If you are from the south you were probably raised on sweet tea.
You know.
That perfect glass of iced cold goodness that quenches the thirst and fills the heart and makes the sun shine brighter.
In my search for the perfect glass of sweet tea with the perfect ratio of sugar to tea and ice, I came up with the answer to that age-old question.
Here’s how to make sweet tea taste better.
(and it’s totally not what you think). 🙂
1. Move to the country from the city.
2. Spend hours driving down winding country roads.
3. Sigh.
4. Wish you could by a horse barn.
5. Realize you don’t the first thing about raising horses.
6. Buy a farmhouse instead.
7. Start renovating the farmhouse.
8. Learn about vintage wood floors and plank siding and barn doors.
9. Start shopping by the side of the road.
10. Finish renovating the farmhouse.
11. Realize you are never really finished.
12. Decide you need a porch….
….with screens.
13. Build a screened-in porch on the side of the house with french doors leading off the house in the living room and the kitchen.
14. Add a dining area with a table and chairs and indoor/outdoor rugs and an old pair of deacon’s chairs you bought at a vintage sale.
15. Add a couch and chairs and a giant basket you found at a salvage yard.
16. Make a pitcher of sweet tea the way your mother-in-law makes it.
17. Realize you are so blessed to know the best sweet tea maker in the world.
18. Add mason jar glasses.
19. Pour a glass of sweet tea and tuck your feet under you on that back porch of that farmhouse at the end of the winding road in the middle of no where with the sun streaming in and the almost-summer breezes blowing through the trees.
20. Stir.
21. Sip.
22. Repeat. 🙂
The porch looks great! What, no sweet tea recipe?? I'm a Missouri girl living in Idaho, I could use a good one.
So, how does your mother in-law make sweet tea? I am a Texas gal misplaced in Utah, I need all the help I can get!
ABSOLUTELY! You are truly blessed, a farmhouse, sweet tea and a wonderful mother in law. Thank for mother in laws.
I meant to say Thank God for mother in laws.
Where is the recipe???????????? What brand of tea? Begin with cold water or boiling water? What garnishes for the finished drink????????????????????????? Come on, put on your lipstick and give us this info!
Ahh, I can almost feel the breeze and taste the sweet tea as I sit at my desk! You're living the dream! : )
WHAT?!!! Karianne...I'm with these other girls! NO RECIPE? You can't leave us hanging! Please share. Thank you. :-)
Sweet! Sweet memories, sweet sipping, sweet story.
I am just going to sit back and imagine I am there sharing a jar full of the best tasting sweet tea with you. Doesn't that breeze feel wonderful? Or, you could stop by and sit on my porch with me. I have some "pretty good" sweet tea - and I even have some mason jars. But, the bonus is that our rose garden is filled to overflowing with glorious, sweetly scented blooms. The scent is so sweet that the breezes floats it into our sunroom. Be sure to print a bucket so you can take some cut roses home with you.
I will let you in on a little secret..... My Mom was raised on a small farm in south Georgia.... waaaaay out in the country... YOU KNOW.... where fresh vegetables... and fresh peaches and blackberries taste better than anywhere else in the world!! ..... well My 91 year old Mom was always known for her cakes.... her fried chicken .... ( fried in an iron skillet of course) and her SWEET TEA!! lolololol.... I wonder if your MIL knew my Mom??? :) .... those country gals.... you gotta love em!!!! :) .. Thanks for sharing your own recipe though.... Lovin your farm life...
Ahh yes!! that would definitely be the BEST glass of ice tea I would ever have!! ;)
What a SWEET post!! Lovely as usual.
i'm not a tea drinker....i know, a travesty to you southern girls. but what i am in love with are those sweet carved wooden birdies...in positive and negative...and i'm having bird lust. badly. can you reveal your secret? or are they sadly gone from some fly-by-night, hurry-up-and-get-them-before-they're-gone online decorating place? thank you for the post...i'm reading while i'm drinking my hot cup of herbal tea this morning. and i have screened porch lust as well. dang.
I was Sooooo hoping for a recipe! Thought I missed it somehow at the end of the post. Even us Minnesota girls love sweet tea (or iced tea as we call it)! Help us out!
