Serving methods for sweet tea – Serve your sweet tea in the following manners:
- Serve unsweetened, poured over ice.
- Add fresh lemon slices.
- Include fresh mint.
- Mix equal parts sweet tea and lemonade to create an Arnold Palmer.
- Mix 4 ounces of bourbon with 12 ounces of sweet tea to create a refreshing summer drink.
Looking for some mouthwatering Southern meals to accompany your sweet tea? Try the following:
- Instant Pot Steak Country Style
- Slow-Cooker Chicken with Gravy
- Recipe for Southern Collard Greens
- French Onion Noodle Chicken Casserole
- Sweet Potato Casserole Southern
- Chicken with Crust
- Salisbury Hamburg er
- Slow-Cooker Southern Green Beans and Potatoes
- Cheese Instant Pot macaroni
- Baked Southern Spaghetti
If you prepare sweet tea, please leave a comment telling me how it came out. I would appreciate a response, as would my readers. Post a photo of your iced tea on Instagram or Facebook and use the hashtags #aforkstale and @aforkstale. I shall inform my fans! xoxo! 
- 2 tea bags sized for a family Six smaller bags
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup sugar for a sweeter taste, use 34 cup
- ▢ ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Take boiling water off the heat.
- Stir in 1 cup of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda (optional
- see notes) until dissolved.
- Add two tea bags of the family size to the water. Steep the tea for 15 minutes for a robust flavor or 10 minutes for a milder one.
- Take out the tea bags.
- Add tea and the remaining 6 cups of water to your pitcher. Stir.
- Refrigerate until serving time.
This recipe makes two quarts. Notes:
- Some Southerners include baking soda in their recipes. This will remove any bitterness from the tannins released by the black tea leaves. I have learnt this technique throughout the previous few years. There will be no flavor of baking soda. My other relatives do not include it, therefore this is entirely optional.
- To brew a gallon of tea, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 2 cups of sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda after removing from heat, and then steep 4 family-sized tea bags in 14 cups of cool water.
- When removing the tea bags, never pinch them. This may cause tannins to be released and create a bitter flavor.
- Never pour hot tea into a pitcher made of glass. It might cause the pitcher to break. If using a glass pitcher, allow the tea to cool before serving.
- For unsweetened tea, simply omit the sugar from the same instructions.
Calories: 97 kcal | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Sodium: 23 mg | Potassium: 1 mg | Sugar: 25 g | Calcium: 4 mg | Iron: 1 mg
How long does tea need to steep?
Pour the water over the tea and allow it to steep for three to seven minutes. Herbal infusions require the longest steeping time (5 to 7 minutes), whereas white tea requires the least (just a minute or two). For any other type of tea (black, green, oolong, and dark), three minutes should enough.