Craving a Southern sweet tea that’s refreshing, fruity and not overly sweet? This Southern Fresh Raspberry Sweet Tea is made with whole food ingredients, naturally sweetened with honey and bursting with vibrant raspberry flavor.

As a kid, I fell in love with sweet tea at my southern grandma’s table. She served it with cheese and crackers and I savored it like lemonade with a twist.

this RECIPE

Decades later, I wanted to recreate that nostalgic flavor — but without the cane sugar, artificial colors or mysterious “natural flavors” found in store-bought iced tea.

This raspberry version captures all that vibrant nostalgia — but it’s made with real food: honey for sweetness, true red raspberry leaf tea and fresh raspberries for flavor and beautiful color. It’s a thirst‑quenching, healthy twist on a summer classic. The kind that embodies the blissful summer I wish we had more of — the slow-paced kind, filled with stillness, simple joys and time to just be.

Why You'll Love This Raspberry Iced Tea

This isn't your average store-bought powdered iced tea mix or popular bottled sweet tea. Those drinks are packed with refined cane sugar and have flavorings that claim they're “natural” — but they're not. This healthier southern fresh raspberry sweet tea is completely made from scratch with simple, real food ingredients like herbal tea, raspberries and honey.

• Simple: Made without any "natural flavors" and weird additives, this raspberry iced tea is so easy to make with just a handful of real food ingredients.
• Flavor: This sweet tea is lightly tangy and slightly sweet with vibrant color and freshness from the raspberries.
• Healthy Sweet Tea: Delicate and perfectly sweet, this delicious iced tea is made healthier with pure, unrefined raw honey and brewed with caffeine-free herbal red raspberry leaf tea for wellness. It's totally thirst-quenching — like sipping summer sunshine on ice.

This fresh raspberry sweet tea is perfect for spring and summertime. It’s a beautiful drink to serve for brunch or afternoon tea and extra special for picnics, potlucks, BBQs or anything fun and festive.

Raspberry Sweet Tea Recipe Equipment

• Medium-Large Saucepan: A saucepan is needed to make the fresh raspberry sweet tea. You’ll want to make sure to use a pot that has a lid – the lid helps keep the nutritional benefits of the tea when steeping.
• Glass Measuring Cup: I like to use glass measuring cups for measuring all of the ingredients.
• Measuring Cups: You’ll need a ¼ cup for measuring the honey.
• Wooden Spoon or Potato Masher: You'll need a wooden spoon to stir the raspberry syrup and to help mash the raspberry puree through the fine mesh strainer.
• Fine Mesh Strainer: I recommend using a fine mesh strainer for this drink, it helps remove the raspberry seeds and pulp.
• Heat-Safe Large Pitcher or Mason Jar: You’ll need a pitcher or 64 oz (2 quart) mason jar to store the raspberry sweet tea.

Fresh Raspberry Sweet Tea Ingredient Notes

• Filtered Water: I always recommend using filtered water for drinks, making ice cubes, cooking, etc.
• Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: The caffeine-free raspberry tea is made with red raspberry leaf herbal tea - the actual raspberry leaves, making this a true homemade raspberry tea. I love using this brand of red raspberry leaf tea. I also use loose leaf tea - see the recipe card for the brand I like and instructions.
• Raw Honey: Honey is one of my favorite natural sweeteners to use in iced tea. Make sure to use a lighter honey like clover, star thistle or orange blossom. I do not recommend using wildflower honey varieties – they often are too overpowering and strong in flavor.
• Fresh Raspberries: Fresh raspberries are needed to make the raspberry component of this sweet tea. My preference is fresh raspberries because they are bolder and sweeter in flavor, but if you need to use frozen raspberries, I've included instructions for that option in the recipe card.
• Ice: You’ll need ice to make this a true iced sweet tea. This delicious drink is so refreshing served over ice on a hot day.

How to Make This Southern Raspberry Sweet Tea

It’s so easy to make this refreshing, naturally sweetened Southern Fresh Raspberry Sweet Tea – but you do need to prepare it a little bit in advance, steeping the tea and chilling the tea.

Get yourself some fresh, organic raspberries. Yes, choosing organic berries for this is important because they are currently #23 on the EWG’s Pesticides in Produce Dirty Dozen™ list. They're further down the list than the top 12, but they're still on the list.

Then gather the remaining ingredients - filtered water, raspberry leaf tea bags or loose leaf raspberry leaf, honey and ice, so you have them on hand. 

Prep the Raspberries

You’ll want to wash the fresh raspberries first – please don’t skip this step. Even if the raspberries are organic, you’ll still want to wash them because oil based pesticides and ripening agents are found (and allowed) on organic produce. Washing the raspberries will help remove any leftover residue, debris and dirt. I recommend using a vinegar water soak.

Once you’ve washed and dried the raspberries, set them aside for later.

How to Make the Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Next, to make the herbal tea, get a medium-size saucepan and add the water. Over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, remove from the heat and hang the tea bags inside the saucepan in the water, allowing the tags to hang over the side of the pan. Then cover the saucepan and allow the tea bags to steep for 15 minutes. 

Once the tea has steeped, remove the lid from the saucepan and gently squeeze the tea bags over the saucepan to release the extra tea goodness, then discard the tea bags. 

Then carefully pour the tea into a heat-safe 64-ounce mason jar or a large pitcher that has a lid (if your pitcher/jar is not heat-safe, allow the tea to come to room temperature first), then set aside to cool. 

How to Make the Fresh Raspberry Syrup

Now you’ll make the raspberry syrup. In the same saucepan that you made the tea in, add the water, raspberries and honey and heat over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 7 minutes. While the mixture is simmering, around the 5-minute mark, mash the softened raspberries with a wooden spoon or potato masher. Once the raspberries are fully mashed, at the 7-minute mark, remove from heat.

Next, set a fine mesh strainer on top of a heat-safe 2-cup glass measuring cup. Pour the raspberry mixture through the fine mesh strainer, using a wooden spoon to gently press the raspberry solids to release raspberry juice, then discard the solids. 

Make sure to let the raspberry syrup cool for 15 minutes before assembling the iced tea. 

Make the Raspberry Sweet Tea

Once the raspberry syrup has cooled, assemble the iced tea by pouring the raspberry syrup into the cooled tea, then give it a quick stir to fully combine.

Add the ice directly to the raspberry sweet tea or add ice to individual glasses and pour the raspberry tea over the ice. Then serve immediately and enjoy a big glass of delicious southern style raspberry iced tea!

Recipe FAQs: Tips for the Best Raspberry Sweet Tea

• How much raspberry iced tea will this recipe make? The finished yield is about 6 cups without ice.
• What is the best way to store the raspberry sweet tea? For the best flavor, store the sweet tea covered in the refrigerator and use within 24 hours. Do not add ice to the stored sweet tea as it will dilute the tea and slightly lessen the bold flavor.
• Can this raspberry sweet tea recipe be doubled? Yes! This recipe is easy to double and triple.
• What kind of honey should be used in this raspberry iced tea? I only recommend using a mild, light-colored, quality honey for this recipe. Honey flavors like orange blossom honey, clover honey, thistle honey or alfalfa honey are known to be the most mild in flavor. This is my favorite raw honey - I love their “orange blossom” and “original” honey. I also love using this raw honey in their “white clover blossom” and “light and mild” honey – some grocery stores carry this brand.
• Can you substitute the honey for another sweetener in this recipe? My preference is honey when it comes to any iced tea or refreshing drinks. However, if you need to use another natural sweetener, maple syrup is a good choice – it will alter the flavor a little though.
• Can the red raspberry leaf iced tea be cold brewed instead? Yes! I’ve included cold brew instructions for this healthy raspberry sweet tea in the recipe card. It’s so easy to make this way, in fact, I make it this way most of the time because it’s easier to get that one step done the night before. It’s always helpful to have recipes that you can prepare part of a day ahead. 
• How should this fresh raspberry sweet tea be served? Honey sweetened raspberry tea is a wonderful drink to serve at spring and summertime parties, potlucks, picnics and any social gatherings because it’s so easy to make. It’s also lovely served for afternoon teatime to help you cool off and enjoy some relaxation.

If You Like This Southern Fresh Raspberry Sweet Tea Recipe, You May Also Like These Delicious Recipes from Recipes to Nourish:

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• Easy Instant Pot Strawberry Cheesecake (grain-free)
• Easy Refrigerator Pickles (no sugar)
• Tomato Basil Garlic Butter Sauce
• Fresh Real Food Summer Blender Cucumber Salsa

Sipping this iced tea brings me back to a time when summers felt slower—when stillness was part of the rhythm and no one rushed to be anywhere. Grab this seasonal berry while you can and treat your summer to a pitcher of naturally sweetened raspberry sweet tea.

Southern Fresh Raspberry Sweet Tea

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