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This delicious Sweet Tea With Honey uses honey instead of buckets of sugar. Learn how simple it is to make sweet tea without refined sugar.

The wait is over – a sweet tea with honey recipe is here my friends!
Need a faster way to make a bunch of tea at once? Check out this post on Instant Pot iced tea.

How Long Will Sweet Tea With Honey Last in the Fridge?
This honey-sweetened tea is best consumed within 7-10 days if stored in the fridge.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:
- Don’t have family-style bags? You can use 7 normal tea bags instead.
- Adding honey to cold iced tea just does not work. Make sure you add it after the 15-minute steeping process before it goes into the fridge.

Recipe Variations:
- Our preferred way of enjoying this sweet tea is 3/4 tea and 1/4 lemonade – ‘Palmer style!
- Pro tip: use lemon-flavored sparkling water to make it a sparkling Arnold Palmer.
- Try experimenting with flavored teas like fruity or tropical teas.
- Add lemon or lime wedges or add fresh fruit.
I won’t even compare this sweet team with honey to “real” sweet tea in terms of sugar consumption. But, let’s just say this version won’t give you the crazy energy rush that would allow you to tie a rope around your waist and tow your car home.
Sweet Tea With Honey

Ingredients
- 1 family style black or green tea bag
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 4 cups water {boiling}
- 4 cups water {cold}
- 1/8 tsp baking soda {optional}
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Bring 4 cups of water to a near boil.4 cups water
- Add tea bag(s) and (optional) baking soda, and cover the pan. Remove from heat, and let steep for 15 minutes.1 family style black or green tea bag, 1/8 tsp baking soda
- Remove tea bags, pour into a pitcher, add the honey and stir.1/3 cup raw honey
- Add 4 cups of cold water and place in the fridge.4 cups water
Sun Tea Instructions
- Place tea, honey, 8 cups of room temperature water, and baking soda in a sun tea jar. Place in a sunny place.
- Stir occasionally if possible to distribute the honey. The length of time to steep will depend on how hot it is outside.
- Serve over ice if you’d like to serve immediately. Transfer to the refrigerator and cool.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Any thoughts on the caffeine levels?
It all depends on the tea you use. You’re welcome to use caffeinated, decaf, or even some of each for “half-caff”.
Most tea boxes will list the caffeine level on the front or back by the ingredients.
Curious – what is the purpose of the baking soda?
It is a great way to mellow the taste of things that might be acidic without using sugar. I use it in tomato products a lot (like tomato soup, spaghetti sauce, etc.). It’s optional but definitely try it at least once. You’ll love it!
Wow Sarah – thank you so much for the tip about Baking Soda – I will most definitely try it. I have used sugar in to cut the acid in Tomato Soup and spaghetti.
My pleasure, Kathi! If you want to really have your mind blown with what else baking soda can do, try it to marinate chicken breast. This recipe has the steps for how to do it (you HAVE to rinse it thoroughly).