Sweet Tea

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows how to make Sweet Tea. This is a staple in any authentic Southern household. Understand that knowing how to make Sweet Tea does not mean you have to drink it. You just need to know how to make it so you can be a proper Southern hostess and serve it to your guests.

I grew up drinking Sweet Tea. It was served at dinner and supper, ever day of the year. Sometimes other beverages were served with it. Maybe lemonade during the summer. When I left home, I left the Sweet Tea behind. I'd much rather drink Crystal Light or water. After I returned to the South, I dutifully picked up Sweet Tea drinking again. Then I read somewhere that each glass has like a gazillion calories. That ended that. There I was drinking something I didn't really like and consuming more calories in one meal than a person should consume in an entire day. Not happening again.

Sweet Tea is fairly easy to make. And though I tease my mother that only her teapot makes good tea, that really isn't so. Any teapot makes good tea, so long as you have the proper ingredients. Give it a try.

Sweet Tea

6 tea bags
1 1/4 cup sugar
water

Place six tea bags in a teapot. These are single tea bags. Fill the kettle with water and bring it to a boil. In the meantime, place the sugar in a gallon container. If you use a glass jar, you might need to put a metal spatula down against the bottom. I don't know why. I only know that if you don't, the glass jar will most likely bust and you will have a big mess.

When the kettle boils, pour the water into the teapot. Then fill the kettle with water again and bring that to a boil. When it's boiling, pour the contents of the teapot into the gallon container. Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Leave the tea bags in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into that teapot.

Let everything cool down. Then pour the teapot contents into the gallon container. Discard the tea bags. Finish filling the gallon container with water. Chill. You've just made Sweet Tea. Pat yourself on the back and have a glass.