how to make sweet tea

[sandramaac]

Does the simple syrup make it sweeter than just putting straight sugar in the tea?

yes it does--creating the sugar solution where the sugar is dissolved then heated makes the sucrose change its chemical make-up a bit, actually making it sweeter than the original table sugar

 

[punkin]

Traditional 'sweet tea' is just that because it is made with a simple syrup. Begin with dissolving one cup of sugar in one cup of water. Bring to a boil on the stove, and once it comes to a good rolling boil, let go for at least a good minute or two. The boil is important! Once the simple syrup is made, it is important to let in cool before you add it to your tea. In fact, I will pop it in frig for an hour or so. I usually make a double batch. Once it is cooled it will be thick, and a bit viscous, like a very thin syrup. This process actually make the sugar taste sweeter. It is yummy.

Now brew your favorite tea, just being careful not let over steep the tea--it will be bitter. Now cool this tea also. This is important. Now add the simple syrup to tea, bringing it the desired sweetness. Add a few thin slice of lemon, don't squeeze them into the tea, just float the slice. Refigerate for a few hours and viola, traditional sweet tea.

You can also make flavored simple syrups such as mint and orange. Just prior to boiling the dissolved sugar mixture, add mint leaves or orange peel (peel from at least two navel oranges). Bring to boil, cool with the mint or peel, then strain prior to adding the syrup to the tea. I also like the put the syrups in decanters (the tall/skinny clear glass olive oil decanters you see work great for this since they have that long narrow spout) and let everyone add their own sugar syrup to the tea.

Hope this helps!!

This is the correct way. I also make a lemon syrup which can be used with water (or sparkling water) to make lemonade or mixed with tea (as you say) to make a lovely half/half (Arnold Palmer).

 

[mrspaha]

I'm literally am addicted to iced tea. I drink it all year long, and have a nice cold one next to me as I type this. It has such a crisp refreshing taste (plus it is so cheap to make), I often wonder why more people don't drink it. I like mine unsweetened, with just a few squirts of fresh lemon.

What I do is boil a large pot of water, pour the boiling water into a rubbermaid half-gallon pitcher, and steep 7 regular size teabags in it. I would assume you could put in whatever amount of sugar you want into the pitcher before the boiling water.

 

[Mkaz]

Ours is similar to others. We put 1 3/4 cups sugar in a one gallon pitcher and add lemon (just enough to coat the sugar slightly). In a small saucepan bring 7 tea bags to a boil. Turn down on low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour boiled tea (not the tea bags) over sugar and lemon. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add cold water to the pot (to release the rest of the tea) and pour into pitcher. Do this a few times until the water is clear. Then fill the pitcher the rest of the way with plain cold water. It makes awesome tea!

 

[WDWBarb]

You don't have to boil it to death, like I almost did by accident.
Just make sure the teabags reach a simmer before cutting off the eye.

I always make my sweet tea vegetarian.

I make it by boiling water (just maybe 2 cups), taking it off the burner and putting in the bags (4 family size). Let sit for about half an hour, take the bags out and add sugar (I do about 1 cup). Stir and then put the mixture in a pitcher and then add water and ice. Gah, I want sweet tea!

We put in a pinch of baking soda to keep the tea from getting cloudy. An old trick from those of us raised in the sticks where the water wasn't all that clear to begin with.

 

[Wishing on a star]

OMG!!! Everybody seems to getting a kick out of the way I said 'turning off the burner;!!!!

I'll have to be more careful.

Maybe this 'speak' is a southern thing!!!
Like, here in the south, we are 'fixing' some sweet tea....

Everything that we ever do here sounds like we are repairing something!!!

I actually am not that bad...
I don't use the word 'fixing' in the way very often.
But, hey, when one is born and raised in an area!!!

 

[taylor3297]

Sweet tea is known as the house wine of the south.

When I make it at home, I normally only make 2 quarts at a time. I use 6 regular sized tea bags and at least 1 cup of sugar if not a tad more. I preger Luzianne tea bags.

When I am not in the mood to make it at home, Smithfields BBQ has great tea and we will pick up a gallon from there.

Oh I almost forgot, Bojangles has great sweet tea too.

 

[luvsJack]

IMHO, it may make it seem sweeter... but the amount of sugar will be whatever amount you choose to use!

PS: once again, like I have just posted... I have accidentally boiled tea... And, it helped... It makes it less bitter, as it pulls the full flavor and body from the tea leaves. One can not over-steep tea.

In fact, if the water is not hot enough, or the the tea is not steeped long enough, one will be left without the full flavor, only the bitterness that initially comes out. You don't HAVE to boil it. (as one web-site I saw actually defined southern sweet tea as 'boiled'.) but if you are not steeping in simmering boiling hot water. You aren't getting the full effect.