Sounds wonderful. Everybody should have a porch. Ours is used sometimes more than the living room. I'm not from the south but we drank sweet tea with lemon growing up all the time. Nothing better than a glass of tea on the porch in the summer except maybe a dish of homemade ice cream! Enjoy your beautiful porch.
Boy I hesitate to type this but I want all of the above except I like my iced tea unsweetened. Will I still be allowed to move down south?
I'm with you! Although I was raised on sweet tea, my Mother-in-law made it unsweetened. So, I developed a taste for it straight up, no sugar, lots of ice.
How about sharing that recipe?
ZoeAnn, Here's a recipe similar to what my mother-in-law uses: https://www.food.com/recipe/absolutely-the-best-southern-sweet-tea-281409 The key really is to wait until the tea reaches the "cold state." Thanks! karianne
Love you, your porch, and sweet tea! But mine is awful!! Before I could cheat and go through drive thru and buy Sonic, Captain Ds or Grandys tea. Now that am back home not an option. Company coming! Can you Please share tips!
Will you still be my friend if I tell you I prefer my tea unsweetened? It's a northern thing ...
My mother would make such sweet tea, that whenever the cousins would come stay with us (like for a week)in the summer, they would return home and say "Make tea like Aunt Pat!" It would infuriate their mothers because it would mean they would have to pour the sugar to it!!!
so disappointing, the only reason I kept reading this story was for the recipe.
Gayle, Oh! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to be misleading! Here's a recipe similar to what my mother-in-law uses: https://www.food.com/recipe/absolutely-the-best-southern-sweet-tea-281409 The key really is to wait until the tea reaches the "cold state." Again, I apologize! Thanks! karianne
Awww, screened porch right off the kitchen and great room filled with quiet birdsongs and soft breezes with a table for sharing, a couch for visiting and a chaise for napping. I'm right with you girlfriend - hoisting my glass of sweet tea to you, from my porch to yours.
Perfect. :)
No apology needed, Karianne. You gave us the most beautiful recipe of all. What a 'sweet post'.
I was raised in the south....of California, and we did not drink tea. But I live in Ohio now and we do...and I need that recipe. Hope your wonderful mother-in-love won't mind you sharing it with the world!
Oops just saw that you did. Thank you!
Sounds fabulous! I would add just one more - invite someone you love or someone that makes you laugh and someone that know you are a rock star. :-)
I second that ! The porch looks awesome too !!!!!!
My recipe for sweet tea...best ever, according to my family and friends: 8 regular sized (NOT family sized) Tetley tea bags 2 cups sugar Bring a pot of water to boil, put tea bags into water (with tags hanging over the side), turn off the stove. Let it steep until cool (room temp). Put two cups of sugar into a gallon container and pour cooled tea water over the sugar. Add more water to the container until you have a gallon. Stir well and refrigerate.
Try adding one bag of Earl Grey in place of one regular Lipton. You won't be sorry! My sweet tea upped it's game when I starting doing that. Can't make it fast enough for family gatherings.
I start with cold water in a large sauce pan, about 4 cups, bring to a full boil (when the bubbles begin to break), then remove from the heat and add 3 heaping measuring tablespoons of LOOSE LEAF Lipton tea. Cover the pan and let it steep for about 30 min to an hour. Using a tea strainer, pour the water over ice cubes. I make mine in a one gallon jug and keep in the refrigerator. We don't add sugar, but rather let anyone who needs it sweeten their own.
Thanks Karianne!! I am going to try that recipe. AND might have to screen in my deck ! Love your posts!
The little benches at both sides of the table are the cutest ever!!!! LOVE this porch
All that sugar! Guess you don't imbibe if you've got blood sugar issues.
I too am a southern girl who loves tea more than any other food or drink...and a screened porch to keep the bugs from eating me alive, sweet thing that I am, y'all...!,
All you need is a jar of instant tea, some lemon juice or a few mint leaves (try orange mint) and a few Splenda packets and combine. Add ice and sigh, this is really the best!!!
My resident tea/coffee expert says you should steep tea for 3 - 5 minutes for best results. Too long can make it taste bitter.
Love the green chairs on your porch! My favorite color!