Refreshing sweet tea is a staple for those hot summer months. Make a pitcher of ice-cold sweet tea today with this simple recipe.
Recipe summary
Flavor: Classic and refreshing sweetened iced tea.
Easy to adjust the sweetness: Prefer a sweeter or less-sweet tea? This recipe is easy to customize.
Yield: 1 gallon/128 ounces
Similar to: Arnold Palmer, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Tea bags - Sweet tea is most commonly made with black tea. You'll need 16 regular size tea bags or 4 family size tea bags. I'm using family size tea bags in the photos.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar sweetens your tea and can easily be adjusted to suit your tastes.
- Water - This recipe makes 1 gallon of sweet tea, so you'll need 1 gallon of water.
How to make sweet tea
- Boil 4 cups of water. Remove from heat and wait until it stops boiling.
- Add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove them after.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Refrigerate until chilled and serve over ice.
Tips and tricks
Use a heat-safe pitcher - I don't recommend preparing your sweet tea in a glass pitcher if you're not sure it's heat-safe. Some glass pitchers can shatter if hot liquid is added.
Don't boil the tea bags - Don't add your tea bags to boiling water. This can burn the tea, which adds a bitter taste. Instead, bring water to a simmer, remove from heat, then add your tea bags to steep.
Don't over-steep your tea bags - Tea bags only require about 5 minutes of steeping in hot water. Steeping for too long can add a bitter taste to the tea.
Adjust sugar to suit your tastes - This recipe makes a moderately sweet tea. For a less sweet tea, try adding ½ to ⅔ cup of granulated sugar. For a very sweet tea, add 1.5 cups of sugar.
Don't add ice to hot tea - Adding ice to hot tea dilutes the tea and makes it taste watery. Instead, allow your sweet tea to chill in the refrigerator before serving over ice.
Frequently asked questions
You'll need 16 regular tea bags or 4 family size tea bags to make one gallon of tea.
Some sweet tea recipes call for baking soda. Baking soda is added to counteract bitter taste from over-steeped tea or tea that's steeped at too high a temperature. I don't find baking soda necessary as long as you don't boil your tea bags or steep them for too long. Tea only needs about 5 minutes of steeping in hot (not boiling) water.
I don't recommend steeping your tea for longer than 5 minutes. Tea is made of delicate dried leaves that can add bitter flavor if steeped for too long (or at too high a temperature). 5 minutes is plenty of time to steep tea for the best flavor.
Yes, feel free to add up to ½ cup of lemon juice to your pitcher, omitting ½ cup of the water in the process. Lemon slices can be added to individual glasses as a garnish.
Orange slices, lemon slices, or fresh mint are great additions to glass of sweet tea.
I find that the flavor of sweet tea is best within the first day, but will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator before it starts to taste "off".
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Tea
Ingredients
- 1 gallon (3628 g) water, divided
- 16 regular black tea bags, or 4 family size tea bags
- 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Add 4 cups of water to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. After water has stopped boiling, add tea bags and steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags from water.
- Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Pour tea concentrate into a 1-gallon pitcher and top with remaining 12 cups of water. Stir to combine.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until chilled. Serve over ice.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Sweeten to preference: For less sweet tea, start with ½ to ⅔ cup of sugar. For sweeter tea, add up to 1.5 cups of sugar total.
- Storage: Sweet tea has the best flavor within 1 day of preparing, but will keep for 3-4 days before flavor starts to taste "off".
- Garnish options: Add lemon/orange slices or fresh mint to glasses before serving.
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