If you've spent any time south of the Mason-Dixon line, this query is as familiar to you as "paper or plastic?", but the rest of the USA doesn't have a cotton pickin' clue what you're talking about. See, we may get all schmancy, blending decaf Royal Tiger Spice Baby Assam with cran-kiwi nectar and individually wrapped cubes of Albanian raw beet sugar, but this Yankee is willing to admit that y'all got something special goin' on when comes to iced tea.
Sweet Tea is a staple of restaurants and homes across the Southeastern United States; so prevalent that a guest has to specifically request 'unsweet" in order to get a brew that won't instantly candy their molars, and enough of a cultural institution that several Representatives in Georgia presented House Bill 819 requiring all food service establishments to serve it. Sure, it was quickly revealed as an April Fools Day prank, but it bespoke the region's reverence for the "champagne of the South".
So, just what IS this magical elixir? Essentially, it's bagged or loose orange pekoe (that's a grade of black) tea, that's brewed and blended with sugar while it's still hot. A lot of sugar. If you're making this for the first time and you think you've swirled in enough sugar – you haven't. Keep pouring. Then pour more. If your stirring spoon is threatening to stand up on its own, you may still need to add more. Have a Southerner sample it if you're not sure. They'll tell you to add MORE.
If it's served in a Southern home, there's a good chance it'll be in a tall, slim glass filled with ice, and accompanied by a long-handled iced tea spoon with which one can stir in, bless their heart, even more sweetener if so desired. Milk is unheard of, and lemon or mint – well, that's just being fancy, but if it makes the Yanks feel at home, then so be it. That's just good ol' Southern hospitality.
There are as many ways to make Sweet Tea as there are Southern families. This is how my husband and I (he's from High Point, N.C.) like to make it at home.
The Wagner Family's Sweet Tea
For Simple Syrup:
* 4 cups sugar (Don't worry - not all of that goes in the tea!)
* 2 cups water
For Tea:
* 4 cups water
* 8-10 regular-sized or 3 "family sized" bags orange pekoe tea (preferably Lipton or Luzianne)
* Pinch of baking soda
* Additional water
Pour 2 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar into a saucepan and stir together. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and stir until thickened. Turn off heat, and set aside.
Strip tags from the tea bags, and tie strings to the handle of a wooden spoon, near the bowl. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Turn off the heat, and place the tea-tied wooden spoon in the pan with a pinch of baking soda (It smooths out the tea's tannins.). Once it's suitably darkened, and still hot, pull out the spoon. (Refrain from squeezing the teabags, as that clouds the tea.)
Stir 1 cup of the sugar syrup into the tea until it's thoroughly blended. Pour the mixture into a 1 gallon glass or metal pitcher, and fill to the top with water. Stir, and chill in the refrigerator. Pour the remaining sugar syrup into a glass jar, and cover.
Once the tea has cooled, serve it in tall glasses 2/3 filled with ice, with sugar syrup on the side so that guests may sweeten according to their personal taste.
Y'all come back now, hear?
(P.S. If you're having trouble with the comments link, try this one.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 58)
6-28-2007 @ 3:04PM
CINDY M said...
ha, what's happening,
i wanted to print southern sweet tea,
pages 5 0f 5 blank!
I DIDN'T WANT THE BLOG LOG.
THANKS, CM
Reply
6-29-2007 @ 12:20AM
Kat K. said...
Hi Cindy - we're working on better printing options. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Reply
7-01-2007 @ 2:13PM
Suzann H. said...
Hi! I am a born and raised Southerner and iced tea, sweet or unsweet is an essential part of a Southerner's diet. However, I am also a diabetic and though I love sweet tea, the sugar is out, so I use Sweet n low sweetner to sweeten my tea. I sweeten it after the tea is made, so I get to skip the whole syrup process. Here at home we just make the tea, put it in a pitcher in the fridge and sweeten as we like (or not) whenever we get a glass.
Reply
7-01-2007 @ 9:34PM
kaye said...
I'm from Tennessee and I brew my tea in a coffee pot and sweeten it whiles it's hot. Brewing it like that makes the color good and dark and really brings out the tea flavor. But I dont like a ton of sugar. I like it sweetened just enough. I still want to taste the good tea flavor or its just sweetened water.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 11:45AM
Genny said...
I was born and raised in Virginia and we always had a pitcher if sweet tea in the fridge. Not as sweet as most eating places had it but still sweet. YOU go to any restraunt down south and order ice tea your getting sweet tea unless you order unsweet. It's a southern thing.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:10PM
Larry Caver said...
