Give me your best homemade (sweet) iced tea recipe

[mretzloff]

Since moving to the South ten years ago, I have fallen in love with Southern iced tea. I drink so much it is a miracle I have not gotten a kidney stone yet.

I'm sure at least some of you guys make your own.

EDIT: Or maybe I should have put this in the Cafe section...

 

[Brodirt]

When did this concept of "sweet" tea become so popular?

IIRC about 20 years ago Snapple would indicate "Iced Tea" on their "sweet" tea and "Unsweetened Ice Tea" on their regular iced tea.

I think the marketing guys are f'in with us big time...everything old is new again!

Anyway...here's my recipe. Brew tea. Add ice. Add water. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice. Sweeten in the glass as you choose.

 

[MrGuy]

Personally, I can't stand the sweet stuff! (that's me trying to get all that sugar off my tongue)
For sweet tea, I'd imagine one could get fine results from mixing a batch of instant tea and adding tremendous amounts of sugar. I like to do sun tea in the summertime. Add about 8-10 (3-4 family size) tea bags to a clear glass gallon sized jar and set it out in the sun for about 3-4 hours. Chill, then you could add your devil grains to taste. I think it would be a waste of quality tea to add all that sugar, but in the non-summertime I'll make iced tea with whole Darjeeling leaves. Add about 10 teaspoons of loose tea (any kind you like is fine, but some do better than others this way) to a glass jar, fill with one gallon of cold water, let sit over night then strain out the leaves. What great taste, and it won't turn cloudy when added to ice, like hot brewed tea will.
All amounts vary based on personal taste of course!

 

[Corey]

1. Make a simple syrup by heating two cups of sugar in one cup of water until all the sugar is dissolved. Store in a container which will allow you to dispense easily. I use an old ketchup bottle that's been thoroughly cleaned out.

2. Brew up a big batch of your favorite tea and chill.

Combine simple syrup and tea to suit your taste. Since the sugar is dissolved in the simple syrup, it'll blend nicely into your tea, even at cold temps, without clumping up at the bottom of the glass. Add a wedge of lemon or a mint leaf if you desire for a shot of flavor and as decoration.

 

[mretzloff]

Corey, I like the simple syrup idea. I made lemonade with that a while ago and it turned out nicely. I'll have to try that.

 

[Dubbya]

Do it the way everybody who's from here's grandma does it.

3 large tea bags(orange pekoe and black tea mixture works best for sweetening) in a 1 gallon pot full of water just off of the stove and boiling hot. Steep it until it's dark enough that you can't see the bottom of the pot. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar, stirring until dissolved completely, and pour the dark sweet mixture into a 2 gallon pitcher. Add cold tap water to the pitcher until it's almost full and place it into the refrigerator.

Wait until the next day to drink it. Trust me, it's always better the next day.

 

[Corey]

Corey, I like the simple syrup idea. I made lemonade with that a while ago and it turned out nicely. I'll have to try that.

A container of simple syrup is an incredibly handy thing to have around. I've have people over who like tea at various sweetness levels, from unsweet up to sickly sweet (me), so the syrup makes it easy for everyone to get what they like with no hassles.

I hadn't thought to add it to lemonade though, thanks for the idea!

 

[mretzloff]

A container of simple syrup is an incredibly handy thing to have around. I've have people over who like tea at various sweetness levels, from unsweet up to sickly sweet (me), so the syrup makes it easy for everyone to get what they like with no hassles.

I hadn't thought to add it to lemonade though, thanks for the idea!

You're welcome. Thank you for your idea.

 

[Bulldawg]

Here's my Organic Sweet Tea Recipe:

1. Boil 80 oz. of filtered water in a pot
2. Sit 80 oz. of filtered water aside
3. Turn eye off and drop 5 large tea pouches in the water. I use Rishi Organic Fair Trade Black Tea "Pure". You can get this from Wholefoods. Stir a few times over about a 10 minute time period.
4. Remove tea pouches and add 2/3 cup of organic sugar and stir.
5. Add Organic honey to taste and stir. I use about 1.5 cups.
6. Pour the other 80 oz. of water into the pot and stir.
7. Cut 4 organic lemons in half, remove seeds, squeeze lemon juice into tea, and drop lemons into tea. Be sure to remove the stickers from the lemons.
8. Refrigerate and enjoy the next day.

 

[mretzloff]

Bulldawg, this will work with tap water and non-organic stuff too, correct?

 

[Bulldawg]

Bulldawg, this will work with tap water and non-organic stuff too, correct?

definitely!

 

[soapbox]

When did this concept of "sweet" tea become so popular?

Not "when," but "where," suh. South of the Mason-Dixon line, is where.

Anyway...here's my recipe. Brew tea. Add ice. Add water. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice. Sweeten in the glass as you choose.

Real southern sweet tea isn't sweetened in the glass. It's sweetened with sugar syrup while the brewed tea is still hot, usually in about 1/2 gallon increments or larger. Some folks will tell you that they put some insane amount of sugar into the tea, so it tastes like you're drinking sugar syrup. Why this is an "I-can-use-more-than-you" contest I don't know. Some folks may like it, but I like my pancreas and my current lack of diabetes.

