Copycat McDonald's Sweet Tea

This copycat McDonald's sweet tea recipe tastes just like the real thing. Made with the simplest of ingredients, this sweet iced tea is incredibly flavorful and so refreshing. So whenever you're craving ice tea, you can make this sweet tea at home in just a few minutes!

The Best Copycat McDonald's Sweet Tea 

I don't know about you, but I think McDonald's tea is the best one you can get from a fast-food restaurant. I mean, it's perfectly balanced with all of the flavors you'd want in a sweet tea for one deliciously refreshing drink.

And since I've already made a ton of copycat McDonald's recipes, I had to add their sweet tea to the list. 

This sweet tea copycat McDonald's recipe is honestly better than the original one, but it's made with simple, real ingredients that you can feel good about drinking. There are no hidden calories or funky ingredients here, just good ol' fashioned black tea, sugar, and water.

Now, the best part about this copycat Mcdonald's sweet tea is you can make it at home in under 10 minutes! You basically just boil the water, soak the tea bags, then add the sugar and serve. And since you're the one making it, you get the final say in how much sugar to add or you can even use a sugar substitute!

By the way, since most of the time making this recipe is spent letting the tea bags soak, you'll have plenty of time to whip up something to enjoy with the tea. I  love making these McDonald's french fries and McDonald's chicken nuggets for the full fast-food experience at home. 

INGREDIENTS

As I mentioned before, the ingredient list for this sweet tea is as simple as it gets. If you love sweet tea, odds are you already have everything you need on hand already!

Anyway, here's everything you'll need to make homemade sweet tea:

• 4 black tea bags
• 4 cups water
• ¼ cup sugar
• Ice cubes
• Lime or lemon slices

Pretty great, right?!

By the way, if this recipe has you craving more refreshing tea recipes, then I definitely suggest you check out this Starbucks chai latte recipe or this brown sugar milk tea next!

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This McDonald's iced tea is a dream when it's made based on this recipe. However, you can make some changes to the tea to have it better suit your preferences.

For instance, if you prefer stronger tea, then all you have to do is add extra tea bags. With that said, I wouldn't leave the tea bags in longer since that would only make the tea bitter. If you'd rather have half sweet tea, then you can reduce the sugar as much as you'd like.

On the other hand, if you have a sweet tooth - like I do - then you can add extra sugar. Just remember to taste it as you go since it's easier to add sugar than it is to remove it once it's already in there. 

HOW TO MAKE MCDONALD'S SWEET TEA

Trust me when I say making this McDonald's sweet tea recipe is as easy as it gets. Even if don't make tea often, I promise you'll have no trouble getting this tea to turn out perfect!

So, without further ado, let's make some tea!

STEP 1: BOIL THE WATER

First things first, you'll want to measure the water and either add it to a teapot or large saucepan and bring it to a boil. While the water is boiling, portion the tea bags and sugar so everything's ready to go.

STEP 2: ADD SUGAR

As soon as the water is boiling, you can add tea bags to it and let them steep for 7 minutes.

Then, after the 7 minutes are up, you'll want to remove the tea bags from the hot water and add the sugar. Now mix the sugar with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine it with the hot tea. As you can probably guess, if you're making unsweetened tea, then you can go ahead and skip this step.

STEP 3: SERVE THE TEA

Once the tea is mixed, you can either serve it immediately in glasses with ice cubes or you can let the tea chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

When you're ready to drink it, garnish the tea glasses with some lime or lemon slices and enjoy!

HOW TO STORE MCDONALD'S SWEET TEA

This recipe for McDonald's sweet tea makes 2 servings, so it's great for a refreshing beverage for two or for one if you want two glasses.

Luckily, it's super easy to make a double or triple-batch of this recipe if you want to have some iced tea for the week. If you have any leftover tea, you can store it in an airtight container or pitcher with a lid on it and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.

FAQS ABOUT THIS MCDONALD'S SWEET TEA RECIPE

WHAT DOES MCDONALD'S PUT IN THEIR SWEET TEA?

According to the McDonald's website, they use a blend of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea along with invert sugar and water to make their iced tea.

WHAT BRAND OF SWEET TEA DOES MCDONALD'S USE?

The exact brand McDonald's uses for their sweet tea is proprietary, but you can have much of the same flavor from many mainstream tea brands like Lipton tea.

DOES MCDONALD'S SWEET TEA USE REAL SUGAR?

McDonald's uses invert sugar for their sweet tea, which is a type of sugar that's been processed to be slightly sweeter and less granulated than regular white sugar.

WHAT IS THE FLAVOR OF MCDONALD'S SWEET TEA?

The flavor of McDonald's sweet tea is a slightly strong black tea flavor with a hint of citrus, floral notes, and a touch of sweetness.

WRAPPING IT UP

Well, that's how to make McDonald's sweet tea!

This really is such a refreshing drink to make on a hot summer day, and the fact that it takes just a few minutes is an added bonus. 

So I hope you enjoy this sweet tea copycat recipe as much as I do.

And, as always, if you give it a try then be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it went!

More McDonald's Copycat Recipes

If you enjoyed this recipe for McDonald's sweet tea, we have plenty more copycat McDonald's recipes on the blog you can try out next!

Check all of these out:

• McDonald's Oreo McFlurry
• McDonald's milkshake
• McDonald's mocha frappe
• McDonald's steak bagel
• McDonald's spicy chicken sandwich

Oh, and for even more deliciousness, be sure to follow us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. We post new recipes every day!