I'm from Texas. I only mix 1 cup of sugar to the hot tea and then add cold water to make a gallon. The baking soda you mentioned takes the bitterness out of the tea but letting it sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours will also help. Iced tea always tastes better the next day.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:24PM
Angie said...
I love tea and that sounds good. Will try some of the commenters ways of making it. I live in the midwest and I am always making SUN-TEA. Never bitter or over cooked. Saves energy, too. I think tea rooms are making a comeback as well. At least here in the midwest. Such fun!!!
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:33PM
Lory said...
A wonderful touch to sweet tea is fresh mint. It adds just the right amount of additional flavor and makes for a refreshing tea on a hot southern afternoon. The mint should be added at the same time as the tea bags. Enjoy!
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:34PM
Jenn said...
hey i'm a true blue southerner & my family always made it's sweet tea by way of sun brewing. my mom would get these huge glass pickle jars she saved & fill 'em with water , sugar & several tea bags & set 'em out on the porch or on the sidewalk all day on a sunny day. by the end of the day the sun had done all the work. my daddy calls it lazey tea.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:36PM
Marie said...
Thanks for the great info!! As a "yankee" who spends a lot of time in the south I just love sweet southern tea and here in New York we have something called sweetened tea which doesn't even come close to the real thing. I have tried unsuccessfully many times to duplicate true sweet southern tea and now maybe I can finally have a little piece of the south that I love so much. Many thanks again.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:42PM
Delsie said...
I can't believe this...syrup for iced tea?? I'm a 75 year old lady, born and raised in Virginia. I've been drinking iced tea for as long as I can remember but I have never, ever seen anyone make syrup to put in it. It's always been plain old sugar while the tea was still hot and then put into the fridge to cool but still poured over ice when serving. It doesn't even have to be in a tall glass, just any old glass will do, even a jelly jar. I can't even imagine syrupy ice tea. Just lightly sweet for me, please...with lemon.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:42PM
blackydog said...
the addition of fresh mint is a nice touch also.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:47PM
clara said...
i am a diabetic: however, that doesnt stop my love of "sweet" tea. i use splenda also, the tea is boiled, sweetened while hot, and enjoyed with lemon or mint
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:47PM
Frannie said...
Storing tea in the fridge is what clouds tea, not squeezing the tea bag.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:48PM
Marie said...
Thanks for the great info!! As a "yankee" who spends a lot of time in the south sweet southern tean is something I really look forward to. Here in New York we have something called sweetened tea which doesn't even come close to the real thing. I have tried many times, unsuccessfully, to duplicate sweet southern tea. Now I can finally have a piece of the south that I love so much. Again many, many thanks.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:49PM
Frannie said...
Storing your tea in the fridge is what clouds it, not squeezing the tea bag.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:53PM
katherine said...
i have lived in virginia all my life and sweet tea is a staple around here, or so i thought. i recently went to virginia beach on vacation and learned that NO restaurants serve sweet tea. they all serve UNsweet. i just thought that was the weirdest thing ever.
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:55PM
Barbara said...
Here in the great state of Texas-my sweet tea is loved by everyone that knows me. I brew my Lipton tea in the coffee pot and then I pour it in a one gallon tea pitcher along with two cups of sugar and stir while hot. As soon as all the sugar is dissovled I add ice to help cool it quickly. The best ice to use if your willing to pay for it is Ready Ice-the tea taste clean when using this ice. I add enough ice to where it melts to the top of the pitcher. That way I don't have to add any tap water. I have had a couple of guys date me just because of my tea!! LOL. Southern by the grace of God!
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:55PM
Kat K. said...
Hey there,
I'm the writer of the piece, and I just wanted it noted that there are as many ways to make sweet tea as there are families. The recipe about is just how my family (my husband is from North Carolina, and I'm from Kentucky) likes to make it. I would LOVE if y'all would post yours!
Kat Kinsman
Reply
7-03-2007 @ 2:58PM
Marie said...
Thanks for the great info!! As a "yankee" who spends a lot of time in the south, sweet southern tea is something I really look forward to. Here in New York we have something called sweetened tea which doesn't even come close to the real thing. I have tried many times,
unsuccessfully, to duplicate sweet southern tea. Now I can finally have a piece of the south that I love so much. Again many, many
thanks.
Reply