Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 6,843 Posted August 3, 2020 Do you brew it and add sweetener or get it out of a jar? whats your recipe? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Forty Rod SASS 3935 6,844 Posted August 3, 2020 I prefer to brew it myself, generally a gallon a week) but have found Crystal Light powder mix to be a suitable substitute for those days when I'm lazy or in a hurry. It comes six envelopes to a package and each envelope makes two quarts. There is a smaller envelope that makes glass full for when you are traveling, but I can't find it locally. Give it a shot.....unless you are a purist. Checkout other Crystal Light products. They make a decent lemonade for use under the above conditions or when you can't fins a lemon source that's worth the price for inferior lemons.....like here. One of the very few things I miss about California is large, fresh lemons and really great avocados. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,600 Posted August 3, 2020 5 quart teabags 1 1/2-2 cups cup of sugar Use a sauce pan and place all 5 teabags in water and bring to a rolling boil Place sugar in a gallon pitcher. Pour hot tea into pitcher and stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add cold or tap water until pitcher is full. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Riot, SASS #13748 20,684 Posted August 3, 2020 We brew ours. I no longer brew it but I would take a bit over a gallon of fresh filtered water and get it boiling. I would dump a cup of sugar into the water the stir. I would remove the water from the heat and then toss in 3 large Red Rose teabags or a dozen small ones and let it steep for 10 or so minutes then remove the bags and cool in the fridge. Good stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 6,843 Posted August 3, 2020 Thanks. Didn’t know that tea bags came in big and little sizes. planning for guests, figure I should at least have this in my repertoire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alpo 6,199 Posted August 3, 2020 I learned this from my mother. Bring two cups of water to a rolling boil. While it is heating half fill a half gallon pitcher with water. Pour in 3/4 cup sugar, and stir until completely dissolved. When the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat and put a heaping teaspoon of black tea into the water. Let it steep for 5 minutes. Pour it through a strainer into the sweetened water in the pitcher. Stir to mix, then add water to bring it up to the half gallon line. Refrigerate. This is a bitch to make because it is almost impossible to find loose tea anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Utah Bob #35998 15,296 Posted August 3, 2020 33 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said: Thanks. Didn’t know that tea bags came in big and little sizes. planning for guests, figure I should at least have this in my repertoire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marshal Hangtree 2,016 Posted August 3, 2020 We follow Smuteye's recipe, but we brew the tea bags through the coffee maker instead of boiling on the stove. My wife's arthritic hands can handle the coffee carafe much better than trying to safely handle a large pot of boiling tea off the stove. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marshal Hangtree 2,016 Posted August 3, 2020 Or you could just buy Publix's sweet tea by the gallon. Not bad for store-bought tea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sedalia Dave 11,889 Posted August 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, Marshal Hangtree said: We follow Smuteye's recipe, but we brew the tea bags through the coffee maker instead of boiling on the stove. My wife's arthritic hands can handle the coffee carafe much better than trying to safely handle a large pot of boiling tea off the stove. I use a drip coffee maker as well. However it has never had coffee made in it. If you use a coffee maker be sure if has been thoroughly cleaned before making tea in it. Otherwise it will give the tea a bad taste. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trigger Mike 993 Posted August 3, 2020 We drink it every day. My wife sweetens it in the picture, I sweeten it while in the pot and don't need as much that way. I don't like to cook it above medium but my wife cooks it on high Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Father Kit Cool Gun Garth 6,582 Posted August 3, 2020 Out tea is made through the coffee maker as well. Easy as pie! The secret to our recipe is that not only do we put six (6) regular tea bags in the basket, but we also put two (2) special flavored tea bags as well to enrich the taste, such as: The tea container already has two (2) heaping scoops of regular sugar: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,600 Posted August 3, 2020 Coffeemakers make it much easier... BUT... I don't like the residual coffee taste you get if the maker hasn't been cleaned thoroughly prior to swapping to tea making. The problem seems to be in the diffuser and the basket. The baked in coffee flavor tends linger no matter what. The coffeemaker method is almost identical to the method used in restaurants. The big Bunn tea makers that turn out 3 to 5 gallon batches work basically the same way. For big batches like those, figure 1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar to the gallon- unless you are a fan of really sweet sweet tea, then go with 1 3/4 to 2 cups. I prefer quart tea bags for home use and stick with 'one bag for each unit of measure and one for the pot'. Then again, I like the flavor of tea, so I make ita bit strong, and want only enough sugar to take the bitterness out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arizona Gunfighter 387 Posted August 3, 2020 Arizona brand makes a decent sweet tea, of course nothing beats fresh brewed sweet tea . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pat Riot, SASS #13748 20,684 Posted August 3, 2020 4 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said: If you use a coffee maker be sure if has been thoroughly cleaned before making tea in it. Otherwise it will give the tea a bad taste. I think you have it backwards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rowdy Ranger Rick 28 Posted August 3, 2020 I like my tea strong and unsweetened, restaurants have weak tea. I drink about 3 quarts of tea every day as well as water and occasional 'zero type' soft drink. I heat water in a quart canning jar, 3 1/2 minutes in microwave, then 4-6 individual cup tea bags, steeped 5 minutes or longer. I drink this as hot tea, or pour into drinking glass with ice for iced tea. In the same jar I'll use a gallon tea bag and 2-3 individual cup tea bags(or 8-10 individual bags) for 1/2 gallon of tea adding water and ice to fill 1/2 gallon jug. I like all the various flavors, herbal teas, and I mix them. I might drink caffeinated first half of day and decaf 2nd half. I like all the Celestial Seasonings teas, Rooibos, Oolong, green/white, and English/Irish teas. Do not squeeze black tea bags if you want to limit that bitterness taste. You can squeeze all others. Unsweetened tea takes a little getting used to, and I do enjoy sweet tea sometimes when eating out. Waitress once told me unsweetened tea was like drinking muddied water, and Rooibos, Oolong, and Pau d'Arco teas are a little on the woody/earthy side of flavor. When I come in from hunting (sitting on the side of a cold tree in Winter) a quart of strong hot tea is really nice. RRR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anvil Al #59168 309 Posted August 3, 2020 Brew it. Or. I have got lazy and found that I like a brand called Red Diamond. Buy it in gallon jugs at the store. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MizPete 1,253 Posted August 4, 2020 I make 1/2 gallon every other day. 1qt Tetley tea bag, 1qt Luzianne tea bag, 12 cup water in a 12-cup coffee maker. Sweeten to taste while hot. I was weaned on Lipton but this stuff is better. Buying in bottles is just trifling, says she from South Carolina. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sedalia Dave 11,889 Posted August 4, 2020 5 hours ago, MizPete said: I make 1/2 gallon every other day. 1qt Tetley tea bag, 1qt Luzianne tea bag, 12 cup water in a 12-cup coffee maker. Sweeten to taste while hot. I was weaned on Lipton but this stuff is better. Buying in bottles is just trifling, says she from South Carolina. I grew up on Lipton. Then I was introduced to Luzianne late in my teen years. Will never knowingly go back to Lipton. Used to have my mom mail boxes of Luzianne tea when I was stationed in Spain and the PRoK. As a side note the last box of Luzianne I got was not near the quality I am used to and it tends to turn after 4 days. I'll be glad when this coronavirus crap is over and food quality gets back to what it was. seems like about 3/4 of what we buy is sorely lacking in consistent quality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 6,843 Posted August 4, 2020 Thanks. I followed up on the many leads here and tracked down availability, etc. learned “family size” means quart. the “pitcher” I keep in the fridge is a 1.5 qt peanut butter jar, so family size is what I’ll probably use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rye Miles #13621 6,169 Posted August 4, 2020 16 hours ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said: I think you have it backwards. No way I'll ruin my coffee with making tea in my coffeemaker! Don't be messin' with my coffee!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,600 Posted August 4, 2020 14 hours ago, Anvil Al #59168 said: Brew it. Or. I have got lazy and found that I like a brand called Red Diamond. Buy it in gallon jugs at the store. If you like Red Diamond (which I do), you'd love Milo's. They are a regional chain of burger joints based out of Birmingham that makes a sweet tea so good that they have it bottled and sold in grocery and convenience stores. I hear their lemonade is pretty good, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smuteye John SASS#24774 2,600 Posted August 4, 2020 On 8/3/2020 at 11:33 AM, Marshal Hangtree said: Or you could just buy Publix's sweet tea by the gallon. Not bad for store-bought tea. Publix is drinkable but runs to the weak side for my tastes. On the other hand, it's readily available in half and full gallon jugs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 6,843 Posted August 4, 2020 If I really get into this, I’d have two coffee makers, one dedicated to tea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackwater 53393 5,444 Posted August 4, 2020 I used to make tea and then refrigerate it. I always added the sugar as I poured the boiling water into the pitcher then steeped the tea to taste and squeezed the last of the water out of the tea bags. Later, I obtained a tea ball. Now I buy ready made tea in gallon jugs. There are several brands available and some are better than others. I have found a brand that suits me and the ingredients fit my tastes and diet. Those sweetened with cane or beet sugar are far better for you than those the use corn syrup or artificial sweeteners! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites