Sweet to Taste ~ A Southern Staple

It's no secret that I have a "minor" obsession with all things Southern, so I thought it was high time that I learned how to make one of the most essential staples every Southerner craves this time of year ...  Sweet Tea!  Honey and I have been satisfying our cravings by purchasing the store bought bottled brands, but NO MORE!  (or at least only when running errands and happen to be dying of thirst & in dire need of a sweet tea at that exact moment)  I have successfully brewed my first pitcher of TRUE Southern Sweet Tea!

After much research from a couple of different websites, we settled on this one from deepsouthdish.com.  

Ingredients:

• 5-7 individual tea bags ~ Luzianne brand preferred  (I was able to find this brand at our local grocery store & I used the full 7 bags to make our tea)
• 1 quart cool filtered or bottled water (I used 2 - 16.9 oz water bottles)
• pinch of baking soda (optional - I did not do this)
• 1 (4-cup) glass measuring cup for steeping
• 2 quart pitcher filled with ice
• 1/2 to 1 cup sugar, or to taste (I used the full 1 cup)
• fresh lemon, sliced or wedged and some mint (optional - I used lemon slices) 

Instructions:

Boil one quart of bottled water, bringing to a full, rolling boil then turn off the heat. Transfer water to 4-cup glass measuring cup.  Steep tea bags in the hot water for 9 minutes.  Use a wooden spoon to gently squeeze bags of excess water and remove.  Whisk in sugar (and baking soda, if using) until dissolved and set aside.  Fill pitcher with ice, and carefully pour the hot tea concentrate over the ice.  Stir well.  Pour over ice filled glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint leaves or a slice of lemon.  Enjoy!  Makes 2 quarts.

Note:  Never pour hot tea into a glass pitcher without ice in it!

My official taste tester approved!!

In doing our research, Honey swears he read that you are to ALWAYS to serve with some sort of yummy sweet treats, specifically pound cake and peach pie.  Hmmm ... not sure I buy that but who am I to turn down something sweet.  (We cheated on the sweets & used store-bought, after all ... I DID make the Sweet Tea.  LOL!)

I couldn't resist!  There's always a time and place for a Hidden Mickey.  :)

 

We were lucky enough that the heat wave let up a little so we were able to enjoy our freshly brewed Sweet Tea in our Backyard Beach Oasis.  It was heavenly!  

I would love to here any other tips and tricks you have for making Southern-Style Sweet Tea. Now that we've got the basic recipe down, any variations or flavor recommendations would be more than welcome!  Cheers y'all!