Heat the 1.65 litres of water to 75–80°C — do not bring it to a full boil under any circumstances. Green tea brewed at boiling temperature extracts bitter, harsh catechin compounds that cannot be masked by fruit sweetness or honey afterward, and the difference between clean, grassy green tea and unpleasantly bitter green tea is often just 5–10 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer, bring the water to a full boil and allow it to rest uncovered for 4–5 minutes before brewing — this is consistently enough to bring the temperature down into the correct range.

Add the green tea bags or loose-leaf tea to the water and steep for 2–3 minutes maximum. This is the strictest timing window of any tea in this collection — green tea's bitter compounds extract at a significantly steeper curve than black or white tea, and even 30 seconds past the correct endpoint makes a noticeable difference in the finished drink. Remove the bags gently without squeezing, or strain out the loose tea completely. Squeezing releases the most concentrated and most bitter fraction held within the bags, specifically the fraction that would most directly undermine the berry and honey balance.

While the tea is still warm — not hot, but clearly warm to the touch — stir in 2 tablespoons of mild honey until completely dissolved. Honey requires warmth to integrate evenly; added to cold or room-temperature liquid it settles unevenly and never distributes properly regardless of how long it is stirred. Taste carefully at this stage and add up to 1 additional tablespoon only if the tea tastes noticeably flat or sharp — the berries will contribute their own natural sweetness during the infusion period, so the final result will always be sweeter than the tea base alone. Allow the sweetened tea to cool fully to room temperature before adding the berries.

Hull and thinly slice any strawberries being used, since their larger size means whole fruit infuses slowly and unevenly in cold liquid. Leave raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries whole or halved — these smaller berries release colour and aroma efficiently without requiring cutting. The important step is lightly crushing approximately one-third of the total berry quantity between your fingers or with the back of a spoon: this releases visible juice and volatile aromatic compounds from the outer cells without reducing the berries to a pulp that would make the infusion turn murky. The remaining two-thirds stay whole, providing a slower, cleaner release throughout the infusion period.

Add the prepared berries to the completely cooled tea. Add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice at this point if you want a brighter, more vivid finish — the lemon's citric acid heightens the perception of the berry's own natural tartness without introducing a separate citrus flavour. Refrigerate and allow the infusion to develop for 30–45 minutes, checking at the 30-minute mark. You're looking for a clearly tinted tea with a fruity fragrance that is gently present without being dominant — the tea should still smell and taste of green tea first, with the fruit as the secondary impression.

Once the tea is lightly tinted and smells pleasantly fruity, strain out all the berry solids through a fine-mesh sieve. Leaving the berries in beyond this point is the most common way to ruin this preparation — the skins continue releasing tannins and the crushed berry pulp gradually makes the liquid more turbid and heavier-tasting. Discard the strained berries and return the clean, lightly coloured tea to the refrigerator. Continue chilling for 1–2 hours until the tea is fully cold and the flavours have settled into an integrated, cohesive character.

Fill glasses generously with ice. Pour the chilled berry green iced tea over the ice and garnish with fresh berries arranged on the rim or floating on the surface. Serve immediately while the tea is at its crispest and the fruit aroma is most expressive.