Southern Sweet Iced Tea
Southern Sweet Iced Tea is just the right balance of strong, smooth black tea and sweet, sugary goodness. This recipe is a summer essential that’s easy to whip up and even easier to enjoy. Serve it over ice with a slice of lemon for that signature Southern charm.
Servings: 8 16 oz. glass
Calories: 145kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 family-size tea bags
- 4 quarts water
- 1½-2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda prevents bitterness and cloudiness
Instructions
- Boil: Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a tea kettle or medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and drop in 4 family-size tea bags. Allow tea bags to steep for 10-12 minutes. It is important not to oversteep the tea bags.
- Sweeten: In a glass gallon tea pitcher, add the sugar. Pour the steeped hot tea into the glass pitcher over the sugar, then stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Pour cold water over the tea bags, gently stir, and pour into the tea pitcher. Finish adding cold water to fill the gallon pitcher completely. Stir in a pinch of baking soda and stir to combine. Place into the refrigerator and allow to chill for about an hour before serving. Serve in a tall glass over ice. Add a lemon slice to the rim of the glass or a sprig of mint if desired.
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Notes
3 Important Notes:
- Do not oversteep tea bags. Use a kitchen timer if necessary.
- Sweeten using hot tea. Always pour hot tea over sugar in the tea pitcher and mix until sugar is completely dissolved.
- The nutritional calculation was based on using 1½ cups of sugar
Nutrition
Serving: 16ounces | Calories: 145kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Sodium: 35mg | Sugar: 37g