Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Obsession Tuesday - Sweet Tea Addition


So i'm in love with starbucks iced black sweet tea. but my love for it is getting expensive. so i'm looking for a way to make it at home.

I'm also looking for a new tea pitcher and a new sun tea pitcher. we have a good balcony for sun tea. but sun tea is almost fool proff. tea bags, water, container, and sun. POOF! sun tea. but its the sweet tea that i'm curious about. this is like my holy grail of drinks.

Now i know for a fact i know NOTHING about making a good cup of sweet tea. So i went to my trusty friend google. and i found 2 recipies that look interesting. Both are from GRITS.

What do you guys think? help a yankee out!





Recipe #1 Southern Sweet Iced Tea

Ingredients
3 Family size tea bags
2 Cups of cold water
1 Cup of sugar

Directions
We in the south make the best iced tea you'll find. Maybe it's how it's done, or maybe it is the water in the south, or maybe it's just that a southern belle has put a lot of TLC into making the tea. Who knows!

We recommend Luzianne Tea Bags if available.

Place the two cups water in a pot and add the tea bags. Bring to a boil, do not continue boiling. Remove from heat and let steep. Pour warm tea into empty pitcher. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Fill remaining pitcher with cold water.

Optional - some women say they use less water and add ice to the tea.

Recipe #2 Southern Sweet Iced Tea

Ingredients:
3 Family sized tea bags
a pinch baking soda (about 1/4 teaspoon)
1 to 1 1/3 cups of sugar

Directions:
Here is my never fail sweet tea...
Everyone (even yankees) loves it.

Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil. Add a pinch of baking soda to the water and add 3 family sized tea bags. Remove from heat and cover. Allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Pour into gallon pitcher and add sugar. Then fill with cold water. Refrigerate.

*the soda takes out the bitterness and darkens the tea....this small amount doesnt change the taste.

Enjoy!!
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now what do you think? should i keep looking? i'm open to suggestions.

so now about the container...
i've been looking at iced tea makers too. Target is my love and has loads of options. what do you think or suggest?


Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker

Bodum Ceylon Ice Tea Maker and Jug

Hamilton Beach Iced Tea Maker

Do you have one you love? i've been looking all day. i'm slighly obsessed at the moment.


Ava Traveler Mugs

totally random. but i really want this mug. it comes in a set of 2. and i really want it. i'm obsessed with straws in mycups and in all things i drink (except beer) but i NEED this mug!!!!

6 comments:

Mrs. Case said...

Be super careful brewing sweet tea; there was a big to-do here in CA over the bacteria bred by putting the tea outside in the sun and how it was making people gravely ill.

JvW said...

I have the Mr. Coffee Iced Tea maker and I love it. I got it to replace the one I broke last year for about $8 at Bed, Bath & Beyond on clearance. It's fast, easy, and makes good tea.

ceecee said...

I honestly didn't know there were ice tea makers... :-/ Is that weird?

I would go with the Hamilton brand.

LittleCyndiLou said...

I too have a sweet tea obsession. I bought a 2.5 qt pitcher from Bed Bath and Beyond (just standard plastic). I fill it with coldwater, put 2 of the family size Lipton Cold Brew Tea bags (they are big) and 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Still and put in the refrigerator. It brew in about 10 minutes since it is the cold brew bags, but really tastes good the next day. You may have to play with the amount of sugar you put in. If I use the superfine sugar which dissolves faster I use a cup, but regular sugar I noticed a cup was a bit much for some reason so I brought it down to 3/4 of a cup and it is good, or at least my husband says so =) We go through a pitcher a day.

I have an ice tea maker too, but haven't used it yet.

Chatham said...

I just had the same issue. I am in loooooove with DD Iced Carmel Latte Lite. However, the sucker costs like 4 bucks a pop.

I now get a Iced Coffee with 2 splenda, skim milk and a shot of carmel. Same damn taste and half the price!

Janet said...

I have the bodum pitcher and like it a lot. but this time of year, i make a lot of sun tea. i just use a large (quart size) canning jar. it makes the perfect amount for me for a saturday/sunday. cheers!

 
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