruit tea. If you don't want to make such a big batch or don't have enough space or large-enough containers to hold it all, it's easy to cut this recipe exactly in half to yield 1 gallon.
• If you like things less sweet, feel free to add half the amount of sugar in the beginning. You can always add more sugar to taste after stirring in the pineapple juice, frozen concentrates and water. Be sure to stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Variations

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.

• Teas
• Non-Alcoholic Drinks
• Southern Food
• Citrus Recipes
• Pineapple Recipes

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
114	Calories
0g	Fat
29g	Carbs
1g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16 to 32
Amount per serving
Calories	114
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 4mg	0%
Total Carbohydrate 29g	10%
Dietary Fiber 0g	1%
Total Sugars 25g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 51mg	255%
Calcium 15mg	1%
Iron 1mg	4%
Potassium 220mg	5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

• Pineapple
• fruit tea
• southern
• summer

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