How to Make One Glass of Sweet Tea
Even though I lived in Mississippi during the first part of my childhood (and came almost every year after we moved to California), I did not grow up drinking sweet tea. My mom never cared about sugar – she drank water and, to a lesser extent, Diet Coke – and my grandmother sweetened her jugs of tea with a tiny – one grain! – the point of saccharin , which I have not yet seen anywhere except her kitchen.
But sometimes I feel like real sweet tea, so I brew it. After all, I am an adult, and being an “adult” means I can have fun whenever I want. This craving is never so strong that I need a whole pitcher of sweet tea – a glass is enough – but making one glass is not as easy as adding sugar to unsweetened iced tea. There are best practices to follow, so let’s walk through the process step by step.
Use less boiling water.
Most often, black tea – the tea that should be used to make sweet tea – is best brewed above 200 ℉ and below 212 ℉ (boil). There are trendy black teas that taste better when brewed at lower temperatures, but sweet teas are not made with fancy teas. (Buy a cheap product – you will be masking any subtle nuances of taste with a lot of sugar anyway.)
If you have an electric kettle with precise temperature control, use it. For everyone else: Bring some water to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool for about 10 seconds. If you are brewing one glass of tea – and I mean at least a pint – you will need one cup of this very hot water.
Add tea bags, not time
The longer you brew your tea, the more bitter it will taste. If you want a beer with a stronger flavor, resist the urge to leave the tea bags in hot water for a very long time and add more tea bags instead. This will give your sweet tea more tea flavor without the astringency that comes from over-extraction. I like the aroma of tea more than the aroma of sugar (at least in the beverage situation), so I usually add two tea bags to one cup of just boiling water and let it brew for 4-5 minutes.
Always add sugar before ice
Sugar does not dissolve in cold water, at least not enough to be beneficial for sweet tea lovers. To prevent it from dragging on, add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar to hot tea. (Some sweet tea drinkers may prefer as many as three tablespoons, and I’m not here to judge.)
Cool, don’t shock
Some black teas do not like to chill too quickly, and adding a lot of ice at one time can make the tea cloudy. To prevent this from happening , mix the hot sweetened tea concentrate with an equal amount of room temperature water , stir until no longer hot, then add a lot of ice.
let’s consider
To make one glass of sweet tea, you will need:
- 2 cups water, separated
- 1-2 cheap black tea bags
- 1-3 tablespoons white sugar
- Ice
- Extra large glass
Bring one cup of water to a boil. When it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, empty it from the kettle, or, if you’re a baggy bag like me, take it out of the microwave. Let it cool for about 10 seconds, then add the tea bags and let it sit for four minutes.
Take out the tea bags, add the desired amount of sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Pour a cup of room temperature water into a large tea glass, add hot sweetened tea concentrate and stir to cool. When the water is no longer hot, add as much ice as the glass can hold. Drink on your veranda, balcony, or near your best window.