Make Sweet Tea

Make Sweet Tea
Sweet tea is a staple beverage in the Southern United States, with some even likening its consumption to breathing air; it’s just one of those essentials of everyday life. Most children born and raised in the South learn to make sweet tea from the time they are old enough to be helping out in the kitchen. Not everyone, though, is infused with Southern blood or exposed to ways to make sweet tea as a child. Welcome young and old alike to the best way to make sweet tea just like your mom used to do.

Make Sweet Tea Southern-Style:

Ingredients:
6 regular tea bags (Lipton and Luzianne are popular grocery store brands)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2-2 cups sugar
6 cups cold water
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2 Quarts
Directions:
1) Place tea bags and baking soda in a large glass measuring cup.
2) Pour 2 cups boiling water over the tea bags.
3) Cover and steep for 15 minutes in the measuring cup.
4) Take out the tea bags and give them a light squeeze before discarding them.
5) Pour the tea mixture into a 2-quart pitcher; add the sugar.
6) Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
7) Add in the 6 cups cold water.
8) Let cool; chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice.

Make sweet tea following this recipe and you will get smooth, sweet iced tea just like the coveted elixir served with dinner or as a cool refreshment in restaurants and homes all throughout the South. Like your tea with a little bit of a bite? Leave the baking soda out of the above recipe; the baking soda smoothes out the flavor of the tea and eliminates any bitterness or bite it might have after steeping.

Sweet tea is definitely a beverage that can be adapted to individual tastes; some like it very strong with less sugar and longer steep times while others like it sweet and smooth. It can be sweetened with white/brown/cane sugar if you prefer a traditional approach, or you can use any of the numerous artificial sugars and sugar substitutes. When using anything other than traditional sugars to make sweet tea take care to make sure your sugar has dissolved well before pouring; regular white sugar dissolves very well in hot water, but experience shows that some artificial sweeteners such as Splenda dissolve best in cold water.
Many families have a way of brewing and sweetening their tea that dates back generations. Make sweet tea however you like, but be sure to head down south to experience it in the area that started it all!