Sweet Tea Question

[Mackey Mouse]

I am back in the Northeast where we poor unfortunates do not have access to sweet tea like y'all do in the South.. This is my question, why don't we have sweet tea? Is there some sweet tea history that I am not privy to.

I am addicted to it now (husband too) and short of making it myself, I will not get again until I go South. This is another part of my question and how come only certain parts of the South have sweet tea...

Anyhow, if any of you Southerners want to take pity on this Northerner who cannot get sweet tea anywhere and have a good recipe, would you pretty please post it so I can make my own..

Sign me sweet tea deprived and knows it. *sigh*

 

[Katie]

I live in Illinois and just recently, OCharley's, Texas Roadhouse and Cracker Barrel have started offering sweet tea! Guess where we eat now!

I am addicted to!!
Lipton Bottle, extra sweet is the best bottled sweet tea i have found, but not as good as good Southern Sweet tea fresh brewed!

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I love sweet tea, but I live in the north too. The best I've done is track down a copycat recipe of snapple iced tea and leave out the lemon juice. Tastes just like sweet tea.

 

[SC Minnie]

Here is how we make tea

7 small tea bags (I like Lipton) for a gallon

boil water in a pot- turn burner off
put tea bags in the water and let sit 20-30 minutes
In your tea pitcher fill it up about 1/4 with hot water
Put in 2 cups of sugar so it will melt
Once the tea bags are ready pour into the sugar water and refrigerate

Then enjoy!!!

 

[GEM]

Anyhow, if any of you Southerners want to take pity on this Northerner who cannot get sweet tea anywhere and have a good recipe, would you pretty please post it so I can make my own..

Oh, honey. That right there proves you're a Yankee. There's no "recipe" for sweet tea! If my grandmother were still alive, that one would crack her up!

Just make some tea and put some sugar in it. (I prefer Lipton!) Now, the only trick is to make sure you add the sugar while it's still hot. That make it alll disolve better.

Good luck.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I was born in the South, raised in the South...and I'm planning on dying in the South...but I never have liked sweet tea.

But I can tell you that SC Minnie has it about right...But I usually make DH a 2 qt. pitcher with 1 1/3 cups of sugar rather than 1 cup.

I use 2 family-sized tea bags with about 1 1/2 qts. water. Bring the water to a full boil, and then remove it from the heat before putting the tea bags in. Tea in boiling water degrades the quality of the leaves and will make your tea bitter.

Bless your heart...having to live up North...

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

If you have a Cracker Barrell or a Shoney's then you can get sweet tea there!

You cant add sugar to cold tea and expect it to dissolve. I want to scream when waiters tell me that they dont have sweet tea but they have unsweet tea with sugar on the table.

SCMinnie got it right - 1 cup of sugar per half gallon of water to make great sweet tea. Lipton tea bags are the best too!

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Oh, honey. That right there proves you're a Yankee. There's no "recipe" for sweet tea! If my grandmother were still alive, that one would crack her up!

Just make some tea and put some sugar in it. (I prefer Lipton!) Now, the only trick is to make sure you add the sugar while it's still hot. That make it alll disolve better.

Good luck.

I agree!!!!!!!!!

For 2 quarts I use 2 family size tea bags and a cup of sugar. YES!!! ADD THE SUGAR WHILE IT'S STILL HOT!!!

 

[ozarkmom]

I've lived in the south most of my life and just recently have noticed people talk about "sweet tea" I guess I've been under a rock. My mom never made tea but her mom did and it had sugar in it. I never gave it any thought it was like kool aid you put sugar in it. Somewhere as an adult I started ordering my tea unsweetened and use artificial sweetner. I don't even remember when that happened. I don't drink tea at home but my dd does and I put sugar in it but I've never called it sweet tea. At most of the places we eat they ask if you want sweet or unsweetened and I guess I thought it was like that everywhere. I just didn't realize that to put sugar in teal was a southern thing. Oh well you learn something new every day. It sort of reminds me of when we lived in DC and I told my dad they had corn bread at lunch in my school but it was sweet. He called that yankee cornbread.

 

[Meezers]

Can you believe McDonalds in the Atlanta area is advertising that they have fresh brewed sweet tea?

