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TL;DR for Southern Sweet Tea Recipe

Recipe Summary

The classic Southern sweet tea recipe — perfectly brewed, perfectly sweet, and ready in 10 minutes. Made with black tea, sugar, and a pinch of baking soda for a smooth, never-bitter pitcher every time.

Prep5m

Cook5m

Total10m

13gCarb
0gFat
0gProtein

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Drinking a tall glass of Southern Sweet Iced Tea is truly divine!

If you’ve never had the opportunity to enjoy a glass of sweet iced tea, or have only had it bottled, now’s the time to try making your own sweet iced tea, and enjoy it like a southerner.

How to Make Sweet Tea

Start with filtered, fresh cold water. The quality of your water matters more than most people think, and if yours has a strong taste, your tea will too. For the tea itself, use the best quality black tea you can find. I reach for Lipton Black Tea and have never had reason to switch.

Make a tea concentrate first, then dilute it using ice before topping with more cold filtered water. This means your tea is ready to serve immediately without waiting for it to chill down, and the flavor stays clean and bright.

A pinch of baking soda stirred in keeps the tea from turning cloudy. It’s one of those old tricks that sounds like a myth until you try it.

If you’re serving in a glass pitcher, add your ice first, then place a metal spoon deep into the ice so the spoon touches the base of the pitcher before you pour in the hot concentrate. The metal absorbs the heat and protects the glass from cracking. Learned that one the hard way.

Once the tea has cooled and you’ve poured it into the pitcher, remove the ice if you’re not serving right away, otherwise it keeps diluting as it sits. Add fresh ice when you’re ready to pour.

Sweet Iced Tea is a staple of the southern kitchen. I can’t remember the first time I started drinking Sweet Iced Tea, but I’m pretty sure it was soon after I came into this world. I’ve continued my love for this drink, and have enjoyed it on the go, at mealtimes, and while sitting on the porch taking in the warm afternoons.

To grab your own Lipton Black Tea Bags, hover over the photo below to purchase then you’ll be set to make your own Southern Sweet Iced Tea!

Drinking this southern delight is more of a way of life or ritual than it is a simple drink option. It’s about slow living, taking it easy and sharing time with friends and family.

Tips for the Best Sweet Tea

How to Make Sweet Tea:

• Start with filtered fresh cold water.
• Buy the best quality black tea, my choice is Lipton Black Tea, which I find at my local Walmart.
• A pinch of baking soda added to your sweet iced tea recipe will keep it from turning cloudy.
• Make a tea concentrate then dilute using ice first followed by topping it up with more cold filtered water – it will be ready to serve immediately without having to completely chill.
• If using a glass pitcher to serve in, put in your ice first then you must put a metal spoon deep into the ice, with the spoon touching the base of the pitcher. This is to keep your glass from cracking when you pour in the hot tea concentrate, the metal will help absorb the heat and protect the glass. Learned that one the hard way. And when it comes to serving, a plate of fresh Southern biscuits alongside a cold pitcher of sweet tea is about as perfect an afternoon as I can imagine.

• If you are not going to drink your tea immediately after you have poured it into the pitcher and it has cooled off, remove the ice to prevent it from becoming too diluted. When ready to serve, add additional ice as needed. And if you’re the kind of person who loves a good Southern drink, my bourbon coffee is another one worth having in your back pocket, a little indulgent, a little unexpected, and completely worth it.

Making my sweet iced tea recipe calls for quality tea, and that’s why my preference is Lipton 100% Natural Tea Black Tea Bags, which you can find in 100 ct or 50 ct, and by the way, I’m loving their new packaging! Don’t worry, Lipton is still 100% natural and is, of course, America’s favorite tea, with a new look, same great taste.

Not sure where to find it? Get yours at your local Walmart or Walmart.com, easy peasy!

Earn $.75 on any one Lipton product at Walmart while supplies last. Grab your savings now!

How Much Sugar in Sweet Tea?

This is the question everyone has and nobody agrees on. Sweet tea is personal.

The standard Southern ratio is 3/4 cup of sugar per 2 quarts of water. That’s the baseline, and it’s what most people would recognize as classic sweet tea. From there, adjust to taste. Some households go a full cup. Some go half. If you’re new to making it, start at 3/4 and work from there.

The key is dissolving the sugar while the tea is still hot. Add it to the hot concentrate before you dilute, stir until it’s completely dissolved, and you’ll never end up with a gritty, under-sweetened glass. Once the tea is cold, the sugar won’t dissolve properly.

And if you’re cutting back on sugar, the honey swap mentioned above is worth trying. It sweetens differently but works well with the black tea base.

How Long Does Sweet Tea Last?

Sweet tea keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Store it in a covered pitcher or airtight container and it will taste just as good on day three as it did when you made it.

If you’ve added fruit, remove it after 24 hours. Citrus especially starts to turn bitter as it sits, and berries will break down and affect the flavor of the whole batch. Make the tea, enjoy the fruit while it’s fresh, then strain it out before storing.

One more thing worth mentioning: if you followed the concentrate method, make sure you’ve fully diluted before storing. Concentrated tea stored in the fridge and then diluted later never quite tastes the same as getting it right from the start.

Now all you have to do is sit back and relax in your favorite rocking chair, and enjoy a tall glass of southern sweet iced tea.

Little Figgy Food

Southern Sweet Tea Recipe

4.86 from 7 votes

The classic Southern sweet tea recipe — perfectly brewed, perfectly sweet, and ready in 10 minutes. Made with black tea, sugar, and a pinch of baking soda for a smooth, never-bitter pitcher every time.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Servings: 2 quarts

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American, Southern

Calories: 49

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1 pint of just boiled water
• 6 Lipton Black Tea bags
• ½ - ¾ cup sugar or to taste
• 1 lemon sliced (optional)
• 1 orange sliced (optional)
• several sprigs of fresh mint optional
• Pinch of baking soda
• Ice
• Cold water

Method

 

1. In a heat resistant large measuring cup (I use a 4 cup measuring cup), add the Lipton Black Tea bags and sugar, then pour over with freshly boiled water. Add a pinch of baking soda. Allow to brew for about 5 - 8 minutes. This will make your 1 pint of concentrate.
2. In a large 2 quart pitcher, first add the ice until about 1/2 to 3/4 full. If using a glass pitcher, don't forget the metal spoon to keep your glass from cracking.
3. Slowly pour the tea concentrate over the ice.
4. Add in the lemon and orange slices, plus the mint if using.
5. Top up with more cold, filtered water.
6. Serve over ice and enjoy.

Nutrition

Serving: 8ouncesCalories: 49kcalCarbohydrates: 13gSodium: 14mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11g

Notes

Sweet Tea Variations

Sweet tea is a forgiving canvas. Once you have the base down, it's easy to make it your own.

Citrus swaps. Lemon is the classic, but limes work just as well if that's what you have on hand. A little more tart, a little less expected, and just as refreshing.

Stone fruit and berries. Replace the citrus altogether with sliced peaches, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, or a mixture of whatever looks good at the market. Georgia peaches in summer are hard to beat. A handful of berries turns the whole pitcher a beautiful color too.

Herb variations. Mint is the crowd favorite, though I know it has its skeptics. Lemon verbena or lemon balm are quieter alternatives with a lovely floral quality that pairs really nicely with black tea.

Honey instead of sugar. Swap the sugar for honey to taste if you prefer a more rounded, less sharp sweetness. Start with a little less than you think you need and adjust from there.

Flavored simple syrups. Stirring in one of my flavored simple syrups is a great way to mix things up seasonally. A lavender syrup in summer or a cinnamon one come fall.

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