France has champagne. Germany has beer. Italy has wine. The South, well, we have the most potent elixir of them all…Sweet Tea. Step into most any restaurant south of the Mason Dixon line and you are sure to find it on the menu. In fact, as part of an April Fool’s prank, legislators in Georgia presented a bill in 2004 requiring any restaurant serving tea must serve Sweet Tea, and refusing to do so would result in a misdemeanor of the code. The bill never made it to vote, but the sentiment stands: Sweet Tea is serious business.
Tea has a legendary status in the U.S. since we dumped it in Boston Harbor in the late 1700′s — I do believe those leaves hitting the frigid northern waters was the first iced tea, although the history books do not corroborate my hypothesis. However, the recipe heralded as the first printed “sweet tea” recipe appeared in 1879 in a community cookbook ”Housekeeping in West Virginia” contributed by Marion Cabell Tyree.
“Ice Tea. – After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls green tea. If wanted for supper, do this at breakfast. At dinner time, strain, without stirring, through a tea strainer into a pitcher. Let it stand till tea time and pour into decanters, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the pitcher. Fill the goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar. A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency.”
If like me, you read the recipe and thought , “Green Tea?! – That’s not at all how you do it” Well, green tea was the preferred tea of households until World War II, when rations made the more economical black tea, which we use today, more commonplace. Growing up my grandmothers and mother always served sweet tea with all of our meals. My grandmother would often sweeten to the point my dad would ask, ”Did you stump your toe when you were adding the sugar”. She made THE BEST iced tea. The trick to delicious sweet tea, which my grandmother knew, is to add the sugar while the tea is still hot. This allows super saturation of the sugar. Sweetening after the tea is chilled can possibly be accomplished using simple syrup or artificial sweetener. It’s impossible to achieve the proper sweetness if trying to add granulated sugar to the cold beverage. You basically end up with a pretty little snowglobe of sugar and ice cubes.
The Proper Southern Sweet Tea Recipe
3 Family size tea bags – ( I prefer Luzianne)
2 Cups of cold water
1 Cup of sugar
Place the two cups water in a saucepan or teapot 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.
If that is just too much work for a relaxing beverage, there are some great ready-made options waiting in your grocer’s chiller in gallon jugs. In fact, my favorite is a no-calorie option that lets me indulge without the guilt- Milo’s Sweet Tea sweetened with Splenda. Milo’s was introduced to Little Rock and other southern markets last summer. It’s been an Alabama favorite since the 1940′s. Their company history is worth a read. ( Not to mention it is certified as a woman owned company) The taste is amazingly crisp and one would never guess it is (hush yo mouth) sweetened with splenda.
www.milostea.com
Now if you love sweet tea so much, you, like me, think you can bathe in it, well guess what – you can! Elizabeth W. Indulgences from San Francisco makes a line of sweet tea body wash, lotion, bath salts, and home fragrances to. die. for.
Starting mid May until Labor Day, I soak away my summer days in a tub full of the Elizabeth W Sweet Tea Bath Salts, followed by a good slather or Sweet Tea Body Cream. The aroma is “gracious, spirited, elegant. An enticing marriage of oriental black teas, juicy fresh Amalfi lemons, and the sweetness of almond honey”.
www.elizabethw.com
ANd if you think, ”this tea is so delicious, I could eat it with a spoon”, again you are in luck. Martha Hall Foose, a great southern culinary /storytelling wonder, has a cookbook just for you. This gorgeous book is riffled with stories of the south and recipes that would make a “bulldog hug a hound and a preacher lay his Bible down”. In other words, they are yummy! Especially her Sweet Tea Pie Recipe which makes purchasing the book well worth it.
I would be remiss, if I did not disclose perhaps the greatest beverage discovery since… well sweet tea. For those of you who like a little more sass in your sweet tea, let me introduce you to my friend Jeremiah Weed. JW is well known among the Air Force for his bourbon. Last summer, he became quite a hearthrob amongst my southern girlfriends when he created Jeremiah Weeds Sweet Tea Vodka. Adding 1 1/2 ounces Sweet Tea Vodka to 6-8oz of lemonade makes a fun, delicious cocktail. Served with a wedge of lemon in a crystal ice tea goblet, I’m convinced Carrie Bradshaw can keep her cosmo.
Lastly, if I haven’t given you enough reason to enjoy a cool refreshing beverage, tea contains antioxidants that have been linked to improved immunity against diabetes, cancer, and arthritis. A slice of lemon ( the asorbic acid) helps increase the antioxidant absorption. So what are waiting for, it’s the weekend. Kick off those manolos, sit a spell, and relax with a hot bath and ice cold sweet tea (vodka optional)
Cheers y’all!
P.S.
~ Enjoy a little music by listening to my sweet tea playlist below 