 

[Buckalew11]

Yum...sweet tea!! I also like to use Luzianne (sp) tea bags. Do you have a Kroger store up there? Kroger makes some decent sweet tea in their refridgerator section.

 

[aprilgail2]

I had that recently when I was down south..I thought I was going to go into shock from how sweet it was!! Give me nice old northern iced tea anytime LOL...

 

[Southern4sure]

I was born in the South, raised in the South...and I'm planning on dying in the South...but I never have liked sweet tea.

But I can tell you that SC Minnie has it about right...But I usually make DH a 2 qt. pitcher with 1 1/3 cups of sugar rather than 1 cup.

I use 2 family-sized tea bags with about 1 1/2 qts. water. Bring the water to a full boil, and then remove it from the heat before putting the tea bags in. Tea in boiling water degrades the quality of the leaves and will make your tea bitter.

Bless your heart...having to live up North...

Add me to the list of non tea drinking southerners (coffee too).

I use two family size tea bags and a 2 QT pot filled with water. I let this simmer (not boil) for about 45 minutes to an hour. The darker this "tea water" the better. While "tea water" is still hot, I add 1 cup of sugar and mix well in a 1 gallon pitcher. Fill remainder of pitcher with cold water.

Dh isn't to happy not being able to get a good sweet tea here in FL whle eating out.

 

[Lanshark]

I use Liptons cold brew so I don't have to boil water. I put a couple of cups of water into a microwavable container and nuke it until it's hot. I then make the sugar syrup by adding the sugar to the hot water. I poor it into the brewed tea.

 

[Southern4sure]

I've lived in the south most of my life and just recently have noticed people talk about "sweet tea" I guess I've been under a rock. My mom never made tea but her mom did and it had sugar in it. I never gave it any thought it was like kool aid you put sugar in it. Somewhere as an adult I started ordering my tea unsweetened and use artificial sweetner. I don't even remember when that happened. I don't drink tea at home but my dd does and I put sugar in it but I've never called it sweet tea. At most of the places we eat they ask if you want sweet or unsweetened and I guess I thought it was like that everywhere. I just didn't realize that to put sugar in teal was a southern thing. Oh well you learn something new every day. It sort of reminds me of when we lived in DC and I told my dad they had corn bread at lunch in my school but it was sweet. He called that yankee cornbread.

I call this cake!...

 

[JadenLayne]

My husband loves sweet tea from Sonic!

I love Crystal Light Peach Tea.

 

[kikakeko]

try

http://www.grits.com

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Thanks for coming to the rescue of this unfortunate "yankee."

I live in the land of Lobsters pronounced lobstahs and clam chowdah....you cannot have everything..

I will make this.. if you use artificial sweetener like Splenda, does it kill the taste of the real Southern Sweet Tea?

No Kroger's nearby, I actually put in my zipcode and state and there was no response so then I tried to see if there were any stores in NY, the closest store I saw was in Pennsylvania..

We have Stop & Shop, Star Market, Roche Brothers, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, but no Krugers, Publix, or Piggily Wiggily..so probably no sweet tea up here in the refrigerator aisle.

 

[ilovepcot]

As far as using SPLENDA as you asked, well....I'm a true southener and I always sweeten my tea and coffee with Splenda. Can't tell a difference!

 

[Mickey527]

<<I will make this.. if you use artificial sweetener like Splenda, does it kill the taste of the real Southern Sweet Tea?>>

I think there are Southernerns swooning all over after reading this.
I think using Splenda or Artificial sweetener defies the reason for drinking sweet tea.
My friends laugh at me because they always ask why I like going to the southern restaraunts more than here in Ct. My answer is SWEET TEA!
I love the stuff. I tried to make it at home but it just tastes better somewhere else.
I did ask once how they made it in a BBQ restaraunt in Alabama and they told me to make a sugar syrup with hot water and sugar. Then mix it into strong tea, it has to b stronger than regular tea because the water in the syrup waters the tera flavor down.
I do make it in the summer but no one else here drinks it but me. Good, more for me.
I just can't undrsand the reason for white gravy on chicken though. Fried chicken should have all those secret spices, not gravy. Peggie