Food and Recipes Drinks Cold Watermelon-Basil Sweet Tea 5.0 (1) 1 Review Homemade watermelon syrup gives this sweet tea a summery freshness. By Ivy Odom Ivy Odom Ivy is an Editorial Producer for Dotdash Meredith and hosts an array of lifestyle videos. She also authors a bi-monthly recipe column for Southern Living. Ivy has over four years of experience as on-camera talent across multiple platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, television, and other social channels, as well as extensive producing and editing experience for TikTok. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on May 23, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Active Time: 20 mins Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins Servings: 4 Summer is synonymous with watermelon. Refreshing and thirst quenching, it’s the perfect sweet addition to any summer drink, especially when you turn it into a versatile Watermelon Simple Syrup. While watermelon cocktails are an obvious way to put the syrup to use, it also makes a great sweetener in non-alcoholic drinks, like this sweet tea. Even if you’re a tea purist, we think you’ll enjoy the fruity notes watermelon can add to one of the South’s favorite drinks. To enhance the tea’s floral flavor we also added fresh and fragrant basil, but you can use fresh mint for a more traditional flavor combination, if you like. How To Cut A Watermelon Ingredients 2 family-size tea bags 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves (from 1 [0.5 oz.] pkg.) 1/4 tsp. baking soda 5 1/2 cups water, divided 3/4 cup Watermelon Simple Syrup, plus more if needed Basil sprigs Watermelon slices Directions Place tea bags, basil leaves, and baking soda in a large glass jar or pitcher. Bring 4 cups of the water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan over high; immediately pour over tea bags and basil, making sure bags and leaves are submerged. Steep for 15 minutes. Remove basil and bags, gently squeezing them using kitchen tongs; discard bags and basil. Stir in Watermelon Simple Syrup and remaining 1 1/2 cups water; add more simple syrup to taste, if desired. Chill, uncovered, until cold, about 1 to 2 hours. Serve over ice; garnish each serving with basil sprigs and watermelon slices. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 days. Rate It Print