It’s no secret, us Southerner’s like our tea cold and sweet! And while this recipe is not rocket-science, it’s helpful if you want to learn to make Homemade Sweet Tea Southern Style!
My Grandmother, Rozie, could make a mean batch of sweet tea…dang, it was really good…and ultra sweet! At our family gatherings, we have to warn everybody, “Ya’ll, this is Rozie-tea” meaning, “if you don’t like Sweet Tea, Go Home!”
How to Make Authentic Southern Sweet Tea
A really good, sweet tea requires a simple syrup which is equal parts sugar and water. Now, you can make good ole’ Southern Iced tea without it, but you have to add the sugar to the tea when it’s warm (right after the tea’s brewed) in order for the sugar to dissolve. You see, in traditional Southern tea, there’s never any undissolved sugar in sweet tea…ever!
How to Brew Tea
- Make a simple syrup: combine equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan (2 cups sugar and 2 cups water); stir and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves
- Brew the tea. There’s a couple of different methods in brewing tea, but I’ll just mention a few:
- Stove top: Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil; add in three tea bags; turn heat off and let steep
- Kettle: Bring a kettle of water to a whistle; place the tea bags in a large heat-tolerant pitcher; pour hot water over tea bags; let steep
- Coffee-Maker: Put three tea bags in the filter area; don’t use a coffee filter, just the tea bags; add about 6 cups of water to the coffee maker; turn on “brew”; once tea has filled the coffee pot, remove from coffee maker pour sweet tea into a pitcher
- Pour the warm tea into a heat-tolerant pitcher and add some of the simple syrup (add a little, taste, and adjust to your liking)
What Tea Do Southerner’s Use?
By far, the most popular Southern Tea Brand is Luzianne brand, which is a combination of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black teas that are harvested globally. The beauty of Luzianne is that it doesn’t turn cloudy. God forbid any Southern hostess serve her guests a glass of cloudy tea! I’ve found other name brands turn cloudy…
How to Prevent Cloudy Iced Tea?
The most common reason for cloudy tea is over-steeping the tea bags. I steep Luzianne tea bags for 5 minutes and that’s it. A short steep minimizes the tannins released from the tea bags.
If you accidentally over-steep your tea bags, you can easy correct a pitcher of cloudy tea by adding in a teaspoon or two of baking soda to the warm tea. Baking soda does not change the flavor of the tea.
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Southern Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- 3 tea bags
- 3 cups sugar
- 9 cups water 3 cups for the simple sugar; 6 cups for brewing the tea
Instructions
- In a saucepan on medium heat, add 3 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar; cook and stir until sugar has dissolved; remove from heat and set aside
- Brew the Tea: (see How to Brew Tea in recipe notes)Bring 6 cups of water to boil and add tea leaves; allow to steep for about 5 minutes ORPlace tea bags in coffee maker with no coffee filter; run 6 cups water through the coffee maker
- In a large heat-tolerant pitcher, add the hot tea; pour in simple syrup in 1/2 cup increments until the tea is sweet enough for you!
- Serve over ice and enjoy!
Notes
How to Make Authentic Southern Sweet Tea
A really good, sweet tea requires a simple syrup which is equal parts sugar and water. Now, you can make good ole' Southern Iced tea without it, but you have to add the sugar to the tea when it's warm (right after the tea's brewed) in order for the sugar to dissolve. You see, in traditional Southern tea, there's never any undissolved sugar..ever!How to Brew Tea
- Make a simple syrup: combine equal parts of sugar and water in a saucepan (2 cups sugar and 2 cups water); stir and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves
- Brew the tea. There's a couple of different methods in brewing tea, but I'll just mention a few:
- Stove top: Bring about 3 cups of water to a boil; add in three tea bags; turn heat off and let steep
- Kettle: Bring a kettle of water to a whistle; place the tea bags in a large heat-tolerant pitcher; pour hot water over tea bags; let steep
- Coffee-Maker: Put three tea bags in the filter area; don't use a coffee filter, just the tea bags; add about 10 cups of water to the coffee maker; turn on "brew"; once tea has filled the coffee pot, remove from coffee maker pour sweet tea into a pitcher
- Pour the warm tea into a heat-tolerant pitcher and add some of the simple syrup (add a little, taste, and adjust to your liking)
What Tea Do Southerner's Use?
By far, the most popular Southern Tea Brand is Luzianne brand, which is a combination of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black teas and are harvested globally. The beauty of Luzianne is that it doesn't turn cloudy. God forbid any Southern hostess serve their guests a glass of cloudy tea! I've found other name brands turn cloudy...How to Prevent Cloudy Iced Tea?
The most common reason for cloudy tea is over-steeping the tea bags. I steep Luzianne tea bags for 5 minutes and that's it. A short steep minimizes the tannins released from the tea bags. If you accidentally over-steep your tea bags, you can easy correct a pitcher of cloudy tea by adding in a teaspoon or two of baking soda to the warm tea. Baking soda does not change the flavor of the tea.
Sarah White says
Does the tea need to be refrigerated to get cold before drinking or is it strong enough to pour over ice right away (the ice watering it down a little bit)?
SmartyPantsKitchen says
Good question, Sarah! It is strong enough to pour over ice immediately.