The 9 Best Iced Tea Makers of 2023

Mar 25, 2024

Have a refreshing drink on hand at all times with these durable, easy-to-use iced tea makers.

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Better Homes & Gardens / David Hattan

Does anything say summer more than a cool glass of iced tea on a baking hot day? When you think about iced tea, your mind might go to wrap-around porches and rocking chairs or ice tinkling on the side of a glass pitcher. However you like to drink your iced tea—sweetened or unsweetened, green or black, straight up or spiked—and wherever you like to enjoy it, there’s an iced tea maker to help you out. Some of the best iced tea makers are electric, while others are more manual in nature with an immersion basket that slowly steeps your tea.

“Instead of icing hot tea, I recommend tea lovers ‘cold brew,’” says Yureeka Yasuda, a certified tea sommelier. “Aside from reducing caffeine, cold brewing tea also releases less catechins and tannins into the brew, which makes the tea less bitter.”

To find the best iced tea makers out there, we extensively researched the market, looking at both electric machines and simple infusion setups. We considered ease of use, size, capacity, materials used, how much room they take up on your counter—and possibly most importantly for some, how easy the iced tea makers are to clean.

Amazon

It’s stylish, made of quality glass, and comes with handy measurements on the outside. Plus, it’s dishwasher safe.

Its capacity is best for smaller servings.

If you’re looking for a glass iced tea maker—as recommended by Yasuda for the best-flavored iced tea—this is a great choice from Ovalware. Not only is it a high-quality product, but it also has a very stylish, compact design that will look great on your picnic or barbecue table. It will also be easy to store in your kitchen, even if you don’t have a huge amount of spare room. The base is made from silicone, which ensures it won’t slip and slide around; there’s a handle to make pouring easy; and the filter is made from stainless steel and is very fine, so tea leaves or coffee grounds won’t escape.

The Ovalware Iced Tea Maker is versatile and can be used to make iced tea, cold brew coffee, and fruit-infused water. Since it’s made from glass, the coffee flavors won’t linger if you’re planning to use it for both drinks. You can use the Ovalware Iced Tea Maker to make hot and cold brew tea, and it’s compatible with both tea bags and loose leaf tea (our expert recommends only using loose leaf tea for the best flavor).

While we love the design, it doesn’t have the largest capacity, so if you’re looking to consistently make big batches of iced tea, you may want to look at the Primula Big Iced Tea Pitcher, our pick for the best large iced tea maker.

Price at time of publish: $36

Product Details: Capacity: 34 ounces | Dimensions: 4.57 x 7.87 x 4.57 inches | Material: Borosilicate glass, BPA-free silicone seal | Dishwasher safe: Yes

Amazon

It’s very simple to use and doesn’t take up much room.

It can be a little tricky to clean the filter, and it doesn’t have any extra features.

This simple manual iced tea maker may not come with any fancy bells and whistles, but it is made from good quality materials—the container is borosilicate glass—and it works well. It’s also available at a very affordable price that won’t break the bank. You can use it to make iced tea, cold brew coffee, or infused waters; simply add your coffee grounds, tea leaves, or fruit and herbs to the fine mesh infuser and brew for as long as is recommended. The handle is made from a non-slip plastic, and the compact shape means it won’t take up too much space in your fridge.

As this product is so simple, there’s not much to go wrong. However, the filter can be a little bit tricky to clean and remove all residue of loose leaf tea or coffee grounds. And, while the filter does a good job of keeping most of the smaller particles out, a few may escape into your tea, so you may wish to re-filter it.

Price at time of publish: $20

Product Details: Capacity: 44 ounces | Dimensions: 4.88 x 5 x 8.19 inches | Material: Plastic, metal, borosilicate glass | Dishwasher safe: No

Williams Sonoma

This tea maker is high-tech, high-quality, and adjustable if you want the flexibility of brewing tea at different temperatures.

You’ll need an extra vessel to store your tea in once it’s brewed.

If you’re a tea connoisseur who knows different teas need to be brewed at different temperatures, it doesn’t get much better than the very stylish Breville The Tea Maker. This isn’t specifically an iced tea maker, but it can be used to make all types of tea. There are automatic, pre-programmed settings for green, black, herbal, oolong, white, and custom tea, plus settings for whether you want your brew to be mild, medium, or strong.

