Sweet Tea – A Beautiful Mess

Making authentic southern-style sweet tea is easy and you’ll love the refreshing taste of black tea brewed with sugar. Enjoy your homemade sweet tea on the porch, poolside, or at your favorite BBQs all summer long!

Sweet tea is a southern treat that is less familiar to those elsewhere in the United States, but the process of brewing the tea, stirring in the sugar while the tea concentrate is hot, and the ratio of sugar makes it a must have during the hot months.

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What is Sweet Tea?

While it is a cousin of the traditional glass of iced tea, sweet tea is a drink popular in the southern United States that uses a different brewing method than iced tea. The sugar is dissolved into a hot black tea concentrate and then chilled for a deeper evenly sweet flavor.

Ingredients for Sweet Tea:

• Tea Bags: Black tea bags are the most popular choice although the tea can be made with green tea as well, which was more common when the drink was first circulating. You can also use decaf tea for those who want to drink it at night.
• Sugar: Plain granulated sugar is where the sweetness comes from. Just your basic sugar bag in the pantry will do.
• Water: If you have filtered water, use that for your tea for a more cleaner taste, but tap water will do in a pinch.

Should I add baking soda to my Sweet Tea?

If you aren’t familiar with this trick, it may sound a little strange, but some sweet tea makers swear by adding a tiny amount of baking soda to their tea (about 1/8 teaspoon) while the tea is steeping. The baking soda helps to smooth out the tannins in the tea for a slightly smoother taste, but it’s optional so you can try it both ways and see which you prefer!

Tip: Freeze a tray of sweet tea ice cubes so you can keep your drink cool without the worry of it getting watered down.

How to make Sweet Tea:

• Boil Your Water: Boil 2 cups of water in a small pot on the stove. Remove from heat.
• Steep Your Tea: Add your tea bags to the pot and allow to steep for 5-10 minutes (do closer to 10 for a stronger tea flavor). Remove tea bags and let them drip for a minute before throwing away.
• Mix in Sugar: Add your granulated sugar and stir gently until dissolved.
• Add Water and Chill! Add the rest of your water, stir to combine, and store in the fridge in a covered pitcher at least 4 hours to properly chill before serving over ice.

How sweet is this Sweet Tea?

As it should be, this sweet tea is sweet. It may taste overly so to some who aren’t used to it, but you will definitely find this level of sweetness served in the south. If you want to dial it back a bit, go with 3/4 cup of sugar instead of the full 1 cup and see how that tastes.

How long will Sweet Tea last in the fridge?

If you keep your tea in a covered container, it will last 5-7 days in the fridge before starting to go bad.

Tips for making Sweet Tea:

• Don’t tightly squeeze the tea bags when you pull them out of the hot water as that can add tea leaves and a bit of bitterness to your sweet tea.
• If you only have smaller pitchers on hand, divide the tea concentrate evenly between two pitchers and divide the remaining water in two as well so you have even ratios in both containers.

Variations on Sweet Tea:

Sweet Arnold Palmer: Add half sweet tea and half lemonade over ice to make a sweet and sour version.

Spiked Sweet Tea: Bourbon and whiskey are the most popular choices of booze to add to sweet tea (although you could also do a more neutral vodka as well). Just add a shot to the glass and top with your sweet tea.

Mint Sweet Tea: Muddle a few fresh mint leaves at the bottom of your glass before adding the ice and tea for fresh twist.

What to serve with Sweet Tea: