So far as months that start with a “J” go, June has plenty to recommend it. Besides Pride Month, Juneteenth, and Father’s Day (highly significant for a family company whose name includes the phrase “& Sons”), it includes the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice and the arrival of warm summer temperatures: which is why June, since 1994, has been celebrated as National Iced Tea Month.
To celebrate this important occasion, I’m going to share a few of the ways we make iced tea easy to enjoy…whether you prefer it in pouches, bottles, cans, or brewed hot and chilled at home.
Brew Your Own: Fresh Brew Iced Teas
When the days are hot and long, a tall glass of iced tea is the most satisfying refreshment. Our Fresh Brew Iced Tea pouches are an easy and convenient way to keep your pitcher full all summer long. Most teas are available in bags of 15 pouches (with each pouch brewing two quarts each), or boxes of 50 pouches (with each pouch brewing one gallon each).
We’ve listed some of our favorites and best sellers below…but do your summer self a favor, and explore all of our many options by browsing our entire Fresh Brew Iced Tea collection!
You can’t get more classic than our Organic Plain Black (Classic Black) Fresh Brew Iced Tea. This tea’s full leaves are picked by hand, so that their bright rich body remains intact. Try adding a drop of honey before icing to enhance this brew’s sweet character.
Want to cool down southern style? Our Peach Fresh Brew Iced Tea (Paul Harney’s favorite) features exquisite notes of Georgia peaches atop a base of hand-picked full-leaf Chinese black tea.
Our wonderfully fruity Tropical Mango Fresh Brew Iced Tea starts with a rich black tea base, then complements it with juicy mango, tropical coconut, and a blend of bright pineapple and orange. This refreshing taste of the tropics is equally delicious plain or sweetened.
Already a hit in its hot tea incarnation, our Organic Green with Coconut Fresh Brew Iced Tea (a fragrant Thai-inspired blend of organic green tea, lemongrass, ginger, vanilla, and sweet coconut) is every bit as flavorful over ice.
Our Watermelon Mint Fresh Brew Iced Tea starts with a soothing green tea base, then layers in crisp mint atop juicy watermelon and strawberry flavors to create this indulgent, rejuvenating ode to all things summery.
Displaying a brilliant crimson hue, our caffeine-free Hibiscus Fresh Brew Iced Tea offers a refreshingly tart flavor along with a sweet, citrusy aroma. Some of our customers have found this brew to be a pleasant juice substitute in the mornings.
Our Indigo Punch Fresh Brew Iced Tea is just as vibrant in taste and color. This beautiful blend of raspberry, hibiscus, butterfly pea flower, rosehips, lemongrass, apple pieces offers a reddish blue hue, along with an aroma and flavor that presents notes of raspberry, citrus, and honey.
Grab and Go: Bottled Iced Teas
Love bottled drinks? Your summer is shaping up. Our line of bottled beverages includes a wide variety of ready-to-drink iced teas. Some of our most popular picks include:
Our Organic Peach Iced Tea blends organic black tea, organic honey, organic cane sugar and natural peach flavor to create a winning combination of briskness and brightness.
Green tea aficionados will be delighted by the light, crisp, and refreshing taste of our Organic Green with Citrus & Ginkgo Iced Tea. This healthful organic infusion enhances its green tea base with gingko biloba leaves, lemongrass, citrus flavor, and just the right amount of organic cane sugar.
John Harney’s first flavored black tea, Black Currant, quickly became a customer favorite. Now, we’ve made that same full-bodied flavor available as a bottled iced tea. Expect a rich, fruity aroma with flavors to match.
Want a bright, refreshing drink with no caffeine or calories? Look no further. Our Blood Orange Iced Tea steeps hibiscus flowers and apple chips with sunny blood orange peel, then adds rosehips, beet root, and the natural flavors of orange, raspberry and grapefruit.
Our Butterfly Flower Lemonade Iced Tea features the arresting blue and purple hues of Southeastern Asia’s Butterfly Pea Flower, whose exotic floral flavor blends seamlessly with our organic lemonade (sweetened with organic cane sugar).
A Taste of History: Williamsburg Bottled Iced Teas
What’s that? You want more bottled iced teas, wrapped in Early American design? Our Colonial Williamsburg collection is here to help, with packaging crafted to evoke 18th-century elegance.
Our Williamsburg Black Iced Tea is a classic choice that’s brewed strong, then sweetened with a touch of cane sugar. The result? A drink that’s clean, crisp, and as refreshing as its bottle’s artwork (inspired by historic prints from the archives of Colonial Williamsburg).
Care for a little fruit with your black tea? Our Williamsburg Peach Iced Tea leans into Southern hospitality, adding ripe peach notes that soften our tea’s briskness to create a rounder, more indulgent blend.
Lastly, there’s our Williamsburg Lemonade & Tea Juice Drink: a delicious marriage of black tea and lemonade, in which tart citrus lifts the tea’s natural depth. A beverage made for warm afternoons.
Yes We Can: Canned Iced Teas
More of a can person than a bottle person? We don’t discriminate! As long as the container has iced tea in it, we play no favorites.
For those who love the taste of black tea, but also yearn for a cool antidote to summer heat, our Organic Plain Black Iced Tea Cans gives you both, in an energizing tea sweetened with a perfect dose of cane sugar.
Our Watermelon Mint Iced Tea Cans combine green tea with spearmint and the natural flavors of watermelon and strawberry to create this crisp, refreshing, zero-calorie blend. As close as anyone will ever come to fitting three months of summer into a 12-ounce can.
Fruit lovers, rejoice. The first sip of our Organic Peach Iced Tea Cans brings the bright, delicate flavor of freshly sliced peaches…closely followed by the brisk, bracing notes of black tea.
Hot Teas That Taste Good Cold
Here’s a little trade secret: if you brew a hot tea at double strength (to compensate for dilution), let it steep, chill it, and then serve it over ice…it magically becomes “iced tea.” In our opinion, this transformation works best with brisk breakfast teas, flavored black teas, fruit-forward teas, mint teas, and quite a few green teas as well.
Below are just a few of our teas that are equally refreshing when served hot or when enjoyed over ice on a warm June afternoon.
Our English Breakfast tea is 100% Keemun: a celebrated Chinese black tea first produced in the late 19th century. This tea has enjoyed enduring popularity in the West, and a sip of our brew will tell you why…whether it’s served hot or cold.
We have Paul Harney to thank for our Horchata blend: a mixture of toasty rice, oolong tea, and cinnamon that pays homage to the creamy Mexican drink. Hot or cold, it’s a treat any time of day (or year).
Served cold or hot, our Apricot tea is a firm customer favorite that offers a sweet aroma with a strong fruit flavor. Also available as a decaffeinated brew, Decaf Apricot.
Our caffeine-free Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Tea (part of our fruit tea collection) mixes pieces of strawberries and kiwi fruit with apple, orange peel, rosehips, and hibiscus to create a memorable light-bodied blend with a cheerful red liquor.
Presenting the Perfect Iced Tea Jugs
I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that you already have a jug you can fill with iced tea. But I ask you: is it a ForLife Mist Glass Iced Tea Jug? Ours have built-in infusers that let you brew loose tea right in the jug. All that’s left is for you to serve over ice and sip!
Making a lot of iced tea? Our ForLife Mist Glass Iced Tea Jug, 68 oz (Assorted Colors) is the perfect solution. Simply fill the infuser with loose tea, fill the jug halfway with hot water, steep, remove the tea leaves, fill the rest of the jug with cold water, then serve over ice.
Made of highly durable borosilicate glass (known for its resistance to thermal shock), the jug includes a stainless-steel-and-polypropylene basket infuser, as well as a push-on lid made from stainless steel, ABS, and silicone. Both are dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, and heat resistant up to 240°F/120°C.
Our ForLife Mist Glass Iced Tea Jug, 50 oz (Assorted Colors) offers similar features in a smaller package. A 0.5-mm-hole stainless steel filter catches your tea leaves, while a double-ring silicone gasket makes sure the lid won’t fall off while you’re pouring. The jug itself is made from temperature-resistant borosilicate glass.
Need a way to keep your cold tea cold (or your hot tea hot) for hours on end? The Served Vacuum Insulated Pitcher (Assorted Colors) is your answer. These stainless steel pitchers are vacuum-insulated, copper-lined, and double-walled…plus they’re offered in a brilliant range of colors (including Tangerine, Watermelon, and Blue Lemonade).
Your Iced Tea, Your Way
Of course, there’s plenty more to know about iced tea. If you want to plunge in further, check the lore in my All About Iced Tea blog, or explore my How to Brew Iced Tea post (which gave you tips on doing exactly that). Some of you might remember last year’s Ultimate Guide to National Iced Tea Month blog, and I’ve even focused on National Iced Tea Day (which is June 10, in case it’s slipped your mind).
With so many delicious ways to enjoy tea cold, this summer is the perfect time to experiment with new blends. Grab your favorite everyday luxury in the format of your choice, and get the most out of National Iced Tea Month!
