How To Make Southern Sweet Tea

Before my fellow Southerners read this and start thinking, “Are you kidding me? Who doesn’t know how to make sweet tea?” — hear me out. I am Florida-born and Georgia-raised, but when I moved to California, one of the first things I noticed was that no one drinks sweet tea out here! I always keep a pitcher ready in my fridge, and my friends inevitably ask me, “How do you make this?”

Today you’re going to find out how. Whether you’ve never heard of sweet tea or have only tried the bottled version, this is a recipe you’re going to want to make this summer. Southerners, chime in here with your best advice!

Sweet tea is not a glass of iced tea with a spoonful of sugar stirred in. Rather, it’s steeped in large batches, sweetened while hot, and then kept chilled in the fridge. That way it’s always ready for an afternoon visitor or an easy cool-down on a hot summer day.

First, a little history on sweet tea. The cultivation of tea began centuries ago in Asia; global trade routes brought it to the rest of the world starting in the 1600s. By the time it reached the Americas the sugar trade — a key component of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade — was in operation.

It is impossible to tell the story of sweet tea without acknowledging this dark legacy — we are all grown ups here and maturity means facing our past so we can look to the future. Through sacrifice and persistence slavery was abolished, but the tradition of sweet tea lives on, now enjoyed by people of every race and background.

The first sweet tea recipe has been traced back to the cookbook Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, and was published in 1879. It called for green tea, which was more commonly drunk as iced tea at the time, until World War II when green tea importation was cut off and Americans switched to black tea imported from India.

Sweet tea is so ingrained in Southern culture that in 2003, as part of an April Fool’s joke, the Georgia Legislature introduced a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for restaurants not to offer sweet tea.

In the movie Steel Magnolias, Dolly Parton proclaimed that sweet tea was “the house wine of the South.” One of my favorite simple pleasures is to sit on the back porch on a velvety Georgia night, sipping sweet tea, and eating a plate of fried green tomatoes while watching fireflies.

Steep a full pitcher’s worth of tea. Most recipes call for a relatively quick steep, anywhere from a few swishes of the tea bags through the hot water to a full five-minute dunk. However, some Southerners like a nice long steep to make a stronger sweet tea.

Mix the sugar into the hot tea so it dissolves completely. I like the relatively mild sweetness of a cup of sugar in a gallon of tea, but you could certainly add more (or less) to suit your own personal taste. (We Southerners do have a sweet tooth! Coca-Cola, pecan pie, and sweet tea … Our love of sugar keeps dentists in business.)

Chill your sweet tea thoroughly before drinking it. I find the flavor actually changes and improves the more chilled the tea gets. Pour it over ice, and drink it straight, or add a sprig of mint or drop in a few lemon wedges. For a grown-up, after-work version, add a shot of bourbon or other favorite liquor.

The best sweet tea is the one in the pitcher in your fridge. If you’ve never made sweet tea before, start with this recipe and then adjust it to taste. Steep the tea for longer, add more or less sugar, squeeze a few lemons into the pitcher — you like your sweet tea the way you like it, and that’s just fine.

Southerners and Southerners-at-heart, I’d love to hear about your “house recipe” for sweet tea and what advice you have for making the best version. Please share your stories in the comments!