I do believe that it must be sweetened when warm/hot.
Cold tea is just not going to dissolve enough sugar, and really pull all of the sugar and tea together to get that rich flavor.

Whenever we are up north, or even in Florida, where they only serve unsweetened tea, and not true, presweetened southern sweet tea... it is just awful... You can put sugar packets in that cold tea and stir and stir forever.... You'll never have good, sweet, southern, tea that way!

Just a tip: When we can't get sweet tea in a restaurant, we use one equal packet and one sugar packet for a glass. Its not the tea we have at home, but it gets it sweeter than just the sugar packets. I guess because the equal dissolves easier or something.

 

[dizcrazee]

Sweet tea is quite simple to make. I make mine a little different the pp. I fill a two quart pan about one third of cold water. Let it come to a boil and then I place 4 tea bags (or 2 family size tea bags) in the boiing water and remove from the stove. Let tea bags simmer about 5 minutes (too long makes the tea bitter). In a large pitcher, I put 2/3 cup of sugar and add the hot tea. Stir till disolved and then fill to the brim with cold water. Keep in the refrigerator.

This is how I make mine too, except that I use 4 family size bags. Also, I add a little water from the tap to the sugar in the pitcher before I add my tea from the pan because if the tea is too hot, it can carmelize the sugar. I generally use Splenda instead of sugar now and it's pretty good too.

I never thought about the fact that people from other parts of the country outside of the South might not know how to make iced sweet tea. Wow - strange!

 

[Southernmiss]

This is how I make mine too, except that I use 4 family size bags. Also, I add a little water from the tap to the sugar in the pitcher before I add my tea from the pan because if the tea is too hot, it can carmelize the sugar. I generally use Splenda instead of sugar now and it's pretty good too.

I never thought about the fact that people from other parts of the country outside of the South might not know how to make iced sweet tea. Wow - strange!

I have been reading this thread and told dh last night about it as he was making our weekly 10 gallons of sweet tea for our family of 5. He was in disbelief that folks don't know how to make sweet tea. He has his method down to a science! Lol

 

[left210]

We also use the tea maker. I used to make it on the stove like others have mentioned but love my ice tea maker. We use 8 regular size decaff tea bags with 1 1/2 cups of sugar. The ice tea maker is great because you can turn it on and go about doing other things and not have to worry about it. My 12 year old can even make the tea in the tea maker. Love it! We drink lots of ice tea at our house and make a batch usually every 1-2 days.

 

[Polyluvr]

Wow, almost had to stop and think how we make our tea! It's something that we have had all our lives, so kind of do it without thinking.

I put 1 - 1 1/4 cups sugar in a 2qt. pitcher with a little water (don't want to pour hot water in glass directly), then boil 2 cups water, add 5 tea bags and let it steep 5min. Any longer makes it bitter. Then pour the tea into pitcher, and finish adding cold water to make 2qts. Stir well, serve over ice.

I just made the tea exactly as you said ~ it is heavenly !!!

 

[violetrose]

I make "sweet tea" using an iced tea pitcher from Teavana that has the infuser built into it:

http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-makers-infusers/p/tristan-infuser-pitcher

I have a cheaper, plastic one that cost around $20.

I put the tea in the infuser, along with rock sugar (that I also buy from Tevana), then I put water on the stove and get to where it's hot but not boiling. Pour the water into the pitcher, put the top and built in infuser in it, let it steep anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on what kind of tea I am using and then pour it over ice.

 

[Agent7]

We always use Lipton and bring the tea to a boil. Basically we put the tea bags in the water while cold and heat to a boil then take off the burner and let steep for about 10 minutes. Add into pitcher with sugar then (after sugar is dissolved) fill the pitcher up. Two cups of sugar for about 1.5 gallons. The amount of tea bags used varies on strength wanted and amount of tea but it's anywhere between 4 and 9 regular tea bags. Refrigerate and serve with ice!

Another fun thing is making sun tea! Get a mason jar (large one) add tea bag, sugar(depending on mason jar size but usually no more than 1/4 cup), and water then cap it and let sit outside on a hot sunny day for a few hours. It's always good and the anticipation is fun. I like using peach tea for this.

 

[Buckalew11]

Thank you! I can't believe I'm as old as I am and have never heard of that before!

I can't believe you never have either. Maybe Wishing and I are *old*?

