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Summer needs ice cold sweet tea.  I had to marry a Georgia boy before I truly enjoyed drinking it, and now there is no other way to drink tea.  It’s actually how I define whether you live in the south or not… if you know to add your sugar before the ice then you are officially a southerner.  We measure the boundaries of the South based on where the sweet tea ends (maybe that’s how they gauged where the Mason-Dixon line was. j/k). If you bring me a glass of ice tea with sugar on the side, then you are hopelessly lost.

There isn’t a meal out there that sweet tea doesn’t make better.  If you want to dress it up for something fancy add some raspberries, peaches, or mint, or go old school with a slice of lemon.  My favorite is actually lemon and fresh mint!

Lipton Tea is the staple in our house, particularly the decaf kind since we drink so much of it (and every age group loves it).  Technically tea is the perfect zero calorie drink… but not once I get a hold of it.  Even with a cup of sugar for the entire pitcher it only comes to about 100 calories a glass.  Not too bad, right? Well, we don’t drink it because it’s necessarily good for you. It’s the south. It’s HOT outside. It tastes good!

You can watch the video above (and sing along) to see just how easy it is to make sweet tea.  Here’s the typed out directions for you too though.

How to Make Southern Sweet Tea

Makes 2 quarts.
Put 2 Lipton Family Size Tea Bags in a microwave safe dish.
Add 2 cups water.
Cook for 2 minutes.
Wait for 2 minutes.
Put a scant cup of sugar in your pitcher. (scant: almost but not quite)
Pour hot tea into the pitcher and mix together (while still hot).
Add more water until the pitcher is full.

A few things to not do:

• Don’t add the ice until you are about to serve.  No one likes weak tea.
• Don’t add the ice before the sugar.  It’s mean and cruel and forces every southerner to drink gritty tea.
• Never host a party with just one pitcher.

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