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Farm Kitchen:  sweet tea  |
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MBurns
True Blue Farmgirl
1823 Posts
Marlene
Swisher
IA
USA
1823 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 4:12:18 PM
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I was just in South Carolina and love the sweet tea in the south.
Being from Iowa and I do not have a clue about making it. Need help.
Farmgirl friends are fun. |
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clothedinscarlet
True Blue Farmgirl
1333 Posts
Siobhan
Battle Creek
MI
USA
1333 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 4:53:24 PM
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I'm from the South, but I live in Michigan now and they look at you sideways if you ask for sweet tea here LOL! Nothing to complicated about it. Just brew some tea (I like to do sun tea) and while it's still warm add sugar to your taste. If you really like it southern style, that's about as much sugar as will make the spoon stand straight up :) The only place I can satisfy a sweet tea craving up here other than my own home is McDonalds, but I don't like mine quite that sweet, so I have them cut it with a little unsweet.
Farmgirl Sister #1110
Siobhan - AKA Liza-Jane (my farmgirl name), wife to my best friend, Trent, and mommy to Camden (11/28/05) and Bennett (7/11/07). and Truman (7/28/09) |
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Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
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DvilleMama
True Blue Farmgirl
159 Posts
Lyn
Small Town
MI
USA
159 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 5:46:13 PM
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I make mine the same way as Siobhan. I make my tea strong, add desired amount of sugar (maybe not enough to make the spoon stand up, hahaha), then pour it over ice & stir. I'm not patient enough to wait for it to cool off.
Lyn
Farmgirl Sister #1574
Mid-Michigan Farmgirl Chapter
http://simplelifeseeker.blogspot.com |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
2474 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
2474 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 6:42:44 PM
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As a diabetic: I use stevia to sweeten mine. It's great with real peaches or strawberries, raspberries, etc. Bonnie
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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sonshine4u
Chapter Guru
1205 Posts
April
New Prague
MN
USA
1205 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 7:40:26 PM
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Hey ladies! My hubby is obsessed with the Good Earth Organic Original tea. It's naturally sweet and also has cinnamon in it and so it's very delish! No sugar needed!
Playing in the Sonshine
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/sonshine4u |
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blackantsnpeonys
True Blue Farmgirl
151 Posts
Denise
Hinckley
Illinois
USA
151 Posts |
Posted - Jul 13 2010 : 9:32:30 PM
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Just started to brew my own sweet tea this year. Wow, no more powders in this house. Cheaper and tastes 100% better. No soda in this house. How does one make the tea flavored with peaches? Anyone know?
Appreciate the little things, for they are not really that little. |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 07:01:29 AM
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Just be careful! The extra calories in sweet tea add up quickly and unexpectedly. The way they make sweet tea in the south it ends up having more calories and sugar than soda!
Farmgirl Sister #17
Blog
www.eggsandherbs.com
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Calicogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
5216 Posts
Sharon
Bruce Crossing
Michigan
USA
5216 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 07:11:41 AM
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Marlene,
Are you the same Marlene published in Gooseberry Patch Cookbooks?
April, I enjoy the Good Earth tea and it is naturally very sweet. I will have to try it iced.
~Sharon
By His Grace, For His Glory
http://merryheartjournal.blogspot.com/ |
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blackantsnpeonys
True Blue Farmgirl
151 Posts
Denise
Hinckley
Illinois
USA
151 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 9:21:37 PM
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Calories, calories, calories, oh well..... I am making sweet tea with some sugar, but not tons like in the south. Not that I don't like it sweet. Now to find you how to make peach tea...anyone have any suggestions. I have canned peaches, frozen peaces. Just don't know how to do it.
Appreciate the little things, for they are not really that little. |
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Sitnalta
True Blue Farmgirl
4208 Posts
Jessica
NJ
USA
4208 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2010 : 9:44:30 PM
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Well, being as my husband is a true southern boy, we make some seriously sweet tea. In order to make it, you must give no thought to healthy and throw what you know about adding sugar to things in minimal amounts right out the window.
We brew 6-8 tea bags in boiling water for 8 minutes.
Then we pour it into a gallon jug and fill the rest with cold as we can get it water. Then (and here's the part about the not so healthy) we add 2 cups of plain old white sugar and shake it up.
hugs
Jessie
"Wonder Woman hasn't got a cape, she just turned her apron around"
Farmgirl Sister #235 |
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earthmamaT
True Blue Farmgirl
96 Posts
Tammy
portola
California
96 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 2:29:55 PM
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I am originally from the south (VA) and sweet tea is in my blood :) We make a strong tea and then add 1/2 brown sugar & 1/2 white sugar to sweeten it to taste. The brown sugar is the secret to get the sweet tea flavor just right. Another favorite of mine is Swamp Water a mixture of 1/2 sweet tea and 1/2 sweetened lemonade. It is delicious
Tammy ~
"Be the change you want to see in the world" GANDHI |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 3:40:24 PM
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My sweet tea is 10 teabags and a cup of sugar into a suntea jar. Remove the bags promptly after brewed so you don't get a bitter taste.
Since hubby is diabetic, I make suntea with flavored bags or add mint leaves. Then you can add sweetner to your taste in your own glass.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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Karrieann
True Blue Farmgirl
1900 Posts
Karrieann
Northeast
Georgia
USA
1900 Posts |
Posted - Jul 21 2010 : 4:08:49 PM
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Amy.. if you add a "pinch" of baking soda to your tea.. it will take the bitterness away.
Karrieann ~ Farmgirl Sister #766 (29 Sept 2009)
My Blog: ...following my heart, dreams and Jesus
...http://karrieann-followingmyheartandjesus.blogspot.com/
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
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LindaAlbert
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
Linda
Belgrade
Montana
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jul 22 2010 : 4:26:27 PM
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Ladies,
There seems to be some risk of kidney stone formation in the 'excessive' consumption of ice tea due to black tea's concentration of oxalate http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Iced-tea-ups-risk-of-kidney-stones/articleshow/6195727.cms
It's suggested that for every serving of iced tea you also drink a serving of water, lemonade (the citric acid helps counteract the formation of stones) or green tea which also inhibits the formation of stones. http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/green-tea-and-kidney-stones.html
At my house I alternate pitchers of lemonade and mint gunpowder green tea with regular black tea. Or combine the black tea with a fruit juice like peach nectar, blueberry juice, raspberry juice or strawberry juice for a fruit tea where the fruit acids offset the oxalate in the black tea. Tastes really good too.
Linda
"There is no faith which has never yet been broken except that of a truly faithful dog."
Konrad Lorenz |
Edited by - LindaAlbert on Jul 22 2010 4:28:31 PM |
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MerryHeartSister
True Blue Farmgirl
158 Posts
Christy
Tuscaloosa
Alabama
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2010 : 04:52:06 AM
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| As any true Southern girl, I LOVE my sweet tea. We grew up using a cup of sugar per gallon which isn't terrible. But several years ago, I started cutting it down to 3/4 then 1/2. I make it now with 1/3 cup sugar and 1 packet of stevia. Works great! |
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coconutcakes
True Blue Farmgirl
52 Posts
Emily
Summerfield
NC
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2010 : 12:35:52 PM
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Here's how I make my sweet tea. (I'm a native Southerner, and my mother made one or two pitchers EVERY DAY. Still does. So do I. Someone mentions how consuming too much black tea can be bad. . . just remember, warmly brewed sweet tea poured over ice dilutes the tea ALOT. So you are getting a lot of water with it. It's not like it's straight up tea.)
Sweet Iced Tea (like Southerners make)
Makes 1/2 gallon
You'll need:
water (I use it straight from the tap, cool - well in my case)
6 regular-size tea bags OR 3 family-size tea bags (I use Luzianne Decaf)
2/3 to 1 cup granulated sugar (I used about 1/4" less from the top of my 1 cup measuring cup)
ice
Bring about 1 quart of water to barely a boil. Turn heat off and steep the tea bags in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Longer steeping of course results in stronger-flavored tea. Shorter time steeping results in weaker-flavored tea, of course.
Remove tea bags after steeping for desired time.
Put granulated sugar in a 1/2-gallon pitcher. Pour hot tea brew over sugar; stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve sugar. Once dissolved, add more cool water to the tea to dilute and fill up the pitcher.