If you’re also a forgetful tea connoisseur, the basket will automatically retract after a specified amount of time so your tea is never over-steeped, which is an impressive detail. The basket also keeps the tea leaves moving during the brewing process to ensure the best result. To make iced tea, you will need to brew hot tea, then chill it and pour over ice. It can make 51 ounces of tea at a time.

The kettle is made of glass and has a stainless steel bottom. It is not dishwasher safe, so it will need to be carefully cleaned by hand. The infuser basket is removable, though, which makes it easier to wash. As the product is not specifically designed for iced tea, you will need a second vessel to store your prepared tea. You’ll also need the space to store the appliance on your countertop or in a cabinet.

Price at time of publish: $297

Product Details: Capacity: 51 ounces | Dimensions: 10.7 x 11 x 6 inches | Material: Stainless steel, glass, BPA-free plastic | Dishwasher safe: No

Amazon

It’s an affordable, versatile product that has a large capacity and is dishwasher-safe.

The infuser is small and feels delicate.

The Primula Flavor-It Pitcher has a lot going for it. You get multiple features for the price, as it comes with three cores: one to infuse tea; one to infuse fruit, vegetables, or herbs; and a chill core made from a freezable gel to keep your iced tea cold without diluting it. As a bonus, all the components of this maker (apart from the chill core) are dishwasher safe, which is great news since infusers are often tricky to clean. Plus, the parts are easy to separate as each one comes with a handle.

It holds 93 ounces of tea, which should keep most families and parties happily hydrated. Despite its large size, you should be able to fit it in your refrigerator easily—it will fit in the door of most. The lid is leakproof and airtight, and the handle is non-slip. The Primula Flavor-It Pitcher can also be used to brew hot and cold tea, depending on your flavor preference.

The infuser core itself is quite small, but there’s still enough room to brew a strong tea. Since it’s a manual iced tea maker, it will also take a bit of forethought to prepare your tea the day before.

Price at time of publish: $25

Product Details: Capacity: 93 ounces | Dimensions: 11.73 x 11.61 x 11.73 inches | Material: Plastic| Dishwasher safe: Yes

Amazon

Its nice design looks good on a kitchen counter or picnic table.

You’ll need spare refrigerator space to house the wide base.

If you’re catering for a large party of iced tea lovers, or you just really, really love quaffing iced tea, the Primula Big Iced Tea Pitcher is the one to go for: It has a very impressive 4-quart capacity.

It’s a relatively simple product, with a large shatterproof Tritan plastic pitcher and a central core that holds both loose leaf or bagged tea (again, we’d always recommend loose leaf tea for the best flavor), plus fruits, vegetables, and herbs for fun infusion combinations. The manual design is effective, and it comes with an airtight lid and a slip-proof handle to ensure you don’t spill 4 quarts of iced tea everywhere. Like the other Primula iced tea maker on our list, you can use this pitcher for both hot and cold brewing methods. Helpfully, the pitcher is dishwasher safe—if you can fit it in.

While its size is one of the main selling points, it’s also potentially its biggest drawback as you’ll need a significant amount of space in your refrigerator to store it. Its base is very wide, too, so it has quite a large footprint.

Price at time of publish: $40

Product Details: Capacity: 128 ounces | Dimensions: 9.01 x 11 x 9.01 inches | Material: BPA-free plastic | Dishwasher safe: Yes

Amazon

It only takes 10 minutes to brew iced tea.

It’s not dishwasher safe and requires paper filters.

The Mr. Coffee TM75 Iced Tea Maker is an affordable dip into the world of the best electric iced tea makers. It works similarly to a drip coffee maker—just fill up the water reservoir, add your tea leaves, and brew over a pitcher of ice. We like how quickly this brewer works: It can make 64 ounces of iced tea in just 10 minutes. The brewer will shut off automatically after brewing, an extra feature we appreciate.

While you can remove the basket for cleaning and the machine has a built-in cleaning cycle, none of the parts are dishwasher friendly. You also need to use paper filters with this product, so although the maker itself is very affordable, you will need to factor in this as an additional expense. As this maker produces hot tea initially, if you’re not filling the pitcher with ice, be careful when moving it as it can get very hot. It’s also not the most stylish product on our list, and as it’s electric, it will need some space on your counter when in use, although its footprint is quite small.

