Sweet Tea Recipe
Learn how easy it is to make my 2-ingredient Southern sweet tea recipe. It’s the most refreshing drink to enjoy on your porch throughout the year.
Nothing, I mean nothing, is more Southern than sweet tea. We drink sweet iced tea at almost every meal (yes, iced tea for breakfast is quite good, actually), we make it daily year-round, and we even put it in our baby’s bottles. Dr. Phil once jokingly mentioned that Southerners started drinking sweet tea at age three, but Mama and I looked at each other in complete confusion as we knew perfectly well all of us had started on it by age one!
Go to any Southerner’s home and the first question they ask after sitting down is, “Ya wan’ some tea?” These days I make my sweet tea recipe with Splenda, but it tastes just as good. Sweet tea just makes the meal.
So, how do you make sweet tea? It’s easy! All you need is your favorite black tea bags (plus some water for brewing) and some sugar/Splenda. All we’re going to do is brew the tea either in a saucepot or in a coffeemaker (more details below), and then combine it in a pitcher with cold water and sugar. That’s all you need to do before you can enjoy a big glass of icy and refreshing Southern sweet tea.
Okay, enough chatting, let’s make some sweet tea, y’all!
Recipe Ingredients
- Tea bags
- Granulated sugar (or Splenda)
- Water
- Small sauce pot or a coffeemaker
How to Make My Sweet Tea Recipe
Brew the tea
There are two popular ways of brewing tea. The one Mama and I use the most right now (this may change when the wind changes direction) is the saucepot method.
For a half gallon of tea, put five regular-sized tea bags in a pot. Cover with water (you want about three inches of water in your pot).
You don’t have to worry about taking the tea bag labels off either.
Now, as Mama says “In a pot, bring tea just to a boil and then remove from heat and turn off the eye”.
Cover and steep the tea for 15 minutes.
Your tea is now ready to be mixed.
The other thing you can do is place your 5 tea bags INSIDE your coffee pot and just run a water cycle through the coffeemaker. Once the cycle goes through, your tea is done and ready to be mixed.
If you do this, though, be careful to remember to remove the coffee grounds from your basket. Growing up, Mama would have supper on the table looking all wonderful and we’d take a sip and discover we were having “coffee tea”. Hehe, we always had fun with her when that happened!
Make the sweet tea
No matter which method you choose, in a matter of minutes you will have brewed, concentrated tea.
Take your pitcher and fill it about halfway with cold water. Then add your sugar (or Splenda).
This is a VERY important step because if you add your sugar to the hot tea, it will scorch the sugar and you’ll have terribly bitter tea.
So, we want to start with cold water, add the sugar, THEN add the hot tea.
Adding the brewed tea will warm the water enough that the sugar will easily dissolve.
Give that a good stir then serve your sweet tea over ice.
Storage
So, we always drink the tea fresh. It can be kept in the refrigerator but Southern people prefer fresh sweet tea. Personally, I always throw out the leftovers and start fresh the next day and so does my Mama. But if you did want to extend the life of your iced tea, use the baking soda trick below and store it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
- There are many tea brands on the market. Mama prefers Luzianne but I usually use Tetley or Red Diamond. Just make sure you get a general blend or orange pekoe tea that’s specifically blended for iced tea (all of these brands will have this marked on the package). Orange pekoe is a generic term for a basic, medium-grade black tea.
- A handy tip: when you squeeze your tea leaves or tea bag, you release extra tannins which will cause a more bitter taste. So just dump ’em without that extra squeeze.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste. You might like more or less and that’s totally fine!
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve Southern sweet tea?
You simply serve sweet tea in a glass with ice. Some people like to add a squeeze of fresh lemon, a dash of bottled lemon juice, or a lemon slice garnish. Mama likes to add an orange slice. Give it a go and see what you think!
What is the mixture of sweet tea?
Sweet tea is simply a mixture of brewed black tea with sugar, served cold over ice.
How long should I steep tea for sweetened iced tea?
You want to steep the black tea bags for up to 15 minutes. The longer you steep, the stronger the tea taste.
Why do Southerners put baking soda in sweet tea?
So, some Southerners add a pinch of baking soda to their sweet tea to remove any bitterness from the black tea leave tannins. However, this is totally optional and not something I’ve ever done. But if you wanna give it a go, add it to the water when you boil your tea.
How does Paula Deen make sweet tea?
