Discover the secret to making the perfect glass of sweet tea with this authentic recipe, starting from scratch with just a few simple ingredients. Impress your friends and family with this delicious and refreshing Southern drink.

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This southern drink is enjoyed year round, in restaurants and such. A gallon of tea is a very popular drink in the summer time though.

I had a hard time converting to the iced tea thing, I'm British as you know and I like my tea hot, minus the sugar and with a dash of milk. The way I got around it was to think of this drink as a soft drink rather.

Groceries you'll need: Ingredients

• Luzianne Family Size Tea Bags
• Water
• Granulated Sugar
• Sprig of Mint and lemon slices (optional)

See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.

Recipe walkthrough: Instructions

This is an overview of the recipe steps. For more detailed instructions visit the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Step 1: Add water to your pot and bring to a boil.
• Step 2: Turn off the heat and add the tea bags. Give a stir around.
• Step 3: Place the lid on and allow to steep for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Step 4: Add the sugar to a gallon jug then pour the warm tea over.

• Step 5: Give a good stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
• Step 6: Add cold water to fill the remainder of the gallon pitcher.
• Step 7: Chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice with some lemon and mint (optional).

Recipe variations and substitute ideas

• Hard Sweet Tea - spice up your drink by adding your favorite liquor. Vodka is a good one.
• Tea - Black tea bags is what's needed to make sweet tea. Luzianne is a favorite, or Tetley. Lipton is another popular tea with southerners. It boils down to your preferred taste.
• Sweetness - This is another preference thing. Some like it very sweet, where others may even prefer it unsweetened. I think 1 cup of sugar makes it just sweet enough.

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Necessary gear: Equipment

The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

You only need a pot for boiling water (or you could use a kettle) and a gallon pitcher.

I have a couple of affiliate links in the recipe card below.

More southern recipes I think you'll love

How to store leftovers

Store the sweet tea in the refrigerator in a pitcher and pour over ice as needed.

Mel's kitchen notes

Don't add ice to the pitcher or it will melt and water down the tea. It's best to pour the tea over ice as you need it.

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