Sweet Tea is a perfectly brewed, smooth, and crisp Southern-style cold or Iced Drink. It is traditionally made with simple ingredients like black tea powder, sugar, and water. It is one of the simplest iced drinks that requires only under 15 minutes to make. The recipe I have shared here shows you how to make a perfect Sweet Tea with simple step-by-step instructions. I have also shared a supporting video to make the cooking process easy and simple. This Sweet Tea is an absolute summer treat to quench your thirst on hot summer days.
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What is Sweet Tea?
Sweet Tea is a classic Southern-style cold drink that has its origin in Virginia, United States of America. In the olden days, this tea is typically made with green tea but then it was shifted to Black tea during World War II. As the green tea imports were cut off from Japan, the United States changed over to Black tea from India.
It is one of the kitchen-staple drinks that you will find in most of the Southerner's homes. And you could also find a lot of brands in the food markets too. But making a cup of perfect drink with a perfectly balanced sweet and strong flavor of the tea is always a miracle. So here you will learn how to make a Sweet Tea that is bitter-less, perfectly sweet, and smooth in texture. So let see what you will need to make this refreshing drink below.
Ingredients
- Black Tea Powder - I have used orange pekoe black tea powder here but you can also use your favorite brands powder or tea bags. To name a few Lipton, Tetley and similar others.
- Sugar - Usually sugar or sugar syrup is use to sweeten the tea but you can also other sweetners if sugar is not in your preferred ingredients list
- Water - Water for brewing and diluting
How to make Sweet Tea?
This Sweet Tea is a well-balanced drink that is smooth, sweet, and filled with strong flavor and taste. The recipe delivers a bitter-less taste that you would love to taste every time. Let check out how to make Sweet Tea below.
- Brew Tea - In a saucepan, pour 2½ cups of water and bring it boil. Once it starts to boi, add the black tea powder and brew for 5 minutes. Switch of the heat, and close the pan and allow the tea to steep for 3 minutes
- Filter - Now drain the tea with fine mesh strainer into a pitcher. If you are using tea bags just discard them
- Add Sugar - Mix in a cup of white sugar while the tea is hot. This helps the sugar to dissolve easily. At this stage, some people prefer to add a pinch of baking soda to cutt off the bitter from strong tea. But I havent used any here, as my tea was not bitter
- Dilute with Water - Now pour the remaining 6 cups of water and dilute the tea
- Chill - Close the lid of the pitcher and refrigerate the tea overnight or atleast for 2 to 3 hours
- Serve - Finally serve this delicious Sweet Tea with lot of ice cubes. You can also add lemon slices, mint leaves, rasperrries for a more bursting flavors.
Tips
- Boiling the tea powder or bags in hot water helps to extract all the flavors from the tea powder
- Make sure not to boil the tea for more than 5 minutes which may turn the tea bitter even after diluting with water
- Diluting the strong tea in cold water gives a nice crisp and bitter-less drink
- I have used white sugar to sweeten the tea and you can also add sugar syrup instead
- Refrigerating the tea for at least for 2 hours gives the best flavor and I suggest keeping it for long hours to taste the best flavor and taste
- You can always make this Sweet Tea in bulk batches for a week and the more it is in the refrigerator gives more crisp flavor
- I have made this drink using orange pekoe black tea powder here and you can also use your favorite brands to achieve the similar results
- I haven't used baking soda to cut off the bitterness of tea since my tea was balanced with the perfect strong bitter-less flavor of the tea. But you could feel free to use a pinch if you feel your tea is bitter
- Serve this Sweet Tea with a lot of ice cubes for a more cooling effect. You can also garnish with lemon and mint which is totally optional
Calories in Sweet Tea
The Sweet Tea recipe shared here has 117 calories in a single glass serving. But this is just an estimate and it may vary according to the change in the ingredients. You can also check the recipe card below for detailed nutrition information.
