Iced tea is a summer staple. It’s the perfect not-too-sweet, cooling beverage to beat the heat with. But a common misconception is that homemade iced tea only comes in two flavors, super sweet or super bland. In this article we are going to discuss 10 ingredients to power up your iced tea game.

1. Spices

If you’re sticking with a classic black tea for your base, adding fresh spices while the tea is steeping adds a punch of flavor to otherwise plain black tea. You can use whatever spices you prefer, or if you enjoy masala chai you can use spices commonly found in chai.

2. Fresh fruit

Fresh fruit can add really great flavor to iced tea no matter what kind of tea you’re using. Black tea has a strong, bold flavor that pairs well with many different fruits. I particularly enjoy stone fruits like peaches and nectarines with black tea. Green teas have a more delicate, citrus-y flavor, that pairs well with brighter flavors, like raspberry or honey lemon.

3. Mint

Mint adds a refreshing flavor to teas, fresh mint is especially good for this. You can just take a few sprigs of mint leaves and add them to your already steeped tea. Or you can try muddling your mint leaves with fruit, like lime wedges or water melon, to get a more potent flavor.

4. Fruit juice

Cutting your tea with fruit juice is a delicious way to add flavor and sweetness to your tea. If you’re looking for a way to add fruit flavor to your tea without any effort, I would try out fruit juice instead. Additionally you can use the fruit juice as a sweetener for your tea instead of sugar or honey.

5. Tea

Try out different types of tea! Most people will default to one type when making iced tea but try experimenting with different flavors of tea! I know that I usually default to Lipton’s black tea, but white teas, oolong, and green tea can all make a great iced tea.

6. Honey

Instead of sweetening with sugar try using honey. It adds a very light floral taste to the tea, and in my opinion, has a much more delicate sweetness than sugar.

7. Fresh ginger

If you love the zing of ginger try steeping it with your tea. You can use fresh or dried, but keep in mind that fresh ginger will pack much more of a punch than dried ginger.

8. Lemonade

Instead of just plain iced tea make yourself an Arnold Palmer by adding some lemonade. The typical ratio is 1:1 but if you desire you can alter that ratio to your preference.

9. Fresh berries

Not only do fresh berries make a drink look beautiful but they also taste delicious. Additionally the different types of berries pair really well with the different flavors of tea.

10. Jam

If you don’t want to use honey or sugar try dissolving some jam into your tea while it’s still hot. This will add a really nice caramelized fruit flavor to your tea. Just keep in mind that seeds don’t dissolve in water, so I would recommend using a seedless jam or jelly.