Great sweet iced tea, how to make it at home?

Question

Ya know, de-lish Carolina sweet iced tea. I moved up north and you can not get iced sweet tea ANYwhere...so sad. How do you make yours? Any lil tips would be helpful. Thanks!

Answer 1

The Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker really is a great kitchen tool. Add your sugar to the pitcher so the hot liquid melts it (add ice after brewing, not before). I like a slight heaped cup to the 3½ quart level.

Otherwise, boil a pot of water (4-5 cups?). Toss in 4 family sized Luzianne (Lipton ok too) tea bags, and set the timer for 7-8 min. Then remove tea bags (do not squeeze!--makes tea bitter) and pour this hot tea concentrate into a 1 gallon plastic pitcher. Add a heaping cup of sugar (more or less to taste, can use Splenda too), stir until dissolved, then add water and ice to bring level up to 1 gallon. ENJOY!

Answer 2

A typical recipe involves bringing water to a boil, and then adding tea to steep. This tea is almost always of Orange Pekoe bought specifically in cheap tea-bag form as an "iced tea" blend. The amount varies, of course, but in general it would be about a half or a third of what would be expected if someone was making more traditional hot tea.

After it steeps (or in some cases, boils, though continued boiling of the tea tends to make it bitter) for whatever time is deemed necessary, it is then mixed with sugar in water to fill the pitcher. A lot of Southerners put about a cup of sugar to the half gallon.

that is the official recipe now here is how i make it i bring a tea kettle to steam on the stove
when it goes off i pour it on my tea in a large pitcher add the sugar then it mixes in better when the tea is hot
then i add a mixture of ice and cold water to the hot mixture and put in the refrigerator for about an hour

the key to awesome tea is to serve it cold and sweet

Answer 3

The trick is to put the sugar in while the tea is hot. Then add cold water. I have a tea maker, so I can't remember how to make it in a pan. I use about 7 tea bags, 1 cup sugar in a gallon pitcher. Boil water, I'm thinking about 3/4 of a medium saucepan full. Take off the heat and add tea bags. Let them steep a bit. Pour the hot tea into a pitcher after a few minutes. Add the sugar and stir. Then fill the pitcher the rest of the way up with cold water.

Answer 4

Put about 4 cups (a quart) of water into a saucepan on the stove and add 2 cups of sugar bring to a boil and the sugar wil liquify, once boiling use 6 regualr or 3 family size teabags and continue to boil for one minute. Remove teabags (squeeze them when you remove them) then pour over ice in a one gallon pitcher. if you are using an old milk jug you must first pur this tea over ice into a pitcher. Lastly, fill the pitcher of milk jug full with cold water and refridgerate. That is how you make southern tea.

Answer 5

I used to work at a southern BBQ restaurant that made sweet tea, and we would have to make it when it ran out. The restaurant had a tea brewing machine of course, but I don't assume you have one of those, so they best way I have found to make a large batch of tea (taught to me by my father) is to buy a large clear juice/drink container with a screw on top, fill with water, put the desired amount of tea bags in the water (we usually did about 6 or 8 regular sized lipton tea bags or 4 of the larger ones tied together) and put it outisde in the sun for a few hours. It makes great tea! To make it sweet, at the restaurant they used this sweetener called "Simple syrup"..... everyone loved it! And for a garnish they would used a mint leaf. A recipe for simple syrup here :

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/beverage/simple-syrup-for-iced-tea-recipe.html

Good luck on making your tea.... I know it will take a few times to perfect, but you will get it.

Answer 6

Do you brew your own with tea bags?, if so...I put my tea bags in a 4 cup measuring glass with water and brew in the micro for a few minutes, when you remove from the microwave add 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar (depending on your taste) and the hot water will melt the sugar, then you can put it all in your pitcher with ice and cold water....This works well to make sure your sugar dissolves- Try it out!

Answer 7

Simple. Make your favorite tea as directed or preferred and add the sugar when the tea is still warm. This way the sugar will dissolve. You may need to make a few batches before you know how much sugar you like in it. Just remember, sugar will not dissolve in a cold liquid.

Answer 8

The key to great sweet tea is making sure the water doesn't come to a rolling boil. As soon as the small bubbles start to gather at the bottom of the pot - remove from stove immediately. Water actually "burns" & that taste will transfer to your tea. Trust me!

Answer 9

i have been trying to make the perfect iced tea for years. i found that the french press actually works better than a tea bag. i like to use tazo passion tea (can be bought at starbucks) empty the contents of 1 bag into a small french press (12-14oz aprox) or 2 bags into a larger one. add boiling water and stir for about 2.5 mins and then press it. pour it into a mason jar and add sweetener. add ice cubes put a lid on and shake. best served without ice in a glass which has been frozen.

Answer 10

A fast way to do it is to take three quarts of water and three of the Lipton family sized teabags or nine or ten standard tea bags.I microwave(high) a quart at a time 1minute each .Let that steep for 5 minutes.In a gallon pitcher add 1 an 3/4 cup of sugar.Add the hot tea and stir (add a few squirts of lemon juice if you like) Add 1 qt. cold water and refrigerate