Tell me how to make good sweet tea please. Not just sweetened tea but good sweet tea. Is there a secret to it or what?

ETA.So how much sugar does it take for say a gallon of tea?

cook the sugar with water to a roiling boil then add to tea...stir

this creates simple syrup which breaks down easier and blends better

CHEF

It's a shame you can't get sweet tea north of the Mason-Dixon line.

It's one of the ways to tell you're in the South... that and the "boiled peanuts" stands on the side of the road

Quoted: It's a shame you can't get sweet tea north of the Mason-Dixon line. It's one of the ways to tell you're in the South... that and the "boiled peanuts" stands on the side of the road

You can get it at McDonalds now though.

Bump to ask how much sugar does it take for about a gallon of tea?

Quoted: Bump to ask how much sugar does it take for about a gallon of tea?

Approximately 1 cup depending on how sweet you like it.

2 cups to a gallon will make good tea but you can cut it back some and it will still taste good.

5 regular tea bags or three family size, preferably Lipton brand, into a medium sauce pan with about two quarts of water, just about bring it to a boil, remove from heat and let the tea bags steep for a few minutes, add a cup and a half of sugar to a pitcher, remove the tea bags and press to remove any remaining liquid, pour the hot tea into the pitcher and stir well to dissolve the sugar, the add an equal part of cold water to finish the tea. Place in the fridge to cool. Warm tea added to a glass with ice will only result in melted ice and watered down tea. None of which are any good.

Quoted: 5 regular tea bags or three family size, preferably Lipton brand, into a medium sauce pan with about two quarts of water, just about bring it to a boil, remove from heat and let the tea bags steep for a few minutes, add a cup and a half of sugar to a pitcher, remove the tea bags and press to remove any remaining liquid, pour the hot tea into the pitcher and stir well to dissolve the sugar, the add an equal part of cold water to finish the tea. Place in the fridge to cool. Warm tea added to a glass with ice will only result in melted ice and watered down tea. None of which are any good.

Win...that is how grandma used to make it.

Quoted: 5 regular tea bags or three family size, preferably Lipton brand, into a medium sauce pan with about two quarts of water, just about bring it to a boil, remove from heat and let the tea bags steep for a few minutes, add a cup and a half of sugar to a pitcher, remove the tea bags and press to remove any remaining liquid, pour the hot tea into the pitcher and stir well to dissolve the sugar, the add an equal part of cold water to finish the tea. Place in the fridge to cool. Warm tea added to a glass with ice will only result in melted ice and watered down tea. None of which are any good.

Thats it!! Have some lemon slices handy also.

I boil 16 cups of water, add 1 cup of sugar and 4 tea bags, let them soak for 7 minutes.  Voila!

Here ya go.

Step 1

7 lipton tea bags

step 2

1 gallon container

step 3

3qt sauce pan

step 4

1 cup sugar

step 5

bring water to a boil

step 6

add 1 cup of sugar and stir till the water is clear

step 7

allow water to come back to a boil

step 8

add tea bags and remove pan from heat.

step 9

allow tea bags to soak for at least 4 hours or till tea is room temp

step 10

Mix contents of sauce pan with 1 gallon of water and give it a quick stir. and place in the fridge. Serve the next day


Yes you can pour it over a tall glass full of ice and it will be ok but allowing it to sit over night in the fridge (covered)does something for the taste. Also remember to never serve it without ice and lots of it.


Enjoy

My recipe is:
Boil 3-4 cups water.  When it starts boiling take it off the heat and add 3 family size teabags and steep for 10-15 minutes.

Fill gallon pitcher half full with hot water and stir in one cup of sugar.  (I've cut back to half a cup lately to cut a few calories)

Pour the tea base into the hot water and squeeze the bags to get all the liquid out.

Add cold water to fill the pitcher and place in fridge.

Here's how my family has made it here in Atlanta for as long as I can remember:



1. Put (3) Lipton Family-Size tea bags in a coffee filter in a coffee maker.  This can be a dedicated tea-only coffee maker, but need not be.  The coffee filter is important to keep the bitter bits of tea that inevitably come out of the bags from ending up in your tea.

2. Brew just like you would a 12-cup pot of coffee.  Do NOT let this steep for very long after the brew is complete.  This results in poor taste quality and over-cooks the tea.  You can't steep it any longer anyways, since the bags aren't in the pot, but above in the filter.

3. I use about 1.5 cups of sugar for a gallon of tea.  Any sweeter and you're getting toward the end of what I really like.  Any less and I'm an unhappy man.  If the wife makes it, I don't drink it, because she either uses less sugar period, or substitutes some of the sugar for Splenda.  Yuck.

4. Just put the sugar in your gallon container and pour in the coffee pot of tea.  Stir well.  The sugar should have zero problems dissolving.  Add ice until the tea reaches nearly the appropriate level in the gallon container.  Stir to get the hot tea to melt the ice.  This only partially cools the tea, and it also helps add the correct amount of water.  Finish brining the level up to proper with cold water.

