Tea sweetened with sugar or syrup while brewing or hot and almost always served ice cold, a regional staple of Southern cuisine. Sisters of the New South lists sweet tea on its site.

The oldest known recipe for sweet tea was published in the community cookbook Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree, copyrighted in 1878; that recipe called for green tea. Sweet tea is commonly consumed in the United States, especially in the South, and is typically sweetened with sugar or syrup while the tea is brewing or hot.

Where to eat Sweet Tea in Savannah

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Make it at home

Serves 23 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 2L filtered water
  • 8 family-size black tea bags (Luzianne is the canonical Southern tea; Lipton family-size also works; or use 12 regular-size English Breakfast bags)
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda (the Southern secret to clarity; cuts the tannin bitterness, no flavour impact)
  • 250 to 300g granulated sugar (start with 250g and adjust; full Savannah sweet is 250 to 300g per 2L)
  • Plenty of ice cubes for serving
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Fresh mint sprigs (optional but classic Savannah summer garnish)

Method

  1. Bring 1L of the filtered water to a hard boil in a heavy saucepan.
  2. Remove from heat. Add the baking soda and the tea bags. Cover and steep exactly 5 to 7 minutes (longer brewing gives bitter tannic tea; under-brewing gives weak).
  3. Lift the tea bags out gently, squeezing them once over the pot to release the strongest brew.
  4. While the tea is still very hot, stir in the sugar until completely dissolved (this is the structural step; sugar dissolves only in hot tea, never cold).
  5. Pour the hot sweetened concentrate into a 2L pitcher, top up with the remaining 1L of cold filtered water, and stir.
  6. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until properly cold.
  7. Serve in tall glasses filled to the top with ice cubes. Garnish each glass with a fresh lemon wedge and an optional mint sprig.
  8. Pass extra sugar in a small dish at the table for those who want it sweeter (this is the Southern hospitality move).

Editor tip. The baking soda is the secret to clear, mellow Southern sweet tea; without it, the tea tastes harshly tannic. Dissolve the sugar in the hot tea, never the cold; cold sugar gives crunchy crystals at the bottom of the pitcher. Refrigerate immediately or the tea turns cloudy.