Texas Sweet Tea

We Texans LOVE our Sweet Tea. We drink it morning, noon or night, hot weather or cold, anytime is Sweet Tea Time. It isn't an herbal or health drink, but it can be refreshing.

You will need the following:

Basic equipment you will need is (1) a pitcher, (2) two tea bags (family style for a gallon of tea) (3) a Gallon pitcher, glass is best, but I only have a plastic one, (4) sugar, for a gallon of tea you will need a cup of sugar (5) boiling water, at least a quart, (6) a wooden spoon to stir with and (7) a wooden clothes pin to keep the tea bags from dropping into the liquid completely, enough cool water to make the gallon once the tea is brewed. Yes you can skip the sugar, but then it won't be Texas SWEET tea.

First bring your water to a boil.

While you are waiting on the water to boil, you can set up your brewing pitcher. Measure out your sweetener and place in the bottom of the pitcher.

Remove tea bags from paper envelopes and suspend them inside the pitcher using the clothes pin to secure them to the side. Place a wooden spoon in the pitcher to use in dissolving your sugar.

Once the water comes to a boil, pour it down the side of the pitcher where the tea bags are hanging, so that the water flows through the bags. Remember to slowly stir the water around to get more tea leaves wet. This also helps brew your tea.

Once the water is in the pitcher with the sweetener and the tea bags, set it aside for 5 minutes to brew.

Don't forget to drain and remove the tea bags when the tea looks as strong as you want it.

Add ice and the tea to your favorite beverage glass and enjoy.

Please note, I am not an expert in food preservation, or pickling, or even homesteading. I am just a woman who loves to put up food to feed my family. These are the steps I followed to make my family favorite sweet tea.

If you found something interesting, educational or inspirational in this post, stay tuned for more adventures in food and everyday life with:

Kate, the Busy Boomer