5. Let sit in fridge overnight.  If you don't, it doesn't taste right.  It will become sweeter as it gets colder.  

6. I don't like ice in my beverages.  I just prefer that they already be cold so that I don't need ice.  Ice only melts and waters down the drink.  And it gets in the way.  Chill the glass in the freezer instead.

By "glass" I meant Mason jar.  No other is acceptable.

Quoted: You may be referring to the old "Sun" tea.   The technique was place the correct amount of tea bags for a given large glass jar suspended from the lid then sit on the porch in the direct sunlight until you get the shade/coloring you want.   Some prefer to sweeten before and some after.  Before, gives plenty time for the sun's heat to dissolve the sugar and after typically they heat it so the sugar will dissolve better.   The real art to Southern Sun tea isn't the sugar but the sun process which not only allows you to control the tea flavor by visually seeing the shade shift but how gradual the sun heat dissolves the tea.  The darker the tea gets the more heat retention in the sunlight.   To quote old timers, in the old days they would make tea in the morning sit it on the east facing porch then at high noon when there is no shade on any porch, then cool it in fresh well water or creek water, then serve in the heat of the afternoon.   When I was a kid many of these large glass jars had net baskets or simple strings tied around their neck so they could first be suspended for sunlight then dropped into the creek for cooling.  If creek cooled, of course they were thoroughly cleaned before opening.  If the water was suspect, the water would be boiled before using in the Sun jar but allowed to cool as to not mess with the sun tea process.   Now days, the process is the same except skip the creek and serve with ice. Tj

I heard that sun tea is bad because it promotes bacteria growth.

Quoted: I boil 16 cups of water, add 1 cup of sugar and 4 tea bags, let them soak for 7 minutes.  Voila!

Quoted: My recipe is: Boil 3-4 cups water.  When it starts boiling take it off the heat and add 3 family size teabags and steep for 10-15 minutes. Fill gallon pitcher half full with hot water and stir in one cup of sugar.  (I've cut back to half a cup lately to cut a few calories) Pour the tea base into the hot water and squeeze the bags to get all the liquid out. Add cold water to fill the pitcher and place in fridge.

Those both sound about right to me.  With a Floridian mother, Grandparents from Bama, and a Texan wife, I think I've got some solid Iced-tea credentials.  

Don't know about that. My pickle jars make excellent glasses.

Tag.  Sometimes I miss the South

Quoted: Here ya go. Step 1 7 lipton tea bags step 2 1 gallon container step 3 3qt sauce pan step 4 1 cup sugar step 5 bring water to a boil step 6 add 1 cup of sugar and stir till the water is clear step 7 allow water to come back to a boil step 8 add tea bags and remove pan from heat. step 9 allow tea bags to soak for at least 4 hours or till tea is room temp step 10 Mix contents of sauce pan with 1 gallon of water and give it a quick stir. and place in the fridge. Serve the next day Yes you can pour it over a tall glass full of ice and it will be ok but allowing it to sit over night in the fridge (covered)does something for the taste. Also remember to never serve it without ice and lots of it. Enjoy

I haven't done this for yeeeeeeeeeeears.


I need to start again.

Quoted: Quoted: I boil 16 cups of water, add 1 cup of sugar and 4 tea bags, let them soak for 7 minutes.  Voila! Quoted: My recipe is: Boil 3-4 cups water.  When it starts boiling take it off the heat and add 3 family size teabags and steep for 10-15 minutes. Fill gallon pitcher half full with hot water and stir in one cup of sugar.  (I've cut back to half a cup lately to cut a few calories) Pour the tea base into the hot water and squeeze the bags to get all the liquid out. Add cold water to fill the pitcher and place in fridge. Those both sound about right to me.  With a Floridian mother, Grandparents from Bama, and a Texan wife, I think I've got some solid Iced-tea credentials.

A Floridian mother is a negative on teamaking.  Trying to find good tea in Florida is like trying to find ice cubes in the Sahara.

Just made some the way below.  Tastes good.  Was also looking at some other recipes online.  Some said to add the sugar to the boiling water and some said not to squeeze the tea bags.  Thoughts on this?

Quoted: 5 regular tea bags or three family size, preferably Lipton brand, into a medium sauce pan with about two quarts of water, just about bring it to a boil, remove from heat and let the tea bags steep for a few minutes, add a cup and a half of sugar to a pitcher, remove the tea bags and press to remove any remaining liquid, pour the hot tea into the pitcher and stir well to dissolve the sugar, the add an equal part of cold water to finish the tea. Place in the fridge to cool. Warm tea added to a glass with ice will only result in melted ice and watered down tea. None of which are any good.

Quoted: Bump to ask how much sugar does it take for about a gallon of tea?

For quick sweet tea try 1/2 cup cane sugar (regular) and 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Tastes just like Milo's Tea.

Edited to delete my original post, because this isn't the proper thread to diss sweet tea.

Carry on.