When you live in Texas, your sweet tea is very important to you....at least it is in our house! We drink LOTS of tea. I make 2 gallons at a time, a few times per week. So, while I was blog surfing one day I came across the secret to the best tea in Texas.
* makes 1 gallon*
5 - 8 Family size tea bags or 12 regular tea bags. I use 6 family sized decaffeinated tea bags.
We use filtered water for the best tasting tea
1 Quart (4 Cups) - Boiling Water
3 Quarts (12 cups) - Cool Water
1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar (I only use 1 cup)
1/4 teaspoon - Baking Soda
The "How Tos"
Boil your water
Sprinkle baking soda into your pitcher and then add your boiling water and tea bags. Let it steep for 15 minutes or longer. Remove the tea bags, add sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add cold water and then refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice cubes (we use star shaped cubes for fun). I also add a lemon wedge and a straw to mine! Yummy!
Please click HERE for the original recipe. Thanks Dana!
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Baking Soda?? No way!!! I wonder why it makes it taste so different... I'm a little hesitant to try, but since you insist, I will go make a batch right now!! :)
ReplyDeleteWow ... I never knew; but always wondered WHY mine would never taste quite as good or look as good ... bitter, sometimes cloudy, sometimes not cloudy. It now makes sense; I bet it's same with coffee, too. (amt may need to be adjusted a tiny bit) The soda neutralizes the tannins. 😊 Thanks for the awesome tip!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this works in Iced Coffee as well, the clarity is important and while I definitely have the secret to iced coffee, I will give sweet tea to you! :) OH, I am wondering, have you messed with the liquid sugar at all? I have found it works really great in my Iced Coffee..so it makes sense it would work for Tea. I figured that out when frequenting coffee shops and poking around,the higher priced shops all seem to use liquid sugar..Thanks for the post..once summer comes round, I will be trying this. Today it just happens to be below zero in my neck of the woods..BRRRRR..
ReplyDeleteI stopped making iced tea at home years ago. I’m going to try this right now!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! :)
DeleteDoes this work for sun tea?
ReplyDeleteHi Lizette! To be honest, I've never tried it. Since your sun tea will never boil, I'm not sure how this would work, but I suppose its always worth the try! The baking soda removes the tannis (bitterness) in tea which gives it a smoother taste. Good luck! :)
DeleteI had no idea! I am the only one here that drinks sweet tea but I do love it.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Yes, please try it, its amazing the difference! :)
DeleteThis is a really amazing idea I am going to have to try out tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week,
Kippi
Pinning
Hi Kippi! Thank you so much for stopping by, it really does make a great difference! :)
DeleteThe recipeurecipe calls for 5 to 8 family sized tea bags. I used 6. It turned out too strong of a steep for my taste. I'll probably try using 4 bags next time. Another thing, I like adding lemon to my iced tea, and I think the baking soda counteracted the lemon. I'll have to keep making modifications untill I get it just right for my taste.
ReplyDeleteHI Lucinda! Yes, everyone has different taste! We use lemon in our tea too but have never had a problem with the BS counteracting the lemon? We use either real lemon slices or lemon essential oil in ours. Good luck with your testing! :)
DeleteLucinda, Maybe try stepping 5 min instead of 15 like the recipe called for. My first time trying this. Normally I use 6 tea bags w/o baking soda. 🤞 I'm curious to try this recipe. 😊
DeleteHi, this sounds absolutely wonderful, since hubby & I both love sweet tea. But I'm wondering (since we're really trying to cut down on our sugar consumption) could I use Swerve instead of sugar & if so, how much? Please let me know asap because we're anxious to try this.
ReplyDeleteI make my sweet tea with cinnamon sticks.l. Delicious!
ReplyDeleteHi Diane! That sounds delicious, I may have to try it! :)
DeleteI make my sweet tea with cinnamon sticks added to the water after it boils. It is delicious!
ReplyDelete