Sweet Tea Please!

I grew up in central Florida.  I don't remember drinking much of anything EXCEPT sweet tea and the water from the hose outside!  Well,... maybe some Florida orange juice (ha-ha).  Sweet tea was  just one of those things that we always had in the fridge.  And we had NEVER heard of drinking it hot for heaven's sake!  Nor with lemon in it (ick!).

Sweet Tea is also the "dish" I have to take to every family dinner.  People sometimes ask, "What are ya famous for at family dinners?"  Well... that would be the sweet tea for me!  How easy is that?  And I never bring home any empty containers so I must be doing something right. 

This is how I make Sweet Tea AT HOME MY WAY:

Sweet Tea

• 2 family-size tea bags (I use decaff-generic)
• 4 cups of hot water
• A medium sized pot (you will need a lid)
• 3/4 to 1 cup of granulated white sugar  (Personally, I use just a little more than 3/4 cup - because as it sits, it gets sweeter.)
• More water 
• One gallon tea pitcher

1.  Put the tea bags in a medium pot.  Pour on 4 cups of hot water.

2.  Heat the water/tea bags until boiling.  Turn off the burner and remove the pot from the burner.  Cover with a lid and let this steep for an hour.

3.  Put 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar in the bottom of your gallon-sized tea pitcher.  Pour the hot tea in the pitcher, using a spoon to squeeze the last bit of delicious tea from the tea bags in the pot.  Compost the tea bags.

4.  Fill the remainder of your gallon pitcher with cool water.  You only want a gallon total of water.  Don't fill the pitcher to the brim. 

5.  Stir with a long spoon to reach the sugar on the bottom.

6.  Refrigerate. 

The tea gets sweeter and stronger as it sits.  I make mine in the morning and refrigerate for using for supper. 

My husband recently gave up soda as his only form of a diet (they had weight loss contest at work).  He lost 10 pounds in 3 months JUST from not drinking soda.  And yes!  He still drank lots of sweet tea.  Let's just say there is lots more sugar in soda than in this pitcher of sweet tea!  Enjoy!


Trying out a recipe card feature here:

I am sharing this recipe here:

http://eatathomecooks.com/2013/01/ingredient-spotlight-tea-and-spiced-chai-tea-muffin-recipe.html