Sweet Tea
April 15th, 2008
Dave Peterson asked for a lesson on Sweet Tea. I can explain it, but you really have to taste it in the South on a hot Summer day to understand it.
The two syllables in the phrase “Sweet Tea” should be pronounced quickly. It rhymes with BB, as in BB gun. There is no pause between the word sweet and the word tea. It’s also called Baptist Tea and Potluck Tea because that’s often where the best stuff is served from repurposed, gallon milk jugs.
Sweet Tea should not be confused with sweetened tea. Sweetened tea is an abomination and should never be discussed in polite conversation. Sweet Tea is served cold, usually over ice and the ratio of sugar to tea and water is significant.
The preferred brand of tea bags is Luzianne, but Lipton is okay too.
To make a jar, you need 3 family size tea bags, 1 1/3 cups of sugar and a jar (or pitcher). Boil 3 cups of water. Add the 3 tea bags. Stop the heat and let the tea steep for 15 or 30 minutes. Dump it in a gallon jar (or pitcher), dump in the sugar and the fill up the jar with cold water. Put it in the refrigerator and keep it cold.
A person might add lemon, to their glass, but if the lemon juice is added to the jar, it isn’t Sweet Tea.
Thanks, Neal. I think I now understand it as well as I can given my geographic disadvantage. I appreciate the pronunciation guide, too. I always like to know how to properly say a thing.
Comment by DavePeterson — April 15, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Sadly Texas isn’t “The South” because it’s so dang hard to find sweet tea here.
I once found it in New Hampshire believe it or not at a Chinese restaurant. Weird.
Comment by John — April 16, 2008 @ 7:54 am
@John - The 3 best sources of Sweet Tea in Dallas are Dickies BBQ, Which Which, and Burger Street.
Comment by neal — April 16, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
We have a few places in Austin too. In Atlanta sweet tea was the default and everyone had it.
Comment by John — April 19, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
Sounds sweet but maybe 1 1/3 cups sugar ain’t enough. I dump 2 cups of sugar to make a gallon of sweet tea.
Comment by Kermit — July 27, 2008 @ 9:14 am
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Pingback by Twitter Trackbacks for Carnivore TV | Burgers, Burritos and BBQ (also sometimes Pizza and Seafood) [carnivore.tv] on Topsy.com — August 25, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
So sad I can not get “Sweet Tea” in my area. How can I get it shipped to DC.
Comment by Tea Accessories — October 17, 2009 @ 3:27 am
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