The trend toward sweetening tea is spreading rapidly across the nation. If you love iced tea and want to know how to make real Southern sweet tea in your own kitchen, or prefer sweet to the often bitter taste of regular iced tea, these homemade sweet tea recipes show it's easy a pie.
First, you should know that "sweet tea" differs from "sweetened tea" in that the sugar is added to sweet tea during the steeping stage, or when the tea is boiling hot, thus melting the sugar.
Next, here is a little history of iced tea and sweet tea. English and American cookbooks show that tea has been served cold at least since the early nineteenth century. The oldest recipes in print show "punches" made from green, not black, tea. By the middle of the nineteenth century Charleston's St. Cecilia Punch, and Savannah's Chatham Artillery were some popular versions of this green tea punch laced with champagne or other libations. The oldest sweet tea recipe (ice tea) in print comes from a community cookbook called Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, published in 1879.
The recipe reads as follows:
Iced Tea
After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls green tea. If wanted for supper, do this at breakfast. At dinner time, strain, without stirring, through a tea strainer into a pitcher. Let it stand till tea time and pour into decanters, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the pitcher. Fill the goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar. A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency.
After 1900, iced tea became commonplace in cookbooks, and black tea began replacing green as the preferred tea for serving cold with increased availability of inexpensive black tea exports from India, Ceylon, South America, and Africa. During World War II, the major sources of green tea were cut off from the United States, leaving us with tea almost exclusively from British-controlled India, which produces black tea. Americans came out of the war drinking nearly 99 percent black tea.
At the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, iced tea was popularized as the new trend of ice cubes cooncided with a very hot period and a lot of thirsty fairgoers. Additionally, the American Prohibition (1920-1933) helped boost the popularity of iced tea because average Americans were forced to find alternatives to illegal beer, wine, and alcohol. Iced tea recipes begin appearing routinely in most southern cookbooks during this time.
Basic Sweet Tea Recipe
The basic recipe is to add 2 cups of boiling water to 6 tea bags. Let steep 10 minutes. Then stir in at least one cup of sugar. More if you have a real sweet tooth. You add the sugar at this step so that it melts completely. Cut the tea with 6 cups of cold water and then add ice, if desired. Some people add a pinch of baking soda at the early stage as they say it cuts the bitterness of the tea.
Sweet Iced Tea Variations
Iced Sweet tea can be served with lemon or lime wedges, a sprig of mint, a strawberry, a cherry, a slice of orange, or pineapple, a splash of peach or mango nectar, lemon, orange or cranberry juice.
With lots of flavored tea on the market today, try a version with your favorite fruit combinations, add the sugar at steeping time, and enjoy some fresh, refreshing homemade sweet tea. Or, try the recipe below for starters:
Lime Cranberry Pomegranate Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- 6 Lipton Cranberry Pomegranate tea bags
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 cups cold water
- 1 lime, cut into slices
Directions
- Steep tea in boiling water. for 15 minutes.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Cut with cold water and stir.
- Add ice and lime slices and serve in tall glasses.
