7 Best Iced Tea Makers, Tested and Reviewed

Our Lab analysts and experts tested 10 iced tea makers in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, evaluating each maker for its ease of use, performance and final results. Following each manufacturer's specific instructions and recipes, we brewed Taylors loose-leaf black tea with cold, filtered water in each iced tea maker. If applicable, we followed both cold brew and hot brew recipes, always chilling each tea for several hours before sampling over ice.

Our culinary pros then tasted each tea side by side, analyzing flavors for strength, texture, tasting notes and overall satisfaction. We noted when tea felt overly weak, strong, bitter, astringent or smooth.

We also factored in ease of cleaning, paying close attention to iced tea makers that were dishwasher-safe versus those with infusers that were a hassle to hand wash due to shape or weight.

✔️ Type: Iced tea makers primarily come in two forms: electric or manual. While electric machines are easy to use and can provide iced tea quickly, manual machines, i.e., pitchers, are more compact and tend to produce better results.

✔️ Size: Iced tea makers come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s important to consider the capacity you need as well as where you want to store the machine. If you want to make large batches of tea, you should look for makers that can hold at least two quarts. But if you need only a few glasses of iced tea at a time, a smaller capacity will suffice. When it comes to storage, keep in mind that electric iced tea makers will typically take up more space than manual iced tea makers and do require an outlet. If you’re tight on counter space, a manual iced tea maker will be easier to put away when not in use.

✔️ Ease of use: An electric iced tea maker is probably easier to use and requires the least number of steps — all you have to do is measure your tea leaves, add water and press the start button. A manual iced tea maker, on the other hand, can be more time-consuming since you need to boil water on the side or wait for your cold brew to steep. When cleaning, ensure you check which parts of your iced tea maker are dishwasher-safe. In general, we found that the tea infusers of manual iced tea makers were somewhat more difficult to clean by hand, and noticed that tea leaves sometimes clung to the inside. In contrast, the smaller filter baskets of electric iced tea makers were marginally easier to work with.

Electric machines: Some electric machines allow you to brew tea directly over ice, while others require you to brew the tea and then pour it over ice. Though they're generally bulkier than manual options, electric machines make prep easy. Typically, electric iced tea makers resemble coffee makers; not only do they require an outlet, but they are also built with a water reservoir and a removable filter basket where you place your tea leaves or tea bags. That said, they usually support a larger pitcher.

While electric iced tea makers may take up more space on the counter, we found that they generally produce iced tea faster than manual ones. But take note: "In our tests, iced tea that was made with the hot brew method tended to leave our mouths feeling dry due to the tannins, which are plant compounds that are perceived on the palate as astringent or bitter. The effect was even more present in hot brew tea that was slowly chilled in the refrigerator afterward," explained Bleyer.

Manual machines: Manual, or non-electric, models are more compact and portable, but they require much more forethought and patience. To make hot brew with a manual iced tea maker, you need to heat the water to the right temperature (often just below boiling point or to 180˚F) before pouring it into the iced tea maker's pitcher and infuser. Then, remove the infuser after a set amount of time. Other manual iced tea makers operate similarly to cold brew machines (and are, in fact, interchangeable), requiring several hours to adequately steep.

According to Bleyer, cold brew tea is "a lot less bitter than regular iced tea yet still very flavorful. In our tests, no iced tea was ultimately as smooth as cold brew tea, where we could taste the delicate notes of the tea. It was easy to drink and didn't leave your mouth feeling like it's filled with cotton balls, a common side effect of high tannins." While it will take longer to steep cold brew tea, Bleyer said, "the wait is definitely worth the reward."

"Always consult your tea's instructions; different types of teas have different ratios and steeping times," Bleyer says. In terms of the best type of tea to use, you can't go wrong, but tea sommelier Gabrielle Jammal recommends high-quality loose-leaf teas and prefers iced herbal tea. It's more user-friendly because you don't have to worry about it over-steeping; unlike black tea, "herbal tea can be infused indefinitely without getting bitter," she says.

To ensure that your iced tea retains its rich flavor, make sure you're brewing a highly concentrated tea that won't be watered down when you add ice (our favorite iced tea makers help ensure a full-bodied cup). Or, consider freezing tea in ice trays to make iced tea ice cubes. As the ice melts in your drink, you'll enjoy even more delicious and refreshing tea.

"I would stick to models that are designated for iced tea or iced tea and coffee, instead of using your home coffee maker to brew iced tea," Bleyer says. She explains that if you brew tea in a coffee maker, your tea may have lingering notes of coffee. For a pure iced tea taste, opt for an aforementioned iced tea maker or an iced tea and coffee maker. Alternatively, you can always "steep your tea in a glass mason jar or pitcher," Bleyer says.

Most pitchers will share instructions on how to adjust the strength of your tea. "At the end of the day, it's all about your ratio of tea to water; the higher the ratio of tea to water, the stronger your tea will be," explained Bleyer. She pointed out that a concentrate has a much higher tea strength compared to a brew designed to drink directly from the pitcher, suggesting that it be diluted with water to achieve the desired tea strength.

Senior Reviews Writer and Analyst Olivia Lipski covers everything from tech to home, travel, parenting, appliances and more, including kitchen gear such as smart fridges, s'mores makers and Nespresso vs. Keurig coffee machines. She frequently collaborates with the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab to help readers make better buying decisions by testing and reviewing kitchen tools and gadgets. A native of North Carolina, Olivia has technically been testing sweet tea since she was born.

Samantha MacAvoy is a former assistant editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, where she has tested countless beverage-related appliances, including iced tea makers, espresso machines, cocktail shakers and more. For this story, she consulted tea sommelier Gabrielle Jammal as well as product experts Nicole Papantoniou, director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, and Eva Bleyer, reviews analyst in the same Lab, for their expert advice.