Paula Deen makes sweet tea how I make sweet tea! The only difference is hers includes a garnish of fresh lemon slices and fresh mint.
Check out these other refreshing drink recipes:
Hawaiian Iced Tea (Non-Alcoholic Punch)
Iced Cherry Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Sugar-Free Peach Lemonade (2 Ingredients Only)
Ingredients
- 5 tea bags
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Place tea bags in a saucepot or coffee maker (down in the coffee pot). If using the coffee pot, run a cycle of water through it to brew the tea. If using a saucepot, fill it about three inches with water and bring it just to a boil, then remove it from the heat.5 tea bags
- Fill a pitcher halfway with cool water and add sugar. Stir. Then add hot tea and stir again. Add more water, if necessary, to make two quarts. Serve over ice.3/4 cup granulated sugar
Nutrition
Thank you for reading Southern Plate! Have a GREAT Day!
We call that sun tea in Indiana and we make it every summer once the sun gets hot enough. I love to go into gardens and see containers of sun tea sitting on tables and benches.
I read most of the comments and I did not see a recipe for my version of sweet tea. I fill a gallon size glass jar almost all the way up. Leave a little room for the sugar. Fill the jar with cold water. Add 3 family size tea bags and screw the lid on. Set it out in a safe place in the full sun. Leave it for oh about 4 hours or so give or take an hour. Bring it in, throw away the tea bags and immediately, while tea is still warm, add 1 and 1/2 cups sugar or to taste. Refrigerate. So good. Clear and not bitter. Please try it. BTW I live in East Tennessee. Anyone else make it this way?
I do that too! I live in nw indiana, originally from chicago burbs. 🙂 and like kandie below wrote, we call it sun tea.
we make “sun tea” everyday here in Arizona…..they even sell huge glass containers with a bottom spout on them just for “sun tea”. …….and ….it’s an everyday occurrence to drive through the neighborhood and see all the “jars” out collecting the suns rays!! 🙂 Makes THE BEST tea!! 🙂 🙂
We make ours like this also but call it Sun tea.Some ad slices of lemons to it also,..but love love love my Sun tea/sweet tea.:-)
I am from Goodlettsville, TN but currently live in Souh Texas. All I do to make sweet tea is to take 4 family size Lipton tea bags and put them in a small sauce pan that has not water in it that I brought to a boil. I let the bags sit there for about 10 to 15 minutes. In a gallon pitcher I add 2 cups of sugar then I pour the warm tea over the sugar and let it sit for about 10 minutes after I stir it up real good. Once the sugar is dissolved I put more water over the tea bags that I used. I dip the bags in it a couple of times and then pour it over into the tea pitcher. I the add cold water and ice until it reaches the Gallon mark. It’s ready to pour over ice and drink. I have been drinking tea fixed this way for 46 years and have never had a complaint or cloudy tea or scorched sugar, etc. It’s so good!! Some add lemon and some don’t.
We do … sun tea
My Mother did this too!!! Like you I never asked why. I do remember she WOULD NOT use tea bags, she used Lipton loose tea and a tea ball. I guess all the pouring back and forth was to strain out any stray tea leaves.
Anyone ever hear of fanning your tea?? My Granny would always pour her tea back & forth between the pitcher and pan several times. I never questioned her because ….. 1. She was the Granny 🙂 2. Because her tea was the best ever!!! Yes, I fan mine too. Why? Because she did & I can only hope to duplicate something that wonderful woman did 🙂
And you know, Granny always did it right!
What happened to the most important step of steeping before mixing it up?
We always let our tea bags sit and steep (lid on pot is a Must) for at least 15-20 mins. before adding the concentrate to the sugar water mix or it would not be as rich in flavor. This is a must….right???
When I make tea I use 1 family size Tetley bag and 6 little green tea bags, AND a pinch of baking soda. I run my water thru the coffee maker over the bags and let steep until I remember it. Then using 3/4 cup sugar I pour the hot tea over top of the sugar, stir and then finish filling the 1/2 gal container. Everyone likes it and I make it this way for a senior center also. I am not a Southern belle but wish I was.
THANK YOU!! Thank you so much for posting this. I have been married for 5 years…and have tried my hardest to make good sweet tea. I gave this a shot tonight…and it was great. I like a stronger brewed tea and it was perfect. No more buying the gallon of Milo’s for me 🙂