Price at time of publish: $31

Product Details: Capacity: 64 ounces | Dimensions: 11.5 x 13.6 x 7 inches | Material: Plastic | Dishwasher safe: No

Amazon

It has a smaller footprint compared to other electric models.

The included pitcher isn’t airtight.

This electric iced tea maker has a good amount of functionality and produces 64 ounces of iced tea. Similar to a drip coffee filter, you pour water into the reservoir and add tea leaves to the filter basket underneath. The supplied pitcher comes with an ice line you’ll need to fill up to, then you just hit the button to start brewing. You can choose the strength of your brew, and there is an additional removable filter within the filter so that you can add sugar or fine tea, such as matcha. The process takes around 10 minutes and with ice in the pitcher, it’s cold enough to drink straight away.

Although the pitcher comes with a lid, it does have a hole in it, so it’s not leakproof or airtight. Like any electric model, you’ll need to find space on your countertop for this machine, but at less than 7 inches wide, it’s slimmer than other automatic models.

Price at time of publish: $41

Product Details: Capacity: 64 ounces | Dimensions: 6.75 x 14.5 x 9.5 inches | Material: Plastic | Dishwasher safe: Yes (pitcher)

Amazon

It’s a versatile product you can easily use to create different drinks, and it’s easy to clean.

The pitcher lid isn’t airtight, and it can only make 2.5 quarts of tea, despite the container being 3 quart.

This affordable electric iced tea maker is a versatile product that can be used to make more than just iced tea. After filling up the water reservoir, add your desired tea leaves, tea bags, or coffee into the removable filter basket, ensure your pitcher is underneath, and hit the brew button after selecting your desired drink strength. It shuts off automatically after brewing. You can easily remove the filter basket to clean after use, which is a handy feature.

This product is described as being made from stainless steel, but the pitcher is made from plastic. It also states it has a capacity of 3 quarts, but it can only make 2.5 quarts of tea at a time—like many other products which promise the same. Although the machine does come with a pitcher, the lid isn’t airtight or leak proof, and you likely will need to hold it in place while you’re pouring your tea. You can, however, use any pitcher that can fit underneath the maker if that is a concern. It brews tea hot, so you’ll either want to fill your pitcher up with ice or cool it down in the refrigerator before drinking.

Price at time of publish: $36

Product Details: Capacity: 96 ounces | Dimensions: 13 x 9 x 7 inches | Material: Plastic | Dishwasher safe: No

Amazon

Stylish, simple to use, and easily transportable, this is great for iced tea on the go.

It has a small capacity and is more expensive than some of the other products that give you more iced tea.

If you’re looking for a stylish, high-quality iced tea maker you can use on the go, look to Pure Zen Tea. Small enough to put in your bag for the day but with enough capacity to make 0.4 quarts of tea, there’s plenty of liquid for one person.

This infuser is constructed from double-wall borosilicate glass and can be used to make both hot and cold tea. If you do choose to use it to brew hot tea, it is insulated so the outside won’t get hot. It’s an easy product to clean as both ends of the vessel can be removed, and the infuser can also be removed from the lid. Plus, it’s leakproof so you can toss it in a bag and take it with you wherever. Due to its compact size, it hardly requires any kitchen space for storage.

If you’re looking for the best iced tea maker for the whole family, this will be too small as it is only meant for one person. It is also quite expensive for a product that produces a relatively small amount of tea, but the for the quality and convenience, we think it’s worth the cost.

Price at time of publish: $36

Product Details: Capacity: 13 ounces | Dimensions: 2.75 x 9.5 x 2.75 inches | Material: Glass and stainless steel | Dishwasher-safe: Yes

The Ovalware Cold Brew Maker is our top pick for the best iced tea maker. With its sleek design and quality glass construction, it feels high-end and produces a good amount of great quality iced tea and coffee. Plus, it won’t take up much space in your kitchen and is easy to store.

You can buy the best iced tea makers in all shapes and sizes, so think about your needs—and the space you have available for storage—before purchasing. If you’ll be regularly catering for a crowd or a large family, find an iced tea maker with a larger capacity.

Generally, electric iced tea makers will take up more space, but will also produce more tea in a shorter period of time. If you only need one or two glasses at a time, and are limited for space, consider buying a manual iced tea maker, which is easier to store and transport.

