Southern
Southern Sweet Tea
Black tea steeps in hot water off the boil, then sugar dissolves and cold water stretches the pitcher. It chills and pours over plenty of ice with lemon.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 15 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- The tea bags never boil. Boiling them makes a harsh pitcher.
- Sugar has to dissolve in the hot brew. It will not dissolve in a cold glass.
- A pinch of baking soda takes the edge off the tannin.
- Cold water, added after steeping, is what keeps the tea from turning cloudy and bitter.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Bring the 4 cups brewing water to a boil in a saucepan. Take it off the heat.
- 2
Stir in the baking soda. Add the black tea bags.
- 3
Steep 7 minutes. Do not go longer or the tea turns bitter. Remove the bags and squeeze them lightly.
- 4
Stir in the sugar until it dissolves completely.
- 5
Pour in the 4 cups cold water.
- 6
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.
- 7
Fill glasses with the ice. Pour the tea over the ice.
- 8
Garnish with the lemon slices and mint sprigs. This makes about 8 glasses.
Pro tips
- Family-size tea bags are stronger. If you use two of those, steep 5 minutes and taste.
- If the tea looks cloudy after refrigeration, it is still fine to drink. A splash of boiling water stirred in can clear it.
- Do not leave the bags in the pitcher overnight. That is how sweet tea gets harsh.
Easy substitutions
- granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup honey, stirred into the hot tea
- mint sprigs
- extra lemon slices
- black tea bags
- 8 bags of orange pekoe tea
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate in a covered pitcher up to 3 days. Keep the lemon and mint out until serving.
Reheating
Do not reheat. Serve cold over ice.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 100
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Budget friendly · Stovetop
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