Saweet Tea

Sweet tea, it's a staple in the south.  Don't expect us to know what "iced tea" is — down here, it's either sweet or unsweet.  My addiction had to have started at an early age.  Honestly, I think my parents — or maybe my granny — put it in my bottle.  That's the only explanation I can think of.  And as I got older, I learned to love my saweet tea with little slice of lemon.  (You should hear us ordering our drinks while out as a family — sweet tea with lemon, sweet tea no lemon, sweet tea with lemon, sweet tea no lemon, and again and again.)  

And loving my saweet tea with lemon like I do, a different version was revealed to me at our sweet friends son's 1st birthday party in October.  (Terry and I are Wyatt's honorary uncle and aunt in Meridian.)  His grandmother and granddaddy hosted the party at their home in North Meridian and we were honored to be there.  Not only did we get to watch Wyatt eat his cake and open his presents but we enjoyed a great lunch, too.  And to wash down all those amazing dishes Susan made, she made one of the best, saweet teas I've ever had!

She called me last Thursday to give me the recipe that I love some much.  And tonight, I made a gallon — well two.  I'm enjoying my second glass of the evening as I blog!

Do you want the recipe?  You know you do!!

Top Notch Saweet Tea

8 reg tea bags

1 quart of water

1 1/2 cups of sugar

6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate

Now, some tips before we go any further.  We don't drink caffeinated tea so I buy the family size decaffeinated tea bags and I only used 4.  You can't buy a 6 oz. frozen lemonade concentrate, it only comes in 12 oz. — so, just double the recipe and you'll have two gallons!

The directions she gave me were to boil the tea bags in one quart of water for 15 to 20 minutes and then add the sugar and concentrate, fill with water, mix well and chill.  

But, I, of course, had to make things difficult (even though I thought I was going the easy route.)  So, I'm going to share with you what I did so that you do not make the same mistakes.  

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1 - I thought it would be easier to make in the tea maker but did you know the 1 quart marker on the fill line is not 1 quart?  I didn't either.  It's to make one quart of tea.  So the first gallon didn't make.  Tasted like watered down lemonade with a hint of tea.

2 - I decided to boil the tea bags like her directions.  And then I realized why I bought a tea maker.  lol  The tea bags busted and I got a little agitated. 

3 - (Third times the charm, right?) I decided to measure out one quart of water to put in the tea maker.  (It's 2 pints in case you need to know.)  Put in the 4 tea bags and everything worked like a charm!  Added the sugar and the concentrate and it tasted just like hers. 

And this, my bloggy friends, is the best saweet tea I have ever tasted. 

Y'all have got to try it!  ENJOY!!