Iced tea makers can be electric or manual, and there are pros and cons to both.

Electric iced tea makers

Electric iced tea makers work in different ways. With some appliances, you brew tea cold over ice, whereas others require you to brew the tea hot and then pour over ice. Automatic iced tea makers are very simple to use and look like a coffee maker with a water reservoir and filter basket. Generally, you can brew a larger amount of iced tea with an electric iced tea maker compared to a manual iced tea maker. They tend to be quicker to use as well.

Electric iced tea makers are a good idea if you constantly want a large amount of iced tea and if you have the space to keep them, as they tend to have a bigger footprint than manual iced tea makers. Of course, you’ll also need access to an electricity outlet to use them.

Manual iced tea makers

While they’re convenient, “an electronic iced tea machine isn’t really necessary. An infusion pitcher—always choose glass—works just as well and is a fantastic way to make iced tea,” Yasuda says.

Generally, manual iced tea makers consist of a vessel made out of plastic or glass and an infuser to which you add the tea leaves, plus a lid. If the lid is airtight, this is best. Some work by adding cold water and allowing the tea leaves to steep while others require you to add hot (nearly boiling) water to the infuser and allowing the water to cool.

Manual iced tea makers are generally more compact than electric iced tea makers, making them easier to transport and store. However, keep in mind that manual infusers typically take longer to brew tea than electric iced tea makers.

The best iced tea makers allow you to easily make refreshing chilled beverages. Some iced tea makers are manual while others are electric. Some require you to use boiling (or nearly boiling) water rather than cold water, which can make your iced tea taste a little bitter. For iced tea makers that use cold water, you can also use them to make cold brew coffee and infused waters, making them more versatile if you do occasionally enjoy drinking beverages other than iced tea (no judgment from us if you’re an iced tea only kind of person). All iced tea makers are easy to operate, either requiring you to add the tea leaves and water and press a button, or add the tea leaves and water and pop the infuser in your refrigerator.

Iced tea makers are generally an easy gadget to use but may require some forethought. If you’re using an electric iced tea maker, it’s simply a case of measuring your tea leaves, adding water and pressing a button. If you’re using a manual iced tea maker however, you will also need to factor in the time it will take to brew. Some manual iced tea makers require you to use boiling water, while others steep tea cold. Both of these will require time—up to several hours, or even overnight—to infuse.

Cleaning is also an important factor to consider when looking at the best iced tea makers. Make sure to check whether any parts are dishwasher-safe. The infusion baskets in both manual and electric iced tea makers can be a little tricky to clean and remove all tea leaf residue, especially if you’re using loose leaf tea.

Iced tea makers are generally an affordable kitchen gadget to add to your collection. Of the best iced tea makers on our list, the price ranges from $20 up to $300 for the most expensive model, which is an outlier in terms of price. Iced tea makers are a relatively niche kitchen item—although you can also use them to make infused waters and cold brew coffee. But if you enjoy iced tea and love the idea of making your own, it’s well worth the investment.

Iced tea makers are surprisingly versatile and can be used for more than just iced tea. You can use the best iced tea makers to make infused water with your favorite fruits and herbs. You can also use most iced tea makers to make cold brew coffee. However, if you’re using your iced tea maker to make cold brew, we’d recommend choosing a glass option or a pitcher you can put in the dishwasher, as the taste of coffee can linger and might spoil your future batches of delicate iced tea. You may want to consider investing in a separate infuser basket to avoid the flavors crossing over.

You should expect a manual iced tea maker to be a long-lasting addition to your kitchen. As it’s a simple product, there’s not a lot to go wrong. If you look after your iced tea maker and clean it well after each use, you should expect it to last for years. Many of the simple manual makers are made of glass, so as long as you’re careful with it, it should serve you many pitchers of delicious iced tea without any problems.

This article was written by Rachael Hogg, a freelance writer and editor with more than a decade of experience writing about food and drink, including kitchen and home products. While researching this guide, she considered a variety of iced tea makers at different price points, looking at functionality and ease of use. She also spoke with Yureeka Yasuda, the UK’s first tea sensei and a certified tea sommelier to get her tips on preparing iced tea and what to look for in the best iced tea makers.