I use about 2/3 cup of sugar for a half gallon of tea. I use two quart-sized tea bags and one Earl Grey tea bag or some mint leaves (if I've been making mint juleps). I cheat a little, in that rather than syrup, I add the sugar to the still-hot tea directly, once I have removed and squeezed the tea bags. Stir it up -- it'll all dissolve, and then you pour it into a pitcher filled with ice. You may have to add some water to get the full 1/2 gallon.

Feel free to add the extra 3 cups of sugar that some people do...

 

[Dubbya]

7. Cut 4 organic lemons in half, remove seeds, squeeze lemon juice into tea,
and drop lemons into tea. Be sure to remove the stickers from the lemons.

8. Refrigerate and enjoy the next day.

That should be nearer the front of that step.

As for 8, I couldn't agree more.

 

[mretzloff]

Not "when," but "where," suh. South of the Mason-Dixon line, is where.



Real southern sweet tea isn't sweetened in the glass. It's sweetened with sugar syrup while the brewed tea is still hot, usually in about 1/2 gallon increments or larger. Some folks will tell you that they put some insane amount of sugar into the tea, so it tastes like you're drinking sugar syrup. Why this is an "I-can-use-more-than-you" contest I don't know. Some folks may like it, but I like my pancreas and my current lack of diabetes.

I use about 2/3 cup of sugar for a half gallon of tea. I use two quart-sized tea bags and one Earl Grey tea bag or some mint leaves (if I've been making mint juleps). I cheat a little, in that rather than syrup, I add the sugar to the still-hot tea directly, once I have removed and squeezed the tea bags. Stir it up -- it'll all dissolve, and then you pour it into a pitcher filled with ice. You may have to add some water to get the full 1/2 gallon.

Feel free to add the extra 3 cups of sugar that some people do...

I'm with you on the sugar thing. I have never understood the need to add so much. It's still not as bad as when you go to a restaurant and order iced tea and they forgot to stir it. They might as well have just served you the syrup minus the tea...

 

[Bulldawg]

That should be nearer the front of that step.

As for 8, I couldn't agree more.

step 7: that's part of the process...you gotta fish the lemon out to remove the sticker after you've already dropped it in.

step 8: You just have to be patient and wait on it.

 

[A3M0N]

This guy (me) was born and raised in Charleston, SC.

1) Boil a pot of water.
2) Steep 3 family sized Lipton tea bags, or 7 regular bags.
3) Pour tea into a gallon pitcher.
4) Add a cup (maybe a little more) of sugar and stir until dissolved.
5) Top off pitcher with cold water.
6) Fill glass with ice, pour over, enjoy.

Next, I will be making KoolAid.

 

[SCWilson]

My wife makes the sweet tea in our house. She uses the coffee maker (washed before and after) to brew the tea.

2 tea bags placed in the filter basket. Fill coffee maker to capacity (12 cups) and turn on. While that is going get a 1 gallon pitcher add 2 cups of sugar. Add sufficient tap water to cover the sugar by aprox 1 inch and stir. When the tea/coffee pot is full, add directly to the pitcher and stir. Add additional water if needed. Place in fridge.

It is very sweet, almost too sweet. It tastes more like sugar than tea, but at least I have my sheng to drink.

 

[Walter Sobchak]

This is probably sacrilege to some of you, but here's how I enjoy my cold tea. I take 9 teabags, 5 Earl Grey, 4 plain (any variety), sometimes black sometimes green, but them in about 17 oz of water just off a rolling boil. Steep them for 9 minutes. Remove the bags, squeeze out the excess and you should have just about 16 oz of stongly concentrated hot tea. I then put a heaping tablespoon of raw honey in while it's hot and stir until the honey is dissolved. Then I pour 8oz of the concentrate into a 1 liter bottle and fill with cold water. The other 8oz I let cool and store in the fridge to make another liter when I finish drinking the first. It's good stuff. Just a touch sweet, nice flavor (for me), cool and refreshing. It still tastes good after 4 or 5 days in the fridge. I've never had it last longer than that because I usually drink it fast.

 

[_JP_]

Last summer we had a wedding rehearsal dinner at the Blue Willow Inn Restaurant in Social Circle Georgia. Any time one of us asked for a sweet tea the waitress replied "Champagne of the South!" Here is their recipe:

1 gallon water
4 or 5 family-size tea bags (each bag enough for 1 quart)
3 cups granulated sugar (at a minimum)
Lemon slices or mint sprigs for garnish

Boil water, remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep for 12 to 15 minutes, up to 20 minutes for stronger tea. Remove the bags and stir in the sugar while the tea is still hot. After it cools serve it in glasses filled with ice and garnish as desired.

--
After posting this I realized that as I was writing it I was drinking an unsweetened iced tea, which is what I prefer.

 

[Pitino]

Here's a really good, quick recipe my mom uses (her family's from Arkansas, they know how to cook):

1. 4 tea bags tied together in roughly 1.5 cups water
2. microwave on medium for 3.5 minutes
3. add 1/2 cup sugar to pitcher
4. steep the tea bags for minute or so after they come out of the microwave
5. pour hot tea over the sugar and bring the pitcher to volume with water