I love a tall glass of seriously cold and sweet iced tea in the summer. Especially on days when the temperatures hover around the 100 degree mark. Which is more often than not around here. On these days the last thing I want to do is turn on the heat whether it's the oven or stove. So boiling a pot of water to make traditional Southern Sweet Tea is not going to happen_today at least.
But I do want a glass of iced tea. I could always go out and buy a bottle of sweet tea from the store. However, that stuff is always too sweet! It tastes more like sugar water than sweet tea. Not to mentioned if you aren't careful you may be buying a brand that is made with High Fructose Corn Syrup! Ick! ...so I decided to resort to the ol' standby...and make a mason jar of sun tea.
There are two things that make tea Southern Sweet. Sugar and baking soda. In order to fully dissolve the sugar and baking soda into the tea it needs to be hot. So when I went outside and retrieved the mason jar of sun tea it occurred to me that the tea might be warm enough to dissolve the sugar and baking soda. I was right it was!
So here is my version of Sweet Tea.
Oh, one more thing. In case you are wondering why "the pinch of baking soda"? It is to smooth the bitter taste of burnt tea. Don't laugh! I've seen people just pour water over tea bags in a pot and boil them on the stove. Ever leave a cup of tea to sleep too long? I found it also helps me to use less sugar in my sweet tea.
Sunny California Sweet Tea
10 regular black tea bags1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar*
Pinch of baking soda
Put tea bags in 8 cup/ half gallon mason jar and fill with water. Add lid and shake to make sure tea bags are moistened. Place outside in the sun for 2-3 hours. There have been days when it has been hot enough and only taken an hour! Bring back in the house, remove tea bags and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve. TASTE for sweetness (add more sugar if it isn't sweet enough) and then add pinch of baking soda. Put lid on and shake to make sure all is dissolved. Place in refrigerator to chill. Pour over a tall glass of ice and enjoy!!
Note: I use 10 tea bags to make the tea dark so that when I pour it over ice it isn't too diluted:-) I have made this with just 8 when in a pinch.
*Depending on how sweet you want your tea, I would suggest adding a third of a cup first and taste before adding more. I use a third of a cup when I make mine.
