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Drinks · American-Southern

Southern Sweet Tea

A gallon of clear, strong black tea, sweetened while it's warm and poured over a glass full of ice.

Hands-on
10 min
Hands-off
1 h 10 min
Total
1 h 20 min
Makes
16 glasses of 240 ml / 8 fl oz (3.8 L / 1 gallon)
Serves
16

Bringing 1.9 L (8 cups) of water to a boil takes about 10 minutes, then 3 to 5 minutes of steeping. The 60 minutes of cooling to room temperature is our estimate; the sources don't give one. Serve it over ice right away if you can't wait. Total = 10 min active + 70 min hands-off (heating the water, steeping, cooling).

  • easy
  • vegetarian
  • dairy-free
  • gluten-free
  • southern
  • big-batch
  • summer
  • party

Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means

Illustration of Southern Sweet Tea
Amount
Units

Ingredients

You need: large pot · long spoon · 4 L (1 gallon) pitcher, glass if possible, with a lid or cover

Contains: none of the 9 major allergens in the listed ingredients

Method

  1. Boil half the water

    Bring 1.9 L (8 cups) of the water to a boil in a large pot, then take it off the heat.

    Ready when: Big bubbles break steadily across the whole surface, not just at the edges.

  2. Steep

    Drop the 4 family-size tea bags (or 16 cup-size bags) into the hot water and leave them for 3 to 5 minutes: 3 for a lighter tea, 5 for a stronger one.

    Ready when: The tea is a deep reddish amber, darker than you'd drink it. It gets diluted next.

    Otto tried this firstOtto forgets the bags for half an hour. The steep is 3 to 5 minutes; much longer and the tea gets far stronger and harsher than intended. Set a timer.

  3. Sweeten while warm

    Lift out the tea bags. Stir in the 200 g (1 cup) sugar while the tea is still warm.

    Ready when: Keep stirring until you can't see or feel any sugar grains on the bottom of the pot.

    Otto tried this firstOtto adds the sugar after the tea is iced. Cold tea barely dissolves sugar, so it sinks to the bottom.

  4. Dilute and cool

    Pour the sweet tea into the pitcher and add the remaining 1.9 L (8 cups) cold water. Let it cool to room temperature.

  5. Chill and serve

    Cover and refrigerate. Serve in glasses filled with ice, with lemon, orange or mint if you like.

Swaps

  • Instead of 4 family-size tea bags: 16 cup-size iced-tea bags, or 1 gallon-size bag Bag sizes are interchangeable at this ratio.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Storage
Keep it covered in the fridge, ideally in a glass container. It's best within 48 hours.

If something goes wrong

  • Tea tastes too strong or harsh Why: It steeped at the long end of the range or longer.
    Pull the bags out at 3 minutes for a lighter tea (3 to 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like it).
  • Gritty sugar at the bottom of the pitcher Why: The sugar went into cold tea.
    Stir it into the warm concentrate before adding the cold water.

Good to know

  • Start with 1 cup of sugar and adjust next time. A sweeter version uses 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) for the same amount of water.
  • Some recipes also stir a pinch (1/8 tsp / 0.5 ml) of baking soda in with the sugar. No reason is given, so it's optional.

Safety

  • Boiling water causes serious burns. An adult should pour the hot tea; kids can add the cold water and the ice.
  • Black tea contains caffeine, so keep that in mind when serving it to children or late in the day.