Maybe the difference is that I put in the tea bags while the water is still cold and turn on the heat. Been doing it this way for 28 years as did my mom before me. I have mistakenly boiled the water with the tea bags in the water and they have busted open. Anyway, I know everyone loves my tea, and I get asked to make it quite often. and this is the way my mom made it, but I may try boiling the water first and then throwing the tea bags in, I hate having to watch and make sure that it doesn't boil with the bags in it.

I was also told one time that I wasn't really southern, because I actually hate sweet tea. I only use sweet n low. I hate the taste of real sugar. lol. I told that person that I would be sure and let my born and raised in TN and MS mom and dad know. Even worse, my mom HATED and yes I scream hated tea with a passion, hot of cold. She was really messed up.

"Sweet and Low"?! I doubt you'd taste tea being bitter if you use that!

OMG!!! Everybody seems to getting a kick out of the way I said 'turning off the burner;!!!!

I'll have to be more careful.

Maybe this 'speak' is a southern thing!!!
Like, here in the south, we are 'fixing' some sweet tea....

Everything that we ever do here sounds like we are repairing something!!!

I actually am not that bad...
I don't use the word 'fixing' in the way very often.
But, hey, when one is born and raised in an area!!!

It's "fixin'" and I'm from South Jersey and use it all the time--because I have been in TN since I was 10.

And BTW, my mom is from S NJ also and she's always made sweet tea. Not sure where she learned that. And then one day my parents got a Mr. Coffee Ice Tea Maker for Christmas. OMG...not real Southern Sweet Tea at all. Dad thought it was great and easier.

I'd rather drink water than drink iced tea made in that thing. Did I say ?

I love sweet tea and could drink it all day long--but I'd never sleep at night.

At WDW I order their Gold Peak Tea (a Coke product). It doesn't taste like real southern sweet tea but I like it better than soda.

 

[disykat]

Thank you! I can't believe I'm as old as I am and have never heard of that before!

I'm glad someone asked. I'd also been trying to figure out what on earth "cutting off the eye" could mean. I figured it was a typo or a spell check thing and still couldn't figure out what it could have been.

Fixing something doesn't sound weird to me at all, I've also heard of "cutting off" for turning off, I just couldn't figure out what the "eye" could be.

 

[PigletsPal2]

This thread really brought back old memories for me! When DH was in the Army, we were always broke as a joke, so we never had sodas in thr house. I'd make a gallon of sweet tea in the morning and drink on that all day, then make another gallon just before DH got off duty and we'd drink on that all night. We went through a box of 100 tea bags every two weeks.

Queen Colleen

 

[cm8]

The eye?

OMG!!! Everybody seems to getting a kick out of the way I said 'turning off the burner;!!!!

I'll have to be more careful.

Maybe this 'speak' is a southern thing!!!
Like, here in the south, we are 'fixing' some sweet tea....

Everything that we ever do here sounds like we are repairing something!!!

I actually am not that bad...

I don't use the word 'fixing' in the way very often.
But, hey, when one is born and raised in an area!!!

I hear ya we say the "eye" around here too We also are guilty about using Fixin too. I'm fixin to head to the store, make dinner and so on.
We love sweet tea and only use Lipton teabags and mint or lemon to flavor. My sister loves to make sweet tea and I dare not drink any unless half of my glass is filled with water. She uses way too much sugar and it ends up being too sweet for me

 

[DawnM]

We were making our own but only my youngest and my DH drink it and don't drink every day.

Walmart sells a sweet tea concentrate and I have purchased that instead. It is decent. We just add water and ice. It is the kind used in many restaurants.

 

[Sorsha]

I haven't read the whole thread (on a tight time schedule today) but here's what I have done.

I am NOT a sweet tea drinker - I like mine black and plain - but I have a friend who prefers sweet. I drink a HUGE amount of iced tea, I never drink sodas or sweetened drinks or juices, so other than 1 cup of coffee a day and H2O, tea is my beverage of choice. I usually have a gallon pitcher of freshly brewed tea in the fridge.

To accommodate those who prefer it sweet, I make a sugar syrup. Equal amounts sugar and water in a pan, boil it till the sugar completely dissolves. stir it and watch it so it doesn't boil or become to thick. Let it cool completely and store it in a mason jar in the fridge; it keeps for a couple of weeks. To sweeten iced tea (or water, or cocktails, etc) add to taste.

You can also make flavored syrups. Follow the above directions, then when you remove it from the heat, add torn mint leaves or any other torn herb, or zest and juice from any citrus, or homegrown rose petals (nice for cocktails) - just about anything you can think of. Let it infuse the syrup while it cools, then strain before storing. lemon or mint sweet tea is really quite tasty, even to those who like it plain, like myself!

(PS: if you want it not quite so sweet, you can do one part sugar to 2 parts water. You may have to add more to your drinks to achieve the desired result, however)