Storage Suggestions
Always store this Sweet Tea in the refrigerator to get the perfect taste and flavor of the drink. You can also make it in bulk and it will stay good for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Sweet Tea with a lot of ice cubes and you could also add lemon slices and mint leaves for more refreshing flavors.
Related Recipes
You can find similar recipes below and more at Tea Recipes.
- Lemon Ginger Tea
- Barley Tea
- Masala Chai
- Hibiscus Tea (Agua De Jamaica)
- Bubble Tea (Boba Milk Tea)
- Taro Milk Tea (Taro Bubble Tea)
- Strawberry Milk Bubble Tea
- Thai Tea
More Iced Drinks Recipes
- Iced Tea
- Iced Black Coffee
- Cold Brew Coffee
- Iced Coffee
- Vietnamese Coffee
- Iced Chai Tea Latte
- Dirty Chai Latte
Sweet Tea Recipe video
I have also shared a detailed video of this Sweet Tea Recipe that I hope will help you to make a perfect drink at home. For a quick reference, you could also find this recipe in story format.
📖 Recipe
Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Black Loose Tea Powder , or 6 black tea bags
- 8 ½ cups Water
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- Ice Cubes, to serve
- Lemon slices, to serve
Instructions
To prepare Sweet Tea
- In a saucepan pour 2½ cups of water and allow it to boil for 2 to 3 minutes
- Add ¼ cup of black tea powder or 6 tea bags and allow it to brew for 5 minutes
- Now switch off the heat and close the pan with the lid and allow it to steep for 3 minutes
- Filter the tea into a pitcher using a fine mesh strainer(if you are using tea bags then remove them from the tea)
- Now add 1 cup of sugar and mix well to dissolve the sugar
- Add the remaining 6 cups of cold water and dilute the tea mixture
- Now close the lid of the pitcher and refrigerate the tea for at least 2 hours(the more it is chilled more crisp taste can be achieved). Now the refreshing Sweet Tea is ready for you to taste and enjoy
To Serve
- Serve this crisp Sweet Tea with a lot of ice cubes. You can also use lemon, and mint for a more refreshing taste and flavor
Video
Notes
- Boiling the tea powder or bags in hot water helps to extract all the flavors from the tea powder
- Make sure not to boil the tea for more than 5 minutes which may turn the tea bitter even after diluting with water
- Diluting the strong tea in cold water gives a nice crisp and bitter-less Sweet Tea
- I have used white sugar to sweeten the tea and you can also add sugar syrup instead
- Refrigerating the tea for at least for 2 hours gives good flavor and I suggest keeping it for long hours to taste the best Southern Sweet Tea
- You can always make this Sweet Tea in bulk batches for a week and the more it is in the refrigerator gives more crisp flavor
- I have made this Sweet Tea using orange pekoe black tea powder here and you can also use your favorite brands to achieve the similar results
- I haven't used baking soda to cut off the bitterness of tea since my tea was balanced with the perfect strong bitter-less flavor of the tea. But you could feel free to use a pinch if you feel your tea is bitter
- Serve this Sweet Tea with a lot of ice cubes for a more cooling effect. You can also garnish with lemon and mint which is totally optional
Nutrition
FAQ
Sweet Tea is a refreshing Southern-style summer drink. It is traditionally made with black tea powder, sugar, and water. The tea is perfectly brewed, sweetened, diluted, and then chilled before serving. It is one of the common drinks in Southerners' homes and is enjoyed during hot summer days.
Yes, of course, you can. Just skip the sugar from the recipe and follow the rest of the process.
Generally, this drink has 2 to 3 mg of caffeine per fl. oz and it may depend on the amount of tea powder or bags being used.
Even though consuming this drink in moderation is healthy for some people, and drinking too much leads to adverse effects like irregular sleep, indigestion, anxiety, and so on. (Source: Healthline)
I really hope you enjoyed the recipe that I have shared here and I would love to hear from you on how it turned out for you. Please let me know.
If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comment section below and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
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