Southern Sweet Tea
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Learn how easy it is to make my 2-ingredient Southern sweet tea recipe. It’s the most refreshing drink to enjoy on your porch throughout the year.
Nothing, I mean nothing, is more Southern than sweet tea. We drink sweet iced tea at almost every meal (yes, iced tea for breakfast is actually quite good), make it daily year-round, and even put it in our baby’s bottles! Dr. Phil once jokingly mentioned that Southerners started drinking sweet tea at age three, but Mama and I looked at each other in complete confusion as we knew perfectly well all of us had started on it by age one!
Go to any Southerner’s home and the first question they ask after sitting down is, “Ya wan’ some tea?” These days I make my sweet tea recipe with Splenda, but it tastes just as good as real sugar. Southern sweet tea just completes any meal.
So, how do you make my southern sweet tea? It’s easy! All you need is your favorite black tea bags (plus some water for brewing) and sugar (or Splenda). All we’re going to do is brew the tea in a sauce pot or a coffeemaker (more details below), then combine it in a pitcher with cold water and sugar. That’s literally all you need to do before you can enjoy a big glass of icy and refreshing Southern sweet tea.
Okay, enough chatting, let’s make some sweet tea, y’all!
What You’ll Need to Make Southern Sweet Tea:
- Tea bags
- Granulated sugar (or Splenda)
- Water
- Small sauce pot or a coffeemaker
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make My Sweet Tea Recipe:
Brew the tea
There are two popular ways of brewing tea. The one Mama and I use the most right now (this may change when the wind changes direction) is the sauce pot method.
For half a gallon of tea, put five regular-sized tea bags in a pot. Cover with water (you want about three inches of water in your pot).
You don’t have to worry about taking the tea bag labels off, either.
Now, as Mama says “In a pot, bring tea just to a boil and then remove from heat and turn off the eye.”
Cover and steep the tea for 15 minutes.
Your tea is now ready to be mixed.
If you do this, though, be careful to remember to remove the coffee grounds from your basket. Growing up, Mama would have supper on the table looking all wonderful and we’d take a sip and discover we were having “coffee tea”. Hehe, we always had fun with her when that happened!
Make the Southern sweet tea
No matter which method you choose, in a matter of minutes, you will have brewed, concentrated tea.
Take your pitcher and fill it about halfway with cold water. Then add your sugar (or Splenda).
This is a VERY important step because if you add your sugar to the hot tea, it will scorch the sugar and you’ll have terribly bitter tea.
So, we want to start with cold water, add the sugar…
…THEN add the hot tea.
Adding the brewed tea will warm the water enough that the sugar will easily dissolve.
Give that a good stir, then serve your sweet tea over ice.
Storage
So, we always drink the tea fresh. It can be kept in the refrigerator but Southern people prefer fresh sweet tea. Personally, I always throw out the leftovers and start fresh the next day — and so does my Mama. But if you do want to extend the life of your iced tea, use the baking soda trick below and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
- There are many tea brands on the market. Mama prefers Luzianne but I usually use Tetley or Red Diamond. Just make sure you get a general blend or orange pekoe tea that’s specifically blended for iced tea (all of these brands will have this marked on the package). Orange pekoe is a generic term for a basic, medium-grade black tea.
- A handy tip: when you squeeze your tea leaves or tea bag, you release extra tannins which will cause a more bitter taste. So just dump ’em without that extra squeeze.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste. You might like more or less and that’s totally fine!
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve Southern sweet tea?
You simply serve sweet tea in a glass with ice. Some people like to add a squeeze of fresh lemon, a dash of bottled lemon juice, or a lemon slice garnish. Mama likes to add an orange slice. Give it a go and see what you think!
What is the mixture of sweet tea?
Sweet tea is simply a mixture of brewed black tea with sugar, served cold over ice.
How long should I steep tea for sweetened iced tea?
You want to steep the black tea bags for up to 15 minutes. The longer you steep, the stronger the tea taste.
Why do Southerners put baking soda in sweet tea?
So, some Southerners add a pinch of baking soda to their sweet tea to remove any bitterness from the black tea leave tannins. However, this is totally optional and not something I’ve ever done. But if you wanna give it a go, add it to the water when you boil your tea.
How does Paula Deen make sweet tea?
