Southern Sweet Iced Tea

I'm a sweet drinker. Doesn't have to be summer or a barbecue happening, I'll drink it all year long and with any meal y'all. My sons Matt and Will have recently joined me in my sweet tea fetish. Matthew went to California over the summer to visit his Aunt, Uncle and Cousin and much to his surprise they apparently don't serve sweet tea in California according to my sister in law. WHAT??!! 

I was even surprised by that. California, you don't know what you are missing.

Well, Matthew being a new sweet tea drinker himself, ordered a glass of regular ice tea and decided to pour packets-not a few packets but like a ton of packets onto his chilled tea. He couldn't figure out why it didn't have that sweet taste even after using a whole dish of sugar.  And why he felt like he just poured sand into his mouth. I later had to explain that when you make sweet tea you have to add the sugar when the tea is hot. It takes the grittiness out and it basically makes into a simple syrup. 

Also you MUST use good ol' Lipton ice tea bags. Nothing flavored, unless you want sweet Raspberry or  sweet Peach tea or even sweet Green tea. But outside of those, nothing else will do...in my opinion, at least. I'll take good ol' fashioned sweet tea. On really hot summer days I'll make sun tea when I want a tea without sugar. Tea without sugar is only good after mowing the yard and weed eating. Other than that pass me the sweet tea, please!

So enjoy a glass of sweet tea this week, sit outside, watch the kids play and thank Jesus for the little things....like this recipe for my Sweet Southern Iced Tea! 

Southern Sweet Iced Tea

1 gallon pitcher (I use a Rubbermaid pitcher)

Boil a gallons worth of water

4 Lipton family size tea bags

1 1/2 cups sugar

Feel free to add or more or less sugar, I like mine extra sweet!

**Water needs to be hot in order for sugar to become a simple syrup** 

Friends don't let friends drink gritty tea....yuck! 

Let tea bags seep for about 10 minutes or so in the hot sugar water

Stir well and put in refrigerator to chill.

I don't add ice to my pitcher as it water downs the sweet tea. I add ice to glass and pour in sweet tea after it has chilled for several hours.

Serve in a mason jar for more Southern flare:)

Add a sprig of mint to give it an even more Southern twist!

Cheers Y'all!

Blessings,