Description
Classic Southern Sweet Tea is a refreshing and sweetened iced tea, perfectly brewed with black tea and balanced with sugar. It’s a staple in Southern hospitality, served chilled over ice with optional lemon slices for a delightful, cooling drink during warm days.
Ingredients
Scale
Tea Base
- 4 cups water
- 4-6 black tea bags (like Lipton)
Sweetener
- 1 to 1½ cups granulated sugar
Additional Ingredients
- 4 cups cold filtered water
- Lemon slices (optional)
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Boil Water: Bring 4 cups of fresh filtered water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan.
- Steep Tea: Remove the boiling water from heat and add 4-6 black tea bags. Allow them to steep for 5-7 minutes to extract optimal flavors.
- Sweeten Tea: While the tea is still warm, gradually stir in 1 to 1½ cups of granulated sugar until it completely dissolves to achieve the classic sweet tea taste.
- Dilute Tea: Pour in an additional 4 cups of cold filtered water to dilute the concentrate and cool the tea down.
- Chill: Transfer the tea to a pitcher and refrigerate for at least one hour or until thoroughly chilled.
- Serve: Serve the sweet tea over ice in tall glasses and garnish with lemon slices if desired for extra zest and presentation.
Notes
- Adjust the amount of sugar according to your sweetness preference.
- Steeping time can be adjusted; longer steeping results in stronger tea but may increase bitterness.
- Use filtered water for the best flavor outcome.
- The tea can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Lemon slices add a nice citrus touch but are optional.
