Southern hospitality with a little personality!
Simple Southern Sweet Tea
This Simple Southern Sweet Tea is fresh, smooth, and comes together in minutes! With only 4 ingredients and that classic sweet tea taste, you’ll never think of iced tea the same way again!
In the deep south, sweet tea is the lifeblood of the people. Served in tall plastic cups or charming mason jars, it is available at all stops, from fast food to fine dining to mamaw’s house, it is a staple of everyday life and accompanies most meals, even breakfast.
If you are not one of the lucky ones who live in a place where sweet tea is readily available, it can actually be hard to come by. Asking for sweet tea at most restaurants in the north will typically result in a confused wait staff and a raspberry or lemon concentrated concoction. To most of my Pennsylvania friends, sweet tea is a delicacy found at fast food drive-thrus and country themed restaurants. Although that’s the closest we have around here, nothing beats the real thing.
Many large companies have tried to create sweetened iced tea either in bottled or powdered form that can be mixed with water, but for a true southerner, this delicious elixir can’t be, and shouldn’t be, mass produced. Below is the recipe that can be found in the DNA of anyone from the south, but it is a specialty that can be appreciated by everyone.
I should probably mention that after trying this, you might never think of iced tea the same way again!
Serving Suggestions and Adaptations
- After the tea has cooled, add fresh lemons to brighten the flavor
- Although the south likes their tea sweet, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar to your desired sweetness level!
- Share with friends and family at your next get together, or store in the fridge for a sweet treat anytime you like!
To Save for Later…
Sweet tea can be stored in a pitcher in the refrigerator for up to a week! (This simple recipe will make it easy to whip up a batch any time you like)
Simple Southern Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- 6 Tea bags Lipton
- 1 qt water
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda
Instructions
- Bring 1 quart of water and tea bags to a boil in a pot on the stove.
- While water and tea bags boil, add 1 cup of sugar to the bottom of a 2 quart pitcher.
- Once the tea bags have reached boiling point, remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
- While tea steeps add the pinch of baking soda to the pitcher with sugar.
- Pour into the pitcher and stir until the sugar is melted.
- Add 1 quart of cold water and ice to the pitcher to cool the tea.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator to enjoy all day!
Notes
- I highly recommend using a plastic pitcher if possible as glass ones can crack when boiling water is added (I know from experience)
- Baking soda is used to help remove any bitterness from the tea. It is optional, however I always suggest using it to ensure the freshest tea every time!
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14 Comments
This is so cool! I have honestly never made homemade ice tea before and I’ve never bothered to look for a recipe. This looks so easy to make! I’ll give this a try for sure!
Yes it is so easy! Let me know what you think!
Delicious! I love this! Thank you for sharing!
Of course! Thanks for checking it out!
Very simple and easy recipe. I always prefer homemade 🧊 tea to the store bought oned. Interesting use of baking soda to remove the bitterness or tanins from the tea. Will definitely be trying it next time i make a 🍋 ice-tea. Thanks for the great tip. 😊
I know right? That was surprising to me too, but it really works! May be adding to all the tea I make from now on 😂
As a native Virginian, I can definitely say that sweet tea is a southern staple. I grew up drinking it all the time. And my mom did her own variations like sun tea or wild plum tea. I love it! It’s been a long time since I’ve indulged because the sweetness makes me buzz now but I do still enjoy it on occasion!
Sun tea is definitely one of my favorites, but I’ve never heard of wild plum tea! That sounds delicious!
My first reaction when I saw the picture of ingredients : ” what?! Baking soda?” I would never thought about using baking soda in tea. But I am not a Southern girl, I am actually from Northern Poland 🙂 I love your page! Since I moved to the United States my favorite food is Southern !
Thank you so much! That is so cool! I would love to try more Polish food!
What a perfectly simple way to enjoy a cup of tea!
I’m shocked to hear that there’s baking soda in sweet tea! What for? Also, doesn’t the ice cause the tea to become watery?
The baking soda is actually used to keep the tea from getting bitter after the steeping process! Strange but it works! Also because the tea itself is so concentrated during boiling the ice dilutes it just enough!
I have never heard of putting baking soda into tea but now I feel like I need to try it! I love tea, both sweet tea and unsweetened tea. I’d love to have a pitcher of this in the fridge!