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Southern Sweet Tea

The method matters more than the recipe — sweeten it hot, cool it fast, and never boil the leaves.

Southern Sweet Tea — a non-alcoholic drink served in a glass
Photo by PersonalCreations.com · CC BY 2.0 · via Openverse
Prep
15 min
Serves
8
Glass
Highball
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 6 black tea bags (or 2 tbsp loose leaf)
  • 8 cups water, divided
  • 0.75 cup sugar, to taste
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • Lemon wheels and mint, to garnish

Method

  1. 1Bring 4 cups of water to just below boiling, take it off the heat, and steep the tea for 5 minutes. No longer, or it turns bitter.
  2. 2Remove the tea, then stir the sugar and the pinch of baking soda into the hot liquid until fully dissolved.
  3. 3Add the remaining 4 cups of cold water and cool quickly.
  4. 4Serve over plenty of ice with lemon and mint.

Notes

  • The pinch of baking soda is the Southern trick — it neutralises the tannins that make tea cloudy and bitter.
  • Sweeten while hot. Sugar stirred into cold tea never dissolves properly and settles at the bottom.
  • Steeping longer does not make it stronger, only more bitter. Use more tea instead.

Common questions

Why is my iced tea cloudy?

Tannins precipitating as it cools, usually from over-steeping or refrigerating it too fast. A pinch of baking soda in the hot tea prevents it, as does letting it cool at room temperature first.

Make one of these next

  • Peach Iced Tea

    Real peach and real tea, not syrup from a bottle. Makes a jug that disappears fast.

  • Horchata

    Rice, cinnamon and milk, blended and strained. Sweet, cooling, and the best thing to drink with spicy food.

  • Mocktail Sangria

    A pitcher that improves as it sits. The best thing to put on the table when you're hosting.

A new recipe each month

Plus new venues and a Dry January plan when it comes round.