Community Pick
Southern Sweet Iced Tea
"This is how my Granny made sweet tea and it is some kind of sweet. Know that and beware. Pa-Paw used to down 2-3 glasses after working in the garden all day. Back off the sugar if you can't handle it. This one is for true southerners only ;)"
photo by Ivansocal
- Ready In:
- 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 5
- Yields:
-
2 quarts
ingredients
- 6 regular tea bags
- 1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 1⁄2 - 2 cups sugar
- 6 cups cold water
directions
- In a large glass measuring cup, place the tea bags and add the baking soda.
- Pour the boiling water over the tea bags.
- Cover and steep for 15 minutes.
- Take out the tea bags and do not squeeze them.
- Pour the tea mixture into a 2-quart pitcher; add the sugar.
- Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add in the cold water.
- Let cool; chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice.
Questions & Replies
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Haven't made tea in awhile and when I did it didn't turn out right so I was looking for recipes. I've always used the cheap double tea bags you can get at Walmart. Do I use 6 of those or 3? -
What does the baking soda do? Why not squeeze tea bags? -
Just curious, what is the baking soda for? -
What is the reason for adding baking soda?
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What is the purpose of the baking soda?
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Reviews
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Do not add 2 cups of sugar to the tea..wayyyy to sweet! Made my stomach hurt:(...i'll try 1 cup next time -
I am amazed by the reviewers who obviously didn't read the header that this was SWEET tea. If that bothers you, simply use LESS sugar. -
This recipe isn't for the tourists! If you were raised on sweet tea, this is the stuff Grandma would sneak you a glass of while Dad wasn't looking. This will be too sweet for anyone not trying to recapture their childhood.
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My husband is from Georgia and everytime we go visit we drink all the sweet tea we can because you cant find it here so I looked high and low for a good recipie and I definetly found a good one with this one! -
Very smooth iced tea! Being from Texas I have drank a lot of iced tea in my life, seeing as we have it with every meal, and this was some of the best. This is exactly how my mom taught me to make tea with the exception of the baking soda. The soda is the key and I will never make tea without it again! Thanks!
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Tweaks
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Ohh honey, unless you like to drink diabeetus... I would lower the sugar to 1 cup.
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My grandma use to make her tea like this except she would boil her tea bags and add a pinch of baking soda and 3cups of sugar and I'm telling y'all was the best Southern Tea I've ever had in my life and I'm 41 years old and still haven't found a better tea recipe as of yet.... -
Did not feel to run out in the cold for drinks so I found this recipe. The taste is great although I lowered the sugar to one cup. Can't have the kiddies bouncing off the walls ??. Thanks for the recipe this will now be my go to.
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My niece and I made sweet iced tea together using this recipe. Instead of adding so much sugar we just added it to taste and threw some lemon juice in there. (Freshly squeezed..I'm not sure store bought lemon juice would work) Definitely try it -
I used 2 family sized tea bags. It worked out well - the normal conversion is 1 family size is equal to 4 regular, but with such a short steeping time and the addition of the baking soda it came out perfect!
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