Paula Deen makes sweet tea how I make sweet tea! The only difference is hers includes a garnish of fresh lemon slices and fresh mint.
Check out these other refreshing drink recipes:
Hawaiian Iced Tea (Non-Alcoholic Punch)
Iced Cherry Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Sugar-Free Peach Lemonade (2 Ingredients Only)
Ingredients
- 5 tea bags
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Place tea bags in a saucepot or coffee maker (down in the coffee pot). If using the coffee pot, run a cycle of water through it to brew the tea. If using a saucepot, fill it about three inches with water and bring it just to a boil, then remove it from the heat.5 tea bags
- Fill a pitcher halfway with cool water and add sugar. Stir. Then add hot tea and stir again. Add more water, if necessary, to make two quarts. Serve over ice.3/4 cup granulated sugar
Nutrition
Thank you for reading Southern Plate! Have a GREAT Day!
I always put the sugar in with the hot water because it makes the tea sweeter, not bitter. Hot water inverts the sugar (sucrose) to become glucose and fructose, which makes sugar taste sweeter.
Anita is right, the water here (I’m in Madison, WI) turns the tea black but I found a recipe that called for boiling your water, pouring it over the tea bags in a glass measuring cup or pitcher (not metal!), with 1/4 tsp of baking soda, let steep for 5 minutes then add sugar and cold water. FINALLY I got tea as good as it was down south! Pretty and clear! Also, I find Northerners don’t seem to be able to handle the sweet in their tea nearly as well as southerners can!
Being from the south myself, I relish my sweet tea and make it similarly. I, however, make 2 gallons almost every day (4 sons & their friends). I like to get my large saucepan filled with water up to a full rolling boil I then turn off the heat and drop in 4 family sized Luzianne tea bags then throw on the lid to allow tea to steep…usually for an hour even more sometimes. I always put 2 cups of sugar in my gallon pitchers pour half the steeped tea into each pitcher stir well and fill with cold water. From there it goes into the fridge and we really prefer it the next day because we like it cold and often we don’t use ice (well, some of us do don’t we honey?). I also never knew anything else was served at any meal other than iced tea. Did I ever get the rude awakening in Wisconsin some years ago when I requested a glass and the waitress told me without a blinking, “it’s not summer?” Even then, it was serve unsweetened…LOL. Thank heavens McDonald’s serves sweet tea now and when we go North, I always have to get my ‘fix’ there. My inlaws only have soft drinks or water in the fridge and their water makes the worst tea of any kind…..LOL.
Anita…I recently moved to Greenville, SC from Michigan and I am addicted to sweet tea and I am back visiting family in MI and was going through withdrawals, lol…I asked my Hubby to please try McDonalds for sweet tea…YAY!!! they have it here in MI too…I am making my own today though!!!
I make sweet tea using family size tea bags and a microwave. I put 3 bags in a microwaveable saucepan and about a quarter of water. Microwave for 6 minutes. That way the water doesn’t actually boil. Then to a gallon pitcher I add 2 1/4 cups of sugar and about a quart of hot water from a water kettle. Mix up sugar and add tea from saucepan. Then using cold water, refill saucepan with tea bags still in it and pour it in pitcher. Top off gallon pitcher with more cold water. Tastes just like McDonald’s sweet tea. My husband drinks nothing else. I have lived in the north and south but nothing beats sweet tea in the Carolinas.
Oh, I forgot to ask earlier. What are you thoughts on adding a pinch of baking soda to the hot water the tea bags are in? My Mom never did that, but my Granny did.
Christy, how long do the tea bags need to steep in the water? Also, I only have family size bags, do you think 2 of those equal about 5 regular size?
I used to use 4 family sized tea bags for a gallon of tea until I started using gallon size bags, I fill a coffee pot with water and put it in the reservoir and place my tea bags in the carafe and turn it on, I like strong tea so I let mine steep over night. My daughter says I make the best tea.
I put my sugar in the hot water to dissolve and it is never burned or bitter. I love it that way! No sugar granules at all.
Me too just a little bit of hot water to desolve the sugar, then the tea, then the rest with cold water.
I am the first southerner in my family marry a Yankee (I just couldn’t help thatIfell madly in love!) and was SHOCKED that his whole family drank milk – at every meal!! I now make my own whenever we visit Upstate New York and don’t even have to share!