Southern Sweet Tea Recipe
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This Southern Sweet Tea recipe is smooth, sweet, and delicious! It includes tried-and-true tips for how to make sweet tea that everyone loves! I’ve also included instructions on how to make and serve Sweet Tea Concentrate!
So many drinks just hit the spot, from cold strawberry lemonade to a warm mug of apple cider, depending on the season and your preference. But when you want a refreshing drink to cool down or enjoy a meal, there is nothing like a glass of great Southern sweet tea.
If you have ever been fortunate enough to enjoy an ice-cold glass of Southern sweet tea, you will know what I’m talking about when I say there is good tea, and then there is great tea. My Grandmother Verdie made the absolute best sweet tea that I have ever tasted. After years of watching and asking her a million questions, she taught me her secrets for making the best sweet tea. I haven’t looked back since.
Tips for the Best Southern Sweet Tea!
- Use tea specially blended for iced tea. Southern sweet tea is an iced tea, meaning that it is tea made to be served over ice. Red Diamond, Luzianne, Lipton, and Tetley are a few preferred brands for iced tea. Look for markings on the package to say it is specially made for iced tea.
- Don’t burn your tea. Here’s what that means. You should bring your water to a boil, remove it from the heat, and then add your tea bags. This prevents the tea from burning and becoming bitter.
- Steeping matters. Allow your tea to steep for 15 minutes.
- Add a little baking soda. This can be controversial. But hear me out. The baking soda prevents the tea from becoming cloudy and bitter. You can skip the baking soda if you know you will drink a gallon of tea in one day. If you think you’ll have some left over to refrigerate, try it with the baking soda. It makes all the difference.
How to Make Southern Sweet Tea
Here’s how you make this delicious Southern Sweet Tea.
Sweet Tea Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
- tea bags
- sugar
- baking soda (optional)
- water
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Boil. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan or a tea kettle over medium heat.
- Steep. Remove from the heat and drop the tea bags into the water. Allow the tea bags to steep for 15 minutes.
- Sweeten. As your tea is steeping, add your sugar to your pitcher. Remove the tea bags from the saucepan or kettle and press them against the side of the saucepan or kettle to press out as much of the tea as possible before discarding them. Pour half of the tea into the pitcher over the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and then pour in the remaining tea.
- Stir, Serve, and Store. Stir in the baking soda and then fill the pitcher the rest of the way with fresh, cold water. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.
How to Make Sweet Tea Concentrate
Similar to my lemonade concentrate, I love to make sweet tea concentrate! The concentrate requires less room in my refrigerator, is easier to transport when traveling, and is excellent to make ahead and keep on hand! My Grandmother Verdie would have LOVED this for taking to reunions, church suppers, and family dinners!
Boil. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and drop in tea bags.
Steep. Let steep for 15 minutes.
Sweeten. Add your sugar to a 1-quart, large-mouth Mason jar or similar container. Remove the tea bags, carefully pressing the bags against the side of the saucepan before discarding them. Pour a little tea into the Mason jar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour in the remaining tea.
Stir. Add in the baking soda and stir well to combine.
Store. Tighten the lid onto the Mason jar and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
How to Serve from Concentrate
One recipe makes 16 individual servings or is enough for a gallon of tea!
Single serving. Add 1/4 cup of concentrate to a glass. Top with ice and 3/4 cup of cold water. Stir to combine.
Gallon. Pour all of the concentrate into a gallon pitcher and fill it with cold water. Stir to combine.
Here’s my Southern Sweet Tea recipe. I hope you love it as much as my family always has.
Southern Sweet Tea Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 family-size tea bags
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda, (optional)
- water
Instructions
- Boil. Bring 1 quart of water to boil in a medium saucepan or tea kettle set over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the tea bags. Allow to steep for about 15 minutes. Do not allow the tea to become cold.
- Sweeten. In a gallon pitcher, add the sugar and pour in about 1/2 of the warm tea. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour in the remainder of the brewed tea, being careful not to drop in tea bags.
- Stir. Add baking soda and stir to combine. If serving immediately baking soda may not be needed.
- Serve. Fill the pitcher with cold water and serve over ice. Great with a wedge of lemon, lime, orange or a sprig of mint.
Sweet Tea Concentrate
- Boil. Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and drop in tea bags.
- Sweeten. Add sugar to a 1-quart, wide-mouthed Mason jar or similar container. Remove the tea bags, carefully pressing the bags against the side of the saucepan before discarding them. Pour a little of the tea over the sugar, stirring until completely dissolved. Pour in the remaining tea.
