Southern Iced Tea

I wasn't brought up on iced tea and I used to think it was really gross. Turns out I was just drinking bad iced tea. My husband grew up on the super sweet tea that makes your teeth hurt because it has so much sugar. To get that kind of sweetness you have to make a simple sugar, but that isn't really how I roll. I made sweet tea for a long time but now we drink unadulterated tea.  Green Bean likes to have a glass every now and then and I have no guilt about giving it to her.

First you have to start with the right kind of tea. Luzianne is the only tea I will ever use. It is the perfect taste and strength for me. If Green Bean is drinking it I will make it "half caf" by using a decaf bag with a regular  caffeinated bag. 

Now there is this thing call "Sun Tea" where you set a pitcher out in the sun for hours while the tea seeps. It doesn't taste very good so you do need a good old fashioned tea kettle. Fill her up and heat her till she sings.

True Story

While we were dating my husband decided to make some iced tea. He put his tea kettle on to boil and walked off. The whistle was broken and he forgot he had a kettle on boiling away. After all the water had boiled out the tea kettle it got so hot it started to burn. Thankfully he smelled it and was able to put out the fire before any damage was done. If this sounds like you, you might better make Sun Tea!

You may not know but your Rubbermaid 2qt pitcher can actually have boiling water poured into it. So once your water is boiling fill up the pitcher 1/2 to 3/4 ways full. Drop in two Luzianne tea bags and let it seep for at least an hour. Once it is done seeping, discard the tea bags, top the pitcher off with cold water and put into the fridge. 

Sweet Tea

If you must have sweet tea or plan on serving it to your southern in-laws, just add one cup of white sugar to the tea while the tea is still hot. 

Variations

1. Add another bag if you like your tea stronger
2. Mix 1/2 lemonade, 1/2 tea for the perfect Arnold Palmer
3. Add sliced lemon, limes, oranges or grapefruit for flavored tea
4. Add a bag of flavored tea such as peach tea (Many flavored teas have added soy, gluten or artificial flavoring so make sure you read your labels!)

Now all you have to do is find a front porch with rockers and an old friend to shoot the breeze with!