How do you make Sweet Tea?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

My ex-mother-in-law taught me

put 8 or so lipton tea bags in about a quart of water and slow-boil it till you can smell it at the other end of the house.
remove the teabags and dump in a crapload of sugar. dilute with water to desired strength (still very strong) and pour over ice.

I've adjusted this by using 1/4 cup of raw wildflower honey instead of sugar. It adds great flavor.

How do you do it?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Those directions are SO like my grandmother's....

Love it.

Don't have a recipe myself but am always loving individualized recipes.

[cbayer]

2. I make a simple syrup from cane sugar.

That way I don't get any undissolved sugar in the bottom of the jar.

I used to make sun tea, but found it "turns" too quickly, so I now use boiling water.

I like to throw in a couple of mint or other herb based tea bags for flavoring.

You have inspired me! I am going to make some sweet tea today.

[Lucinda]

3. To make one pitcher:

3 bags of family size Luzianne tea
3/4 cup sugar
Water (about 1/2 full of a medium sized saucepan)
Pot w/ lid

Dissolve sugar in water as it comes to a rolling boil.
Turn off heat.
Add teabags.
Cover
Let sit 30 minutes
Pour into pitcher and add cold water to fill it the rest of the way.

Perfect every time.

[GaYellowDawg]

5. I do it just about identically

Except I use 8 regular Lipton bags, a cup of sugar, and steep it for a minimum of 45 minutes.

[Major Nikon]

4. I like using either Earl Grey or Chai

My wife and daughter prefer green tea, usually jasmine.

I brew the tea just like I would for hot tea, except stronger since it will be going over ice.

I never add sugar because I don't like sweet tea. I serve it with superfine sugar, honey, and lemon.

[GaYellowDawg]

6. Try this, y'all: ADD LIMES.

Instead of lemons. I know - some people kind of shudder at the idea, but give it a shot in one glass the next time you make tea. It is a wonderful taste. I don't even buy lemons anymore.

[Warpy]

7. Wildflower honey was too strong, so I used alfalfa or orange blossom honey

but that's basically my recipe, too. Only I use Splenda instead of sugar so I don't get too fat to get through the kitchen door.

[ecaramil]

8. Different honeys are a good idea!

I normally use just regular old sugar, but I think the next time I'm at the grocery I'll pick up some sort of honey!

Loved making sun tea when I was younger... I'll have to try that again.

[Warpy]

9. Just sterilize the jar between batches with a weak bleach solution

allowing it to dry completely before you make the tea.

Yes, they have tracked some nasty intestinal bugs to dirty sun tea jars.

I found I preferred steeping the tea in boiling water because it gets a hell of a lot stronger that way and I can use less tea. Then I just dilute it down but I still prefer it on the strong side.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. About the same, except I put about a cup of sugar in at the same time as the

tea bags.

[truth2power]

11. I tried for years to make sweet tea. I think I've finally found the secret...

whatever method you use to make the tea, when it comes time to add the sweetener, use simple sugar....

1:1 sugar and water in a separate container. Stir it really good and let sit a few minutes. The sugar will dissolve if you keep stirring it. Add that solution to your tea. I use 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water.

[Fumesucker]

12. 12 cup coffee maker, 6 Luzianne regular size tea bags..

Put in as much water as the coffee maker will hold and stack the bags right under the spout in the basket so as much hot water as possible goes through each of the bags, no filter.

Once the coffee maker stops burbling I put 3/4 cup of sugar in the bottom of a large pitcher and pour the hot tea in, stir until sugar is all dissolved then add another 12 cups of water or even a bit more if you have room in the pitcher. This makes somewhat over a gallon of iced tea. Of course you can adjust the number of tea bags and amount of sugar to your individual taste but this is a good starting point.

Brewing tea too long releases more of the polyphenols (tannin) in the leaves and makes it more bitter which requires more sugar to counteract, there is a fairly fine line between getting it strong and making it bitter.

No need to spend a lot of money on a coffee maker if you don't already have one, they are readily available in thrift stores.

ETA: The coffee maker needs to be fairly clean if it's been used for making coffee, I don't care for the mixture of tastes myself. The machine also needs to be cleaned on an occasional basis but not after every batch of tea.