- Stir. Stir in the baking soda and stir to combine.
- Store. Tighten the lid of the container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Serve. To serve a single serving, add 1/4 cup concentrate to a glass and top with ice and 3/4 cup water. Stir to combine. To serve a gallon, add all of the concentrate to a gallon pitcher and top with water. Stir to combine.
Notes
- Use tea specially blended for iced tea. Southern sweet tea is an iced tea, meaning that it is tea made to be served over ice. Red Diamond, Luzianne, Lipton, and Tetley are a few preferred brands for iced tea. Look for markings on the package to say it is specially made for iced tea.
- Don’t burn your tea. Here’s what that means. You should bring your water to a boil, remove it from the heat, and then add your tea bags. This prevents the tea from burning and becoming bitter.
- Steeping matters. Allow your tea to steep for 15 minutes.
- Add a little baking soda. This can be controversial. But hear me out. The baking soda prevents the tea from becoming cloudy and bitter. You can skip the baking soda if you know you will drink a gallon of tea in one day. If you think you’ll have some left over to refrigerate, try it with the baking soda. It makes all the difference.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
So, the original recipe ends up being two quarts? 1 quart to make the tea and another cold quart added at the end?
Darlene, the sweet tea concentrate recipe makes 1 quart of concentrate. You place one quart of water in a tea kettle to boil and then add the sugar and tea to a quart jar to make one quart of concentrate. You can add enough water to the concentrate to make one gallon of tea or make one glass at a time.
EXCELLENT Southern Sweet Tea as usual, Robyn. This remains my go to recipe. Very easy and straight forward recipe. Thanks again.🙂
Thanks, Andrea. I’m so glad this recipe is a favorite of yours.
Your recipes look so good I’ll have to try them.
I hope you find many that you try and love, Darlene.
Why backing soda?
As I state in the post, Wendy, the baking soda prevents the tea from becoming cloudy and bitter. If you are going to drink all the tea the same day, you can omit it.
This is so good. I make it all the time. I use sugar sometimes but I also use sugar substitute because I’m not really supposed to have sugar. It works great with Stevia. It tastes the same. I’m making some right now as I type this. Thank you for sharing. I’ve seen some southern sweet tea recipe s that use so much more sugar and it’s just too much for us.
Thanks, Ann. I’m glad you can make it with Stevia as you need and still have the same flavor.
Hi! What kind of tea should I use for this?
As I state in the post: Use tea specially blended for iced tea. Southern sweet tea is an iced tea, meaning that it is tea made to be served over ice. Some brands that are preferred for iced tea are Red Diamond, Luzianne, Lipton and Tetley. Look for markings on the package to say that it is specially made for iced tea. Hope this helps.
How many small tea bags do we use?
Each family size tea bag equals 3 small tea bags, Lisa. So use 12 to 15 small tea bags.
Hi Robyn,
Thank you so much for your fantastic sweet tea recipe! As a college student, I am trying to find new ways to cook at home and use homemade recipes more often. Of course, eating out at as a treat sometimes is fun. But that is something that I do excessively lol. I am a chef in process though! One of the most rewarding things about eating at home is when you have that satisfaction of “I made this!” when you take that first bite of food or first sip of drink. Thanks for all that you do.
Clay
Thanks, Clay. Good luck with your classes and your work toward becoming a chef.
Very easy to follow directions and has wonderful flavor. Love it!
Thank you, Karen!
Hi Robyn and Sweet Tea Lovers everywhere!!
I’ve found that stevia has a bitter after taste. Sugar has a very high glycemic impact. I use powdered (not granular) Erythritol, like confectioners sugar. Granular will disolve in hot water but will return to granular when chilled. Erythritol is equally (1:1) as sweet as sugar. It is a sugar alcohol and has a very low glycemic value. Overall, a much healthier sweetener. Nothing is lost in sweetness and without the glycemic impact.
By the way … how much is “a little baking soda” ?
My pinch is 3x as much as my wife’s.
John, technically, a pinch is 1/16th of a teaspoon. Thanks for your tip regarding erythritol.
This is exactly like I make my tea only I am not allowed sugar so I use the same amount of Stevia. Stevia is a little harder to dissolve but taste not much different than sugar.
I’m happy to know the Stevia works so great with this tea, Terry. Thanks!