Pitcher Perfect Sweet Tea Recipes

PERFECT ICED TEA

Steps:

• Hot-Brewed:
• Bring 8 cups water to a simmer; remove from the heat and add 3 tablespoons loose tea or 6 tea bags. Let steep about 4 minutes, until it's the strength you like. Strain loose tea with a fine-mesh sieve or remove the tea bags. Let cool, then transfer to a pitcher, cover and refrigerate.
• Cold-Brewed:
• Combine 8 cups cold water and 6 tablespoons loose tea or 10 tea bags in a pitcher. Cover and refrigerate 15 to 36 hours, until it's the strength you like. Strain loose tea with a fine-mesh sieve or remove the tea bags.
• Sweet Teas:
• Combine 3/4 cup each sugar and water in a saucepan and add 1 infuser, if desired. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat and let cool. Strain the infused syrup through a fine-mesh sieve (you'll get about 1 cup).
• Orange Add 6 strips zest
• Blackberries 1 cup
• Cinnamon 2 sticks
• Lavender 3 tablespoons dried
• Vanilla 1 halved bean
• Mint 3 sprigs
• Ginger 1 cup sliced
• Lemon 8 strips zest
• Nectarine 1 cup chopped
• Cucumber 2 cups chopped

PERFECT SOUTHERN SWEET TEA

Steps:

• 1. Fill a 10-12 cup coffee-maker carafe with cold water. Pour into back of coffee maker, as if making a pot of coffee. In brewing basket, place 2 family-sized tea bags, laying them sideways on top of each other. (Shake the tea bags, to spread out the tea inside each bag, before placing them on top of each other). Turn on coffee pot, and allow water to pour through, until pot is full of concentrated tea.
• 2. Pour 2 cups sugar into a 1-gallon pitcher. Pour all the hot tea over the sugar, and stir until dissolved. Fill coffee-maker carafe w/cold water and add to the sweetened hot tea, until gallon-pitcher is filled. Stir well. Allow tea to sit on counter-top, until cooled to room temperature, then store in refrigerator to chill.
• 3. Note: If you place the tea in the fridge before it is cooled to room temperature, it may become cloudy. If you're in a hurry for a cold glass of tea, you can add crushed ice (in place of tap water) to the hot concentrated tea, to fill gallon pitcher. Then, it can be stored right away in the refrigerator. As with most recipes, this tea seems to taste better on the 2nd day. But, it's also delicious immediately after it's made. Just serve over lots of ice! :)
• 4. One further note: I think that using a coffee-maker which has also been used for brewing coffee, can cause the tea to have a little bit of the coffee taste in it (even when the coffee pot has been washed). So, I have a coffee-maker that I only use for making tea in. We use a separate coffee-maker for my husband's coffee. :)