People have strong opinions about the best iced tea to be found in Champaign-Urbana and beyond
Love iced tea? So do we!
We carefully bypassed the age-old question “sweet or unsweet?” and simply asked our readers who has the best iced tea in the Champaign-Urbana area. (These recommendations were given by our readers on social media and are not an endorsement by Chambanamoms.com.)
The Overwhelming Reader Favorite Iced Tea
That would be the iced tea at McAlister’s Deli in Champaign. Every July brings a very special day for lovers of iced tea: McAlister’s annual Free Tea Day! (“Offer applies to Big Tea only. Limit 1 Tea per person in-store and 4 Teas per McAlister’s online or in app order.” This year that special day was July 18.)
The Iced Tea that One Chambanamom Is Single-Handedly Making a Thing in C-U
Have you tried Marshmallow Iced Tea from Ginger Ale’s in Savoy? Whether you order unsweet tea with marshmallow, with sugar-free marshmallow, with extra marshmallow, or their White Squirrel with marshmallow and vanilla, you’re probably in that drive-thru line behind our colleague, whose middle name is (probably) “Marshmallow Tea.” Another reader recommends Ginger Ale’s blackberry tea, if marshmallow is not (yet) your thing.
A Favorite Local Source of Iced Tea
Quite a few readers get their iced tea fix from Espresso Royale (locations in Champaign and Urbana), whether it’s “iced green tea with a little bit of lavender syrup,” “green tea,” “peach, mango, or raspberry black or green tea,” or “peach green tea.” Readers also give a shout out to all the sugar-free syrup options available at Espresso.
More Area Iced Tea Favorites
- Avionics
- Brown Bag (Monticello): “The best iced tea — and sport tea — plus it has the best 1/2 and 1/2 aka Arnold Palmers”
- Café Kopi: “The blackberry iced tea is hands down one of the best in town. I’m not typically a fan of flavored coffee or tea, but this flavor is rich yet subtle”
- Columbia Street Roastery: “Their iced tea mixes!!!”
- Dunkin’
- Einstein Bros. Bagels: “Nice and strong!”
- Geschenk Boutique (St. Joseph): “Great little shop carries a huge selection of tea”
- Haymakers gas stations: “The best brewed iced tea. I like unsweet but they have both.”
- Kofusion
- LaTeaDa (Clinton)
- McDonalds: “Sorry … McD unsweet iced tea rocks my world.”
- Mad Goat (Champaign, Danville): “for iced tea and blended lemonade”
- Mia Za’s: “serves wonderful Columbia Street sweet and unsweet tea, both usually peach”
- Panera
- Seven Saints
- Sonic: “Love the tea, ice, generous amount of lemons added if you are into that kind of thing” “I like Sonic’s tea (half sweet/half unsweet)” “Sonic with either cranberry or strawberry fruit”
- Thorntons gas stations: “The unsweet with the chewy ice!”
- Walnut St. Tea Company: “For tea leaves”
- Whisk (Mahomet)
Specifically Sweet Tea
- Apple Dumplin
- Captain D’s
- McDonalds: “As a southern girl … I love a great big McDonalds Sweet Tea occasionally”
- El Toro Loco
Sweet Tea Recipes from Readers “because the best sweet tea comes from the pitcher in your fridge”
- “I use 4 family size tea bags (Luzianne or Lipton) and 1 cup of Splenda to make 1 gallon of tea. Also, I’m a steep till it cools kind of girl.”
- “You can take a huge glass container with a spout and put 3 tea bags in it and put it in the sun all day. It’s called sun tea and add sugar and get cold at end of day. Love me some southern sweet tea!”
- “Dissolve a little honey (to taste–we use about 2 Tbsp for a 2 qt pitcher) in boiling water, then steeping 2 large tea bags for about 5 minutes. Add enough cold water to fill your pitcher and chill! It’s not super sweet, but it’s delicious!”
- “We use 1/3 cup of powdered stevia and some honey to sweeten our tea, which I make in an enormous stock pot with 4 big tea bags and 2 gallons of water.”
Finally, here’s a Southern Sweet Tea recipe from The Kitchn. Cheers!
Looking for boba tea instead? Click here.
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