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Simple Southern Sweet Tea

Southern Sweet Tea is basically summer in a glass. This recipe is easy to make, deliciously sweet, and so refreshing.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Rest time 10 minutes
Total Time 16 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 8 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups water
  • 8 regular size black tea bags (or 4 family-size bags) paper and string carefully removed I like Lipton
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, or to desired taste
  • lemon slices for garnish optional

Instructions
 

  • Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add tea bags and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and place a lid on to steep for 10 minutes. Pull out tea bags, gently squeezing out the extra liquid. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add a cup of ice to the tea to slightly cool before transferring to a pitcher. Pour tea in a gallon size pitcher and fill the rest with ice or water. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Notes

Tips:
Removing tea bags- If you have a lemon or lime squeezer, add as many tea bags to fit and squeeze out extra liquid. 
Pouring hot tea into pitcher safely- Add a handful of ice into the pot with the steeped hot tea to cool off before transferring to a pitcher. 
Substitute other tea flavors- Peach and fruit blends are our favorite but just about any tea blend will work for iced tea. 
Keyword Black tea, Sugar, Water