Homemade Southern Sweet Tea
servings: 8
Looking for a Southern sweet tea recipe that tastes just as good as store-bought? This simple method delivers a smooth, bold flavor using just tea bags, hot tap water, and sugar.
Ingredients
- 2 Lipton family-size tea bags or 8 regular tea bags
- Very hot tap water to fill 1 gallon
- 1.5 cups sugar
Instructions
- Remove tea bag tags and tie the strings together.
- Add tea bags to a 1-gallon pitcher.
- Fill with hot tap water and cover with a towel.
- Steep 4–5 hours.
- Remove tea bags, stir in sugar.
- Chill and serve.
Notes
- You can use 2 Lipton family-size tea bags or 8 regular tea bags for 1 gallon of tea.
- No need to boil water — very hot tap water works great for this method.
- Letting the tea steep for 4–5 hours creates a mellow, smooth flavor without bitterness.
- Stir in sugar while the tea is still warm to help it dissolve completely.
- For a flavor twist, try adding lemon slices, frozen peach slices, or fresh mint after steeping.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Stir before serving.