attention southern women

[Chyna]

How in the world do you make ice tea in the winter? I love sun tea however anything else is just hopeless! I like my tea smooth and not brisk which is what you get with pouring hot water on it and seeping.

How do you do it?! Northern gals if you have an idea let me know, I'm dying for a good glass of ice tea. :(

[Memmey]

Hello friend...Don't steep your tea too long make it double strength and fill about half your pitcher with warm water and then fill the rest with your tea. Boil some water and the amount of sugar you want on the stove and make simple syrup and sweeten it with that...ta dah tea! Go crazy and add orange and lemon and mint This one is good but you may not like it but if your a sugar free person then make your tea as above and add crystal light instead of simple sugar. I add the lemonade one...funny color so tasty.:p

I thought I would edit and say there a million ways to make ice tea that's just mine...lol lol

[RoseMary]

I don't know how you go all winter without ice tea, Tanya:p Lemonade is good in tea, but I usually drink mine plain.

[Chyna]

I go plain too. About the only ice tea I get is at the restaurants and from the grocery store but those are just too sweet for me most the time. If I could manage to make sun tea in the cold of winter you know I would!;)

[RoseMary]

Could you make it in a sunny window if you have one? Or does it have to be 'hot'? I never make sun tea--it takes too long and we drink it up too fast. I usually make up two gallons a day in the summer. Very un-southern of me, but I prefer it without sugar. I know some folks who put 2 cups of sugar per gallon--way too much for me.

[Chyna]

Ugh that makes my stomach ache just thinking of all that sugar! I wonder if the window upstairs would be enough to brew a nice batch of tea. I don't know why it comes out so much smoother that way than just putting hot water on a tea bag but go figure. And it comes out better thru a coffee machine than one of those ice tea makers. it is just weird!:eek:

[RoseMary]

Yes, the coffee maker works much better than those ice tea machines. That tea just doesn't taste right. I use the coffee maker year round to make mine in.

[Chyna]

Maybe I should buy myself a coffee maker, my mom would be happy then for when she visits. :D And you're right the tea doesn't taste right out of the ice tea maker, maybe it is the temp or something. All I know is that it leaves a nasty scum in my mouth. Blech:eek:

[Ladybug]

We were given one of those ice tea makers and I *really* don't like it. It has a weird flavor or something. I'm putting it in the garage sale pile for later this spring. Someone else can have it!

2 cups of sugar per gallon??? That's crazy!!! Mom uses 1 cup per gallon and that's way too much for me. I prefer it unsweetened...you can really taste the tea, not just the sugar.

[southerngal]

I'm new here and looks like I'm a lil behind on this thread but I heat my water on the stove. In one of those "tea kettles" that whitles when the water gets hot. Then pour it in a pitcher and add tea bags and let it steep for a few mins. Then add sugar.

[Memmey]

Tanya..put warm water over your bags and let it sit just like in a sun tea jar and then add more water if you need to after the tea has completely cooled. Takes longer but it won't be harsh. That all sun tea is ...tea steeped for a long time in warm water not hot. Sometimes I put a container of lemonade flavored Crystal light to sweeten the tea instead of sugar. It tastes wonderful. The color is sorta off but who cares..no sugar but sweet.;)

[Chyna]

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees, I will have to try that with the warm water. We got an ice tea maker here at work and at first the others were all gaga over it and now I see that nobody uses it. Guess Im not the only one who thinks it tastes disgusting. :p

[Breezy]

Funny how things change - when I was little and we lived in California I remember my sister and I sweetened our iced tea and we also put sugar on tomatoes:eek: ack! How we ever did that is beyond me but we survived it.:D I no longer use sugar in tea but can drink it if it's served that way. I was in Alabama several years ago and ordered a bbq sandwich and the waitress asked me if i wanted everything on it so I said yes thinking she meant pickles etc. Welllll to my surprise it not only had pickles but also coleslaw which prob sounds disgusting but I thought it was delicious. And when I took a big gulp of the iced tea - you guessed it - it was sweetened. That's how they served it up in Alabama anyway.:)

[southerngal]

Funny how things change - when I was little and we lived in California I remember my sister and I sweetened our iced tea and we also put sugar on tomatoes:eek: ack! How we ever did that is beyond me but we survived it.:D I no longer use sugar in tea but can drink it if it's served that way. I was in Alabama several years ago and ordered a bbq sandwich and the waitress asked me if i wanted everything on it so I said yes thinking she meant pickles etc. Welllll to my surprise it not only had pickles but also coleslaw which prob sounds disgusting but I thought it was delicious. And when I took a big gulp of the iced tea - you guessed it - it was sweetened. That's how they served it up in Alabama anyway.:)

Think slaw on a bbq sandwich is good......try a slaw dog!

And sweet tea is ALWAYS two things
1.sweet
2.fresh

LOL! :D