I have a drink-love-affair with this here sweet tea. You may think you know sweet tea, but you do not know Doug and Leigh's sweet tea.
Being a California girl myself, my "experience" with this went something like this: you order tea at the restaurant, you rip open six packets or so of sugar, you dump them in, stir, and then decide it still tastes too bitter. And then you ask yourself, "Why on earth did I order tea?!"
And then I met Doug and Leigh. They so graciously sponsored my every-other-week six hours back into American reality while I lived on Ebeye and they lived on the US Army base, three miles over. Not only did they have fresh water showers (that were warm), a washer and dryer (that worked), and good home cooking (that included fresh vegetables and fruit), but they had their Alabama charm -- and part of that was sweet tea.
I don't think I have ordered a glass of icky California tea since.
So now, if I get the chance to go to that part of the country for whatever reason, I call them up and say, "Please, pretty please, have lots of tea waiting for me!" And they always do...
Here's how they do it, in Leigh's own words:
Here's how I make it. I use two family sized Luzianne tea bags and steep them in boiling water for 30 minutes to a whole day...it really doesn't matter. I put 1 and 1/2 cups sugar in a gallon container and pour in the steeped water, then add to make a gallon.
Simple, and really REALLY sweet.
Just the way I like it.
(Notice I made the brand large? Well, that's because that is the secret, so I am told. Liptons = no good (for this recipe). Luzianne = EXCELLENT.)
I love simple and sweet and I love sweet tea :) looks delicious. When I lived in FL I remember a BIG difference in the sweet tea there compared to Maine sweet tea. So good!
ReplyDeleteSo good, huh? I don't how anybody could NOT like it!
Deletehow simple! I have been using Lipton's all along but have never been able to perfect a recipe, resulting in my husband finding solace in Chick-Fil-A and Famous Dave's sweet tea. I'll have to try Luzianne's.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! I know, I thought that Liptons was totally OK for this... you live and you learn :)
Deletemy husband makes the best sun tea :) I love it he likes to make it super sweet but he puts lots of fruit in it while its out in the sun and its just amazing! before I married him I was not an iced tea girl the closest I got were those arizona iced teas lol xD
ReplyDeleteFruit in it = YUM! And Arizona's are still good, especially the Mucho Mango, but now that I know the real stuff... yeah, this is much better :)
DeleteThere is nothing like the classic sweet tea. Love it!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I have heard of how REAL sweat tea is so different from anything that you can get on the West Coast, and of course it's never followed up with how exactly to make it. Now I can give it a try! I've used Lipton for sun tea before, and it was awful, so glad you mentioned the secret.
ReplyDeleteHow much water does she use per two family-sized tea bags? A gallon?
ReplyDeleteYes. Sorry it took me so long to reply to this! :)
DeleteI don`t drink tea all that much...but I do like sweet and iced tea...PERFECT for this. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to disagree but I have to :) I got my recipe from my 111 year old great grandmother from Mississippi. She says real southern sweet tea is strong and sweet! Lipton is all they had and all she uses. She grew tons of different kinds of fresh mint to put into our tea also. :D sooo gooood... Chocolate mint is the best (so says my kids) If you like McDonald's and Chick Fil A sweet tea (I know Florida does for sure) they only use Lipton. The amount of time you leave the tea bags in will determine how bitter the tea is. Most people leave the bags in way too long if using heated water. If doing it the sun method take the bags out as soon as the tea is the right color. Also we don't dump in sugar. It never dissolves properly. We always have simple syrup prepared especially for sun tea because it's just not hot enough to dissolve the sugar. A cup and half of sugar is just not sweet enough for us either :) I sometimes cheat (if I somehow have run out of simple syrup)and add sugar to the tea concentrate while it's still hot, then just add enough water to make the amount I need.
ReplyDeleteEllen: it doesn't matter how much water you use with the tea bags. It's kind of like making tea concentrate. You just need enough to steep the tea bags in. You will add the water you need to make a gallon after you add (tea mix)to sugar like Tiffany's recipe does.
That's the thing... I don't like McDonald's sweet tea. Call me crazy, but I don't. However, many people do, so it is good to know that Liptons will work for most :) And yes, chocolate mint leaves, yum yum!
DeleteAh! I get it now. Just enough to cover the bags.
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