Southern Sweet Tea

[tinhuvielartanis]

I'm posting this recipe with Aunt Tudi's permission in answer to moad_terran_hq's question about how to make real Southern sweet tea. This recipe is the one I was raised on, and I have found none better, although the Beacon's sweet tea comes in close. Aunt Tudi's tea is so strong that you can see the oils swirling in it around the ice cubes. My friend Todd began calling it kerosene, it was so strong, but he loved it every bit as much as I did.

What you need:
-A large pot that will hold 2 quarts of water and its lid (at least a 3 quart to gallon sized pot)
-A gallon jug or container
-A large spoon
-2 cups of sugar
-12 standard sized or 4 large sized Lipton tea bags. Either will work, but it has to be Lipton.

What you do:

• Place two quarts of water in the pot. Tie the tea bags together at the tabs and place in the water with the tabs over the edge of the pot. Place lid on pot and turn your burner on high.


• When the water begins to boil, turn the burner off and set the pot to one side. Let the tea steep for 15 - 20 minutes. Then take out the tea bags and squeeze all the water out of them by pressing them against the pot lid with a large spoon.


• Pour two cups of sugar into the tea. You can use less or more sugar depending on your taste. Stir the tea until all the sugar is dissolved.


• Let tea cool, then pour it into a gallon jug. Fill the jug the rest of the way with cold water.

You can then pour this over ice and add lemon if desired, but the best way to drink it is to let it get ice cold in the fridge, then pour it over ice. We typically never used lemon in this tea, but it's totally up to the person drinking the tea.

WARNING: This is very strong sweet tea. It can be used to revive a Southerner on a hot day or it can be used as fuel for your moped.

Comments

[missangelyss.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I love you! Consider me your slave! ;c)

I adore sweet tea. I usually make do by just dumping a ton of sugar into my sun tea but now I can be authentic!

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

YAY!

I'll tell Aunt Tudi that you're pleased.

[missangelyss.livejournal.com]

Sosososo good! I couldn't even wait for it to get cold to get my first glass. ;c)
Thank you again!

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Wahey! Glad to hear it worked out.

[m0usegrrl.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, I love me some sweet tea. Best I ever had, funnily enough, was in the food court at Opry Mills in Nashville. Can't get sweet tea out here, and it's one of the few things I really do miss about the South -- that stuff that Arizona Tea Co. makes in cans just don't cut it.

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Oh no. What these beverage companies peddle as real sweet tea is nothing but rat urine with a few grains of sugar thrown in.

Try out this recipe and tell me what you think.

[ginamariewade.livejournal.com]

No, it's rat urine with a few cubes of high fructose corn syrup and preservatives thrown in.

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

::snort:: You said, sugarlumps!

[kithan.livejournal.com]

I don't drink tea but ..

*points to icon*

Keeping Up Appearances?

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. Gotta love Onslow!

[moad-terran-hq.livejournal.com]

Thanks loads, hon! It is funny, that is not too far removed from how I normally make iced tea. But the Devil is in the details, so I will definately be trying this recipe out as soon as I can stand being in my kitchen again.

Thank Aunt Tudi for me for sharing her recipe!

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Not a problem! Lemme know how it turns out, eh?

[moad-terran-hq.livejournal.com]

I whipped up a batch this afternoon, and just had my first glass....

How come the world seems to be moving slower all of a sudden? (I swear, that fly just seems to be Stuck in midair....)

I have to tweak the sugar content a bit, but it is awful good - and a cure for tiredness, that is for sure. (With all the sleep I got this weekend, I wasn't planning on sleeping much this eve anyways....

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Dude! I'm glad you got your tea buzz on. I told Aunt Tudi what you said and she's puffed up, all proud'n'shit.

[dferguson.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of an iced tea drinker myself but I know plenty of people who never touch the stuff until they go down south. They claim that there's no comparison and nobody north of Delaware knows how to make real sweet iced tea.

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Pass this recipe around north of Delaware and that will no longer be the case.

Stay tuned for an outrageous Aunt Tudi post. You'll love this one.

[ginamariewade.livejournal.com]

Personally, I like Red Diamond and Luzianne just as much as Lipton, and they cost less.

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

We've tried both and they seemed weak compared to the Lipton tea.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

I know it's near sacrilege, but I like Lipton Cold Brew best. I like to let it brew in the fridge all night with the sugar lurking at the bottom, then stir it up.

But this sounds just like my mom and grandma make/made it.

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

Nah, everyone gets their tea the way they like it. That's the law.

[sapphirescarlet.livejournal.com]

Yea, and verily.

[boba.livejournal.com]

Twenty minutes? *laugh* I don't know what it is, but that ain't tea! I can't even imagine the pucker that stuff must produce when one drinks it... you folks don't fool around down there, do you?

"very strong" Oh, right. Little Miss Understatement, aren't ya?

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

You could always brew some up for your moped, if'n you got one, that is.

[moad-terran-hq.livejournal.com]

If you drink enough of it, you won't need a moped - you'll run at 30mph, at least to get to a bathroom....

;-}

[tinhuviel.livejournal.com]

werd.