Easy Peasy Sweet Tea

I learned to love sweet tea while I was in college in Kentucky. I also taught myself how to make this easy sweet tea recipe because it’s crazy addicting. Done right, the tea should be both bold and a little sweet.

There are millions of people in the deep south that will disagree with me with every fiber of their being. Let’s just say there are varying opinions on how sweet the tea should actually be. And, to my knowledge, the further south you get, the sweeter the tea gets.

I’m gonna teach you how to make sweet tea the way I like it. Lightly sweet. But if you like it sweeter? Go crazy. Nobody’s stopping you!

Here's what you're gonna need:

Tools

• 8 cup Heat Safe liquid measure (like Pyrex!)

• Measuring Cups

• Kettle

• Non-metal spoon

Techniques

• Boil water

• Steep tea

• Measure

Ingredients

• 9 cups Water

• 10 Tea Bags (4 if the bags are family size)

• 1/3 cup of Sugar

Prep

• Pull out all of your ingredients

• Measure your sugar

• Remove all tea bags from their individual packages

Process

1. Fill your kettle with 9 cup of water. Some of it is going to evaporate as it boils, so make sure you have enough. When I use my electric kettle, I have to do this twice. If you have to boil water twice, move on to the next step after your first batch.

2. Once your water boils, measure it into your heat safe liquid measure. You’ll need 8 cups of it!

3. Now, pour in your sugar and mix until it is completely dissolved. This creates an easy simple syrup without making any more dishes to clean!

4. Once your sugar has dissolved, place your tea bags into the water and allow them to steep for 15-20 minutes.

5. Remove the tea bags, press out the remaining water and throw away the tea bags. 

6. Allow the tea to cool for 30-60 minutes until it is more room temperature. Pour it into a pitcher of some kind and store it in the fridge. Or pour some over ice and then store it in the fridge. You’ll want some as soon as possible, I promise!

FAQs

How much sugar do you recommend for a sweet tea newbie?

I think I would start with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup and taste it. You can always add more sugar if you want it sweeter. I typically like 1/3 of a cup of sugar. I'd consider it lightly sweet that way!

To make a gallon of Sweet Tea:

To make a gallon of tea instead of 8 cups, fill a gallon jug with 8 cups of water. Then boil your water using the directions above and pour 8 cups of water into the heat proof measuring cup. Then use double the tea bags and sugar in the hot water. After steeping, pour the hot liquid into the gallon jug with the other 8 cups of water and chill.

Can I use other types of tea with this recipe?

YES! I love to use green tea and fruity herbal teas with this recipe. And if you're really feeling it, you could use honey or agave for your sweetener instead!

Is this easy to make in bulk?

Totally. It's easy to make enough to fill one of those 5-gallon serving containers they use at parties! To do this, you're gonna make a tea concentrate in a stock pot. I use a regular 8-quart stock pot for this. Fill it 2/3 of the way full and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and place 50 single serve tea bags into the water. I know the directions say to steep the tea for 3-5 minutes. But, I always go for a solid 10-15 minutes. I don't know about you, but the folks around here like a bold tea. So the 3-5 minutes doesn't cut it! While the tea is steeping, fill your 5-gallon container with ice up to the 2-gallon mark. Then, remove the tea bags. If you want it sweet, pour 2 1/2 cups of sugar into the concentrate and stir to dissolve. At this point, go ahead and pour the concentrate over the ice and then fill the container up to the 5-gallon mark with fresh water and stir. Place the lid on and you're good to go!

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