I personally think it tastes better, smoother, if allowed to cool to room temp before serving over ice. But if you're thirsty, there's no reason not to imbibe immediately!
(You can adjust tea steeping times and sugar amounts to your liking. In the past, I've used homemade mint syrup to sweeten it also, and that was QUITE refreshing. Also, I haven't tried it yet, but I want to test cane sugar crystals in my tea instead of going with white refined granulated. If anybody tries it, let me know how it turns out.)
My mother-in-law, from the Midwest, hates Southern sweet tea and says it's like sugar syrup drink to her. Different strokes for different folks!
Emily
"After a long period abroad nothing could make me more homesick or emotional than an American magazine ad of a luscious layer cake, except one, and that was a pictured lemon pie." Irma Rombauer, Joy of Cooking (1943) |
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Keeper of the Past
True Blue Farmgirl
925 Posts
Sarita
Battle Creek
Michigan
USA
925 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2010 : 1:14:52 PM
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Isn't it funny how we have different recipes for the same things in different regions? We always had sweet tea while I was growing up here in Missouri. After leaving home, I made sugarless tea but occasionally like the old sweet tea. I also now use a tea maker. I use 2 family size Lipton tea bags, run 2 quarts filtered water through on the strong setting. I use 1/4 c sugar and put that in the pitcher that the hot tea will pour into and that is a nice sweet. My mother used a cup of sugar to a gallon of tea. With the tea maker, I don't have to wait and watch for the water to come just to a boil, I can go ahead and do my chores and the tea is ready. My tea taste like the good old sweeten southern tea and with no work on my part.
As I was getting busy and letting the tea get to a boil and it was not fit to drink, it is even cheaper to use the tea maker...I don't throw out batches of tea now!
My husband is not much for favored teas but I sometimes put dried apricots in the pitcher and let them soften as the tea brews and the tea has a slight apricot favor. Then eating the apricots is the second treat. In the winter, I drink lots of hot tea and always add apricots to the hot water and tea bags and let it seep. Add a teaspoon of sugar and what a treat? Sometimes, I add honey instead of sugar and that is good too.
I was born in Feb at home and that year they tell me the ice was terrible. The doctor drove to our house to deliver me. My mother wasn't doing very well and didn't come into her milk for about 4-5 days. My grandmother had came to stay with us and she fed me Warm sweet Lipton tea...She called me the Lipton Baby. I am now 58 years old and still love my Lipton's.
Sarita
www.coffmanspinningcfarm.blogspot.com
"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful..." Proverbs 15:13
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acairnsmom
True Blue Farmgirl
1319 Posts
audrey
cheyenne
wy
1319 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2010 : 1:24:15 PM
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Ha! I just read this and immediately said to myself "lot's and lot's of sugar"! They don't call it Sweat Tea for nothing!
Audrey
Toto, we're not in Kansas any more! |
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Peg Graham
True Blue Farmgirl
281 Posts
Peg
Chesapeake
Virginia
USA
281 Posts |
Posted - Aug 03 2010 : 10:20:31 PM
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Living in Virginia, sweet tea is a favorite....but now I started using Peach Tea bags and never use sugar or sweetener and it tastes great as long as it's on lots of ice! 
miles of smiles~
Peg
http://thelavenderfairy.blogspot.com/ |
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Lorie Marler
True Blue Farmgirl
265 Posts
Lorie
Guymon
Ok
USA
265 Posts |
Posted - Aug 05 2010 : 05:54:47 AM
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I have a friend that comes by every couple of days with a gallon jug for my sweet tea. I use my coffee pot and put 4 family size lipton tea bags into the pot and run 12 cups of water through the maker. Then I pour the hot tea into a gallon pitcher with 2 1/2 to 3 cups of sugar and stir with a wooden spoon. Add cold water to fill the pitcher and then let it sit on the counter to cool.
http://bikerbunniesrabbitry.webs.com |
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smiley
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
lea
pea ridge
arkansas
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Aug 06 2010 : 8:38:17 PM
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| We also go thru alot of sweet tea in our home. I accidently picked up the tea bags one time to bre with cold water but I didnt care for them. Some new inventions are good but some traditions like sweet tea need to be left alone:D |
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Farm Kitchen: sweet tea |
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sweet tea
