Oh, yes, she’s talking about sugar-sweetened tea - she sweetens hers with Splenda.
And I live in the South, where “sweet tea” is essentially brown sugar water, and “unsweet tea” a Yankee abomination. I’ve never asked Mom if she is distinguishing between the high-octane stuff that my family calls “barbeque tea” and mildly sweetened tea such as SeaDragonTattoo and the OP are referring to. Intuitively, it seems that a lower-sugar sweet tea would be better than the full-test. But I don’t know.
Agree with you on McDonald’s - wayyyy too sweet. And I am a sweet tea addict.
I start out with two family sized bags of Luzianne and a quart of boiling water. Leave the tea steep for 5-10 minutes, take the bags out, fill with another quart of cold water and refridgerate. Sometimes, in the summer, I’ll throw in a couple of Celestial Seasonings peppermint bags just to make it interesting.
When expecting guests, I make sweet tea pretty much in the same manner, except after I remove the teabags, I put 3/4 cup sugar and stir until dissolved before adding the cold water.
What has me angry right now is that in spite of this thread reminding me all day yesterday that I needed to stop and buy tea on the way home last night, did I? Noooooooo.
Don’t boil the water, make it hot but keep it shy of boiling. Also one bag of Constant Comment for every three or four bags of black tea adds a very nice depth of flavor.
And to chime in on the sweetened tea vs. soft drink debate: even if all else was equal (calories, sugar added) wouldn’t tea still win out as healthier because it’s a source of antioxidants, and Coke isn’t?
I don’t have a cite for ya, but I believe there’s an argument that simple sugars neutralize antioxidants. Don’t know if honey or maple syrup or agave are in that group.
I use about 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil on the stove. Once at a boil, I add about 8 tea bags, usually 4 peach and 4 lemon. Steep for about 10-15 minutes or so, add a little sugar and stir. Maybe just one or two tablespoons for the whole lot. Also, about a teaspoon or two of lemon juice. Then, if it’s on sale, I add a little white cranberry peach juice to it. Almost Arnold Palmer-ish, but not lemonade. It adds a bit of tart sweetness.
I haven’t read the thread to see how others do it, but this is how I made iced tea. Fill a one-gallon glass jug with cold water. (e.g., an apple juice jug.) Tie the strings of three tea bags together. Put the bags into the jug and put the cap on, leaving the tags on the outside. Leave in the sun until it’s done. Put in the fridge to cool.
I no longer live in a desert or even L.A., and I like the water up here. So for a cold drink I usually drink water. Haven’t made sun tea in years.
