This question comes from my reader Molly…
I no longer drink soda – I gave it up in June. I now drink Honest Tea, and even with coupons, it’s expensive (0.60 per bottle, and I drink 3-4 per day). I don’t know how to make my own tea and have it taste good. I’ve tried, and it tastes like crap. Is there an iced tea maker out there or something that you’d recommend?
marcie says
I make flavored tea in my coffee maker. Use 4 regular tea bags and 2 flavored tea bags (we like blueberry or peach in my family) and 12 cups of water. We don’t add sugar to our iced tea but with the 2 flavored tea bags, you get a hint of sweetness.
RK says
I usually just heat a cup of water in the microwave to get it to a boil (but be careful … Google for “water microwave explosion” to see what I mean) and then drop in the tea bag or some loose tea in mesh tea holder thing. After a few minutes, I take the teabag or loose tea holder out and mix in a bit of sugar. If I want it cold, I add ice cubes after that, though I usually prefer my tea hot.
You have to make sure the sugar is completely dissolved before adding ice.
Also, if you’re using a black tea, experiment with leaving it in the water for different amounts of time. If it tastes bad, it’s possible that it’s too strong or not strong enough. There are also so many different flavors of tea to play with.
Now, that’s for one cup. If you’re making more, definitely invest in a good teapot or electric hot water dispenser. We have a really cute Japanese hot water dispenser that can really come in handy. You just fill it with distilled water, turn it on, wait for it to get to the right temperature, and then, whenever you want some tea, just put your teabag or loose tea holder in a cup and dispense water on top from the dispenser.
RK says
You know, I take back the “definitely invest” part. I would actually say it’s more of a “nice to have”. Microwave tea is fine if another appliance is not in your budget!
Tara says
Try Mio. they have a sweet tea version has no calories and tastes just like the real thing. I love it and you can just add it to your water bottle. It costs about $4 a bottlle and makes 24-8 oz servings.
Linda Bollengier says
I adore sweet tea the way my Grand-ma made it with most any brand on sale either boil water and dunk it afterward, cover with a kitchen towel while it steeps.
When I