The Cliffs of Insanity

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.