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Iced Tea · Southern Sweet Tea

Southern-Style Sweet Tea

Strong black tea steeped just long enough, sweetened while hot and chilled by the pitcher. A pinch of baking soda keeps it smooth, never bitter.

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Prep
5 min
Cook
10 min
Total
2 hr 15 min
Serves
8 · 2 quarts
Level
Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 cups water, for brewing
  • 8 black tea bags
  • 1 pinch baking soda (optional)
  • ¾–1 cups granulated sugar, up to 1 cup for very sweet tea
  • 4 cups cold water
  • ice, for serving
  • 1 lemon, sliced, for serving (optional)

Steps

  1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
  2. Turn off the heat and add the tea bags and the pinch of baking soda.
  3. Let the tea steep. Longer than this and it turns bitter.
  4. Lift out the tea bags without squeezing them, since squeezing adds bitterness.
  5. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves completely.
  6. Pour the tea into a pitcher and stir in the 4 cups of cold water.
  7. Refrigerate until cold.
  8. Serve over plenty of ice with lemon slices.

Tip: Chilling the tea before pouring it over ice keeps it from tasting watered down.

Tip: Tea can turn cloudy in the fridge. It is fine to drink; adding the cold water to warm tea helps prevent it.

Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days. It tastes best within 2 days.

Estimated nutrition per serving: 80 calories · protein 0 g · carbohydrates 22 g · fiber 0 g · sugars 22 g · fat 0 g (saturated 0 g) · sodium 10 mg. Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 4 of 4 ingredients.