Sweet tea is a summer (and sometimes year round) staple for my drinking pleasure. Here’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
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Welcome to the Juneteenth 2020 Cookout! This initiative was created by a group of Black Food Bloggers to honor and celebrate Juneteenth—a jubilee of freedom to commemorate the end of slavery—and to amplify Black culinary creatives.
Juneteenth (a merge of the words/date June nineteenth) marks the date in 1865 that the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. And for over 150 years since, Black Americans have commemorated the summer holiday with a wide range of food traditions that tell a story of the perseverance of a people.
This virtual cookout features nearly 70 participants with a wide range of recipes, such as spiced grilled peaches, Southern tomato pie, and grilled lemon pepper wings. Make this sweet tea to sip on while you check out all of the wonderful recipes towards the end of this post and give their creators a follow.
![Southern-Style Sweet Iced Tea with Lemon and Mint](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_512,h_768/https://www.thehungryhutch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Southern-Sweet-Iced-Tea-Recipe-Lemon-Mint-PINTEREST-683x1024.png)
Is it summer time yet? Spring is officially here, and I’m ready to fast forward through the cold, rainy days and onto the shorts, tank tops, flip flops, and sunglasses. Aren’t you? And when I think of summer, sweet tea is sure to be part of the experience.
Though growing up I never really used a recipe to make the refreshing beverage, here’s a good starting point should you find yourself wanted a nice glass to cool yourself down. And once you’ve gotten down the basic recipe, I shared a few different ideas for how to make it your own over on HuffPost.
![Southern-Style Sweet Iced Tea with Lemon and Mint](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_512,h_768/https://www.thehungryhutch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Southern-Sweet-Iced-Tea-Recipe-Lemon-Mint-Portrait-683x1024.jpg)
How Do You Make Sweet Tea from Scratch?
For me, it all starts with making what in essence is a concentrated tea syrup. Start by brewing a bunch of tea in a small amount of water. (If using bags, one trick I learned is to tie them together for easy retrieval.) Then stir in some sugar while it’s still warm so that it dissolves easily. From there just add more water to get it to normal strength and you’re basically good to go.
Is Sweet Tea the Same as Iced Tea?
If you look carefully at the title then you’ll notice that it reads “sweet tea” and not “iced tea.” In my mind, the two are synonymous. However, I’ve learned from experience that this is not the case for everyone. I get a little enraged anytime someone tries to serve me unsweetened iced tea—blasphemy! And there’s little that can be done to fix it unless you have simple syrup on hand, but that seems to be a rare occasion. Stirring in granulated sugar doesn’t do anything for iced tea because all the sweetness doesn’t dissolve and just sinks to the bottom.
What Kind of Tea Is Used for Sweet Tea?
Traditionally it is made with your standard black tea, such as Lipton. However, you can really use any type of tea you have on hand, such as green, mint, or rooibos. And one thing to keep in mind is caffeine. With sweet tea, you will be tempted to drink multiple glasses in the afternoon and evening. If that’s you, I recommend using caffeine-free tea for part or all of this recipe.
Juneteenth Cookout Black Food Blogger Recipes
A Girl Called Adri | Blackened Catfish
Beautiful Eats & Things | Spiced Grilled Peaches
Black Girls Who Brunch | Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cake
Brazilian Kitchen Abroad | Brazilian Collard Greens with Bacon
Britney Breaks Bread | Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Sour Cream and Honey Sauce
Brownbelle | Watermelon Hibiscus Whiskey Smash
Butter Be Ready | Chicken and Waffles
Chef and Steward | Watermelon and Feta Salad
Chef Curl Ardee | Honey and Butter Cornbread
Chenée Today | Lemon Icebox Pie
Christy Irene | Crawfish Etouffee
Collards Are The Old Kale | Guaymas Shrimp
Confessions of a clean foodie | Mint Peach Spritzer
Cooking to a T Jamaican | Beef Patties
Cooks with Soul | BBQ in a Jar
Dash of Jazz | Golden Pineapple Pound Cake
Dish It With Tisha | Honey Jerk Shrimp
DMR Fine Foods | Blackberry Ginger Soda
Domestic Dee | Easy Berry Fruit Salad
Dude That Cookz | Cajun White Beans
Erique Berry Co | Three Green Summer Salad
Ethically Living | Vegan Jackfruit Jamaican Patties
Food Fidelity | Nigerian Beef Suya Skewers
Food Is Love Made Edible | Smothered Okra with Chicken & Sausage
FoodLoveTog | Braised Cabbage & Johnny Cakes
Forks and Straws | Cassava Corn Waffles with Shrimp Creole
Geo’s Table | Curried Potato Salad
Gristle & Gossip | Sweet Potato Honey Cornbread Cake
Heal Me Delicious | Trinidadian Callaloo
Immaculate Ruému | Chin-Chin (Nigerian Fried Cookies)
Jamieson Diaries | Crockpot Smoked Red Beans
Kenneth Temple | Red Velvet Biscuits with BBQ Brisket
Kenya Rae | Ground Turkey Baked Beans
Lenox Bakery | Sweet Potato Cheesecake
Maple Points | Guyanese Peas & Rice
Marisa Moore Nutrition | Fresh Peach Iced Tea
Meiko and the Dish | Strawberry Cornbread Skillet Cobbler
Murielle Banackissa | Vegan Saka Saka (Congolese Cassava Leaf & Spinach Stew)
My Fabulous Food | Black-Eyed Peas with Smoked Turkey
Nik Snacks | Easy BBQ Pork Ribs
On Ty’s Plate | Watermelon Limeade
Open Invitation Entertainment | Coconut Collard Greens
Orchids + Sweet Tea | The Ultimate Vegan Mac + Cheese
Our Perfect Palette | Jollof Rice
Peaches 2 Peaches | Vanilla Cake with Caramel Poached Pears
Pink Owl Kitchen | Strawberry Buttermilk Biscuits
Razzle Dazzle Life | Southern Peach Cobbler
Rosalynn Daniels | Southern Tomato Pie
Savor and Sage | Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Savory Thoughts | Jus Citron (Haitian Lemonade)
Seasoned To Taste | Cajun Shrimp Deviled Eggs
Sense & Edibility | Blackberry Cobbler
Slice & Torte | Fried Softshell Crab
Slight Kitchen Werk | Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Sweet & Sorrel | Baked Jerk Chicken
Sweet Savant | Black–Eyed Peas and Sweet Potato Salad
That Green Lyfe | Vegan Red Red Stew (Spicy Ghanaian Black-Eyed Peas) and Plantains
The Dana Renee Way | Sweet Potato Cornbread
The Hangry Woman | Jamaican Jerk Wings
The Hungry Hutch | Southern-Style Sweet Tea (You’re already here!)
The Kitchenista Diaries | Grilled Lemon Pepper Wings
The Vgn Way | Juneteenth Hibiscus Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream
This Worthey Life | Strawberry Soda
This African Cooks | Whole 30 Ghanaian Kebabs
Vegan With Curves | Slow Cooker Black Eyed Pea Sweet Potato Soup
Whisk it Real Gud | Southern Sweet Potato Pie
[Note: This post has been updated from the original to make it sparkle.]
![Southern-Style Sweet Iced Tea with Lemon and Mint](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img/https://www.thehungryhutch.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Southern-Sweet-Iced-Tea-Recipe-Lemon-Mint-735x490.jpg)
Southern-Style Sweet Tea
Sweet tea is a summer (and sometimes year round) staple for my drinking pleasure. Here's one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
Ingredients
- 8 black tea bags, tied together and paper tags removed
- 1 cup granulated sugar, or more to taste
- Ice, lemon slices, and fresh mint sprigs, for serving
Instructions
- Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and let steep to desired strength, about 5 minutes. (I tend to let it got for about 10 minutes.)
- Remove the tea and discard; stir in the sugar until dissolved. Transfer to a pitcher and fill with cold water (about 1 quart or more, depending on the size of your pitcher). Taste and add more sugar as desired.
- Fill glasses with ice, top with some sweet tea, garnish with a slice of lemon and some fresh mint, and enjoy!
I agree… I didn’t even know non-sweet tea was a thing until college!