Combine the flavors of your favorite iced tea with a hint of sweet from lemonade and kick it up with light carbonation for your new favorite refreshing summer drink.
One of the most popular drink recipes on Sometimes Homemade has been the copycat for a light version of Starbucks Iced Passion Tea Lemonade. It’s still one of my personal favorites, but I was looking for some bubbles in my life when I was kicking my Diet Pepsi addiction this winter so I mixed together a version that added in carbonated water.
You can pretty much start with any tea, carbonated soda water, and liquid lemonade drops. I make my carbonated water with my KitchenAid Soda Stream (my 2nd favorite KitchenAid appliance). I also prefer strawberry lemonade liquid flavor enhancer but I’ve also tried raspberry lemonade and regular lemonade. All good, it just depends on the tea flavor your using.
Start by steeping your tea triple strength (using 3 tea bags in one large mug of hot water). I usually do this ahead of time and just keep in the refrigerator for when I’m ready for it. You won’t want it to be hot when you’re making you are mixing your drink or it will melt your ice.
Add ice to your glass and pour tea into about 1/4 to 1/3 of your glass.
Then fill the rest of your glass with carbonated water. Squeeze in lemonade flavor enhancer to taste. In the original Passion Tea lemonade recipe, I used powdered flavor enhancer, trust me, with the carbonated water, you’ll want to use the liquid otherwise you’ll have a fizzy mess on your hands! You could also try lemonade concentrate. You won’t want to use regular lemonade though as it will not allow for much carbonation in your drink.
Stir lightly with a spoon or your straw, and you’re ready to sip (or chug).
I experiment regularly with other tea flavors, especially when I need a bit of a caffeine fix, I’ll use green tea like this pomegranate flavor.
Do you have a favorite summer beverage? I had some freshly squeezed lemonade at the Iowa State Fair last weekend, and that’s next on my list to make. I forgot how amazing fair lemonade is!
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