How To Make Iced Sweet Tea (Video)
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A lot of folks have asked me how I make my sweet tea so today I’m bringing you a video showing you exactly how I do it. Hope you’ll join me for a glass!
This is how we make our sweet tea but everyone has their preference. If you prefer a weaker tea, use fewer tea bags. If you like it sweeter, taste it and then add more sugar to suit you. Note: Most restaurants use a much more sugar than this :). We always go through a full gallon a day (at least) but if you have any left you can just store it in the refrigerator and enjoy over the next day or two!
Sweet Tea
- 5 Tea Bags*
- 3/4 Cup sugar (more if you prefer)
- Water
Remove tags from teabags and place in small pot. Fill up pot most of the way with water (exact amount doesn’t matter as long as the tea bags are covered and then some). Place on medium to medium high heat and bring just to a boil. Remove from stove eye and prepare your pitcher.
Fill pitcher halfway (or so) with cold water. Add your sugar**. Add hot tea. Stir until sugar is dissolved and fill remainder of pitcher with cold water. Serve over ice.
*We use Orange Pekoe tea but you can experiment with making iced tea with other teas as well. Earl Grey makes a delicious iced tea!
**I prefer to use Splenda or Ideal Sweetener in my tea but use the same amount as I would were I using sugar.
The trick to having a good smooth tasting tea is to avoid adding hot tea directly to the sugar or sugar directly to the hot tea. This scorches the sugar and creates a very bitter taste in your tea. To avoid this, place cold water in your pitcher first, add your sugar to that, and then pour in your hot tea.
If you have a traditional coffee maker, I talk about how to make sweet tea in that in this post.
Funny Family Stories of Sweet Tea
One time my mother was watching a television talk show and they were talking about how much Southerners love sweet tea. The host said “Well it’s no wonder, they’ve probably been drinking it since they were four!” Mama took objection to this and huffed “Four? I was putting it in your baby bottles by the time you were two!” ~giggles~
My Grandmother Lucille spent a great deal of time at the elbow of my Great Grandmother (Mama Reed) after she was married learning how to cook. A lot of the daughters in law and mothers gathered at Mama Reed’s house on Sundays to help prepare the big meal. Shortly after Grandmama joined the clan she was given the task of making the Sweet Tea. Back then it was made in a large glass recycled pickle jar. Grandmama poured the hot tea directly into the jar and set to stirring it up vigorously with a long handled metal spoon. A few clinks later and the jar shattered, sending sticky sweet tea all over Mama Reed’s clean kitchen floor. Everyone had a good and gracious laugh about it but Grandmama said “I liked to never got the sticky off’n that floor!”
How young were you when you started drinking sweet tea?
Do you have any special or funny memories of Sweet Tea in your family?
I’ll pick one of the comments below to win a Luzianne Prize Pack
Winner announced on this post and notified tomorrow evening. Giveaway closes at noon central time Friday, July 1st.
This Giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Joan Whitaker! I’ve been in contact with Joan and given her directions on how to claim her prize. Have a great day and thank you!
Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored by Luzianne nor was I compensated for doing it. I just think it’s awfully good tea. I also think y’all need to go make some right now.
“Don’t wait for people to be friendly, show them how.”
Submitted by Jenny (thank you, Jenny!). Submit your quote or read more great quotes by clicking here.
just finished making the 6th run of this great tea since finding this post last week. My 12 yr. old grandson said “It tastes like Great-grandmother’s tea…how’d you get it to do that?” I showed him your site and now he’s asked for a pitcher a day!
Thanks for showing this southern-born/bred girl how to make it the best way!
Give that grandson of yours a BIG hug from me!! I love hearing kids reactions to good southern foods and family traditions!
I thought I made good sweet tea as people always ask, “How’d you make it?” I tried it this way over the weekend and was totally amazed at how much better it was. I use quite a bit less sweetener but even so it tasted much more sweet than usual! Thanks for the instructions!
I meant “growing up” in North Carolina
As long as I can remember, I have always drank sweet tea growing in NC. We drank it with everything. My grandmother always used Lipton and well water, the best tasting tea ever. My mama and myself have always used Lipton for sweet iced tea. You and I make sweet tea the same way. I will have to try the Ideal to sweeten my tea.
I like to add a dash of salt to my tea when making it. it will knock the bitter and makes it really smooth.
My Aunt Anita uses a pinch of baking soda to take out the bitterness.
Please no sweet tea! I know I’m not a southerner and actually grew up in Michigan. Love ice tea but leave out the sugar for me. Got to have lots of ice. We used to use green tea but now use Oolong tea–However, my southern husband loves his sweet tea so many times you will find 2 pitchers in the frig-His and Mine. I learned from years of drinking hot tea (plain) that you do not boil your tea. We always put tea leaves in a tea ball and steep in boiling water. Now use the bags but do the same. Boil the water then put the bags in and steep. Don’t order tea when eating out because their unsweetened tea is usually rank and bitter from boiling the tea. Love your sight and enjoy your recipes.
Hey WinnieMom, I’m from Michigan too! Now I live in southern Mississippi and have been here for over a decade. I Love sweet tea, my mom used to make it when we lived up north, she was from Alabama but lived in Michigan for 30+ years. I always thought her sweet tea was such a treat! Now she drinks unsweet.
I make sweet tea around here for the hubby and sons. I boil my water in the tea kettle, pour it in the pitcher, add the sugar, stir well and then drop in the big bag for a gallon. After steeping for a few hours, I fill with cold water to the top of the gallon pitcher and put in the fridge.
I’m so glad to learn about NOT boiling tea. Grandma and Grandpa (from the north) always had a pot of tea with their dinner (night time meal). Grandma boiled the water and put it in their old silver teapot with a tea bag to steep.
I imagine I just learned to mimick what Mom and Grandma did and I didn’t boil the tea bag.
I agree with you….LOTS of ICE!
I learned a neat little trick from a friend of mine, who lived in Alabama( I am from LA). She removes the tags from the tea bags and ties the strings together before dropping them in the pot. It’s amazing how such a small step makes it easier and neater to deal with, and clean up is a snap, I love learning how other people do things!
Now I will try your tip too, thanks!