Forget matcha – the internet’s new favourite iced tea is Hong Kong Sprite Iced Tea, a drink that needs no ceremonial powders or whisks. All it takes is a bottle of Sprite and a few tea bags, and it’s fizzing its way across social media as an alternative to the green tea that now dominates UK coffee shop and dessert menus, even at Greggs.
What is Hong Kong Sprite Iced Tea?
The drink is essentially black tea cold-brewed into Sprite. It gained attention after a TikTok clip by Hisham Raus, which has more than 20 million views, showed off the beverage. While it may seem like a random internet creation, it draws on Hong Kong’s long history of iced-lemon-tea culture.
The classic Hong Kong drink, often called dong ling cha, is made with strongly brewed black tea such as Ceylon, fresh lemon slices, sugar and plenty of ice. It is traditionally served in Hong Kong diners, known locally as cha cheen teng. The viral Hong Kong Sprite Iced Tea is the internet’s riff on this popular drink.
Instead of brewing tea, sweetening it and chilling it separately, the viral version does several jobs in one – making it, as one columnist put it, the lazy person’s drink for those who can’t be bothered to brew tea. Sprite has even launched its own version, ‘Sprite + Tea’ (Spritea), which included a Hong Kong launch.
How to make the viral drink
The recipe calls for 500ml of Sprite (or Sprite Zero), 2-3 teabags of any brand, a circular slice of lemon, and ice. To make it, open the bottle of Sprite and poke the teabags inside. Screw the lid back on, slowly turn the bottle upside down a couple of times, and put it in the fridge. Leave it for anything from an hour to overnight, depending on how strong you like it.
To serve, remove the teabags and place the lemon slice at the base of a glass. Fill with medium-sized ice cubes, pour the Sprite and tea mixture over the top, and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. A lemon slice can be added as a garnish for extra citrus.
Does it actually taste good?
According to the columnist, yes – annoyingly. Sprite is very sweet on its own, while tea can be bitter and drying, but combined they rein in each other’s worst attributes. A squeeze of fresh lemon elevates it further, and it tastes less like Sprite than you’d imagine. Served in a decent highball glass with filtered ice cubes, it could almost pass for a spritzy, citrusy mocktail from a trendy bar.
The columnist admitted to starting on the wrong foot by accidentally buying a 500ml bottle of 7Up, but once the right ingredients were together, it was easy to build and extremely refreshing. They expressed interest in trying different versions with various kinds of tea, particularly Earl Grey, and planned to test the 7Up version too. A version with a double shot of vodka was also made.
