For you Southern boys

[longhauler]

After spending a week in Alabama I got spoiled drinking great tasting sweet tea. I was wondering if anyone had a favorite recipe for good southern sweet tea that you don't mind sharing.

Thanks

[anaro]

Warning this is not for diabetics!!!!! Buy luzziane iced tea bags (get family sized). 1 of these tea bags makes 1 quart of tea.... 2 cups hot (just barely starting to boil) water. Put tea bag in until your preferred shade (I usually leave for approx 30 min but have forgotten and come back after a couple hours). Remove tea bag and add 1 cup of sugar. Stir until all sugar is completely dissolved. Add 2 cups cold water. Stir. Chill and serve over ice.

For one gallon I use 1/2 quart of hot water, 4 tea bags, 4 cups of sugar and 1/2 quart cold water. Follow same process as above. 1 gallon lasts about 2 or 3 days in my house as we are southern sweet tea hogs here. Enjoy your new addiction!!

[mark5w]

No lemon??

[anaro]

Nope, I hate lemon in my tea.

[johnboytoo]

+1 - and ALL the restaurants around here ASSUme you want lemon with your sweet tea - what's up with that ?!?

[Tim D]

I make it 3 family size bags and two small mint bags. Lay them flat in the coffee maker. Run two pots of water thru. 1 heaping 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar. Top the rest off with ice.

[avvidclif]

That's because most Texas Southerners have lemon in their tea. Where you from?

[longhauler]

Originally Posted by anaro

Warning this is not for diabetics!!!!! Buy luzziane iced tea bags (get family sized). 1 of these tea bags makes 1 quart of tea.... 2 cups hot (just barely starting to boil) water. Put tea bag in until your preferred shade (I usually leave for approx 30 min but have forgotten and come back after a couple hours). Remove tea bag and add 1 cup of sugar. Stir until all sugar is completely dissolved. Add 2 cups cold water. Stir. Chill and serve over ice.

For one gallon I use 1/2 quart of hot water, 4 tea bags, 4 cups of sugar and 1/2 quart cold water. Follow same process as above. 1 gallon lasts about 2 or 3 days in my house as we are southern sweet tea hogs here. Enjoy your new addiction!!

Wow 4 cups of sugar. I bet that is sweet, but it does sound tasty, thanks for sharing.

[anaro]

You wanted southern sweet tea. That is how sweet they make it around here. Ours is no sweeter than the local Smithfields, bojangles, McDonald's (yes they make it sweeter down here) or even the local bbq places. But if you are not used to a lot of sugar be prepared for the sugar high.

[mark5w]

For your perusing.

1879 - The oldest sweet tea recipe (ice tea) in print comes from a community cookbook called Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, published in 1879:

"Ice Tea. - After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls green tea. If wanted for supper, do this at breakfast. At dinner time, strain, without stirring, through a tea strainer into a pitcher. Let it stand till tea time and pour into decanters, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the pitcher. Fill the goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar. A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency."

1884 - This may be the first printed recipe using black tea, which has become so universal today, and could also be the earliest version of pre-sweetened iced tea, the usual way of making it in the South today. Mrs. D. A. (Mary) Lincoln, director of the Boston Cooking School, published Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book: What to Do and What Not to Do in Cooking in 1884. On page 112, there it is: iced tea, proving that the drink was not just a Southern drink.

"Ice Tea or Russian Tea - Make the tea by the first receipt, strain it from the grounds, and keep it cool. When ready to serve, put two cubes of block sugar in a glass, half fill with broken ice, add a slice of lemon, and fill the glass with cold tea."

[longhauler]

Originally Posted by mark5w

For your perusing.

That's some pretty interesting info about sweet tea thanks for sharing

[longhauler]

Originally Posted by anaro

You wanted southern sweet tea. That is how sweet they make it around here. Ours is no sweeter than the local Smithfields, bojangles, McDonald's (yes they make it sweeter down here) or even the local bbq places. But if you are not used to a lot of sugar be prepared for the sugar high.

I intend on trying this with my next pitcher of sweet tea, it does sound good, just sayin thats a lot of sugar, I do like sweet things. Thanks again for sharing.

[anaro]

Yes you are right about a lot of sugar, I cringe every time I make it.

Mark- interesting start to sweet tea, but it does look like the south perfected it.

[Tim D]

You can always add more sugar, can take it out once it is in. lol 4 cups...wow. That sounds like tea Kool-Aid!

[mark5w]

Susan gave up using sugar and misses the real Sweet Tea she makes at home. Does not taste the same with splenda.

[Tim D]

Originally Posted by mark5w

Susan gave up using sugar and misses the real Sweet Tea she makes at home. Does not taste the same with splenda.

I use the natural brown "cane" sugar for tea and coffee. Good stuff. Refined "white" sugar is not good for you. But what is anymore?

[Lloyd]

Originally Posted by mark5w

Susan gave up using sugar and misses the real Sweet Tea she makes at home. Does not taste the same with splenda.

Do some research on Splenda, It's not very nice stuff.

[johnboytoo]

+1 - the 'experts' have changed their story on sweetners again

[Gcross1468]

Luzianne family size tea bags...3 for 2 quarts. Boil 2 cups of water then add the 3 bags. Let steep for 7-10 mins. 1 cup of sugar in the 2 quart jug and a 1/8th spoon of baking soda (helps take any bitterness out). Take tea bags out of the 2 cup container but don't squeeze them dry! This also makes it bitter. Pour the 2 cups of hot tea into the 2 quart container and stir vigorously. As soon as the sugar is completed dissolved, put a couple of handfuls of ice cubes in the 2 quart container. This shocks the tea flavor in place. Stir the ice around making sure the tea has completely cooled, then add remaining water to fill 2 quarts. That's my Alabama receipe!

[anaro]

Gcross we were talking about this at work today and a coworker does something very similar. The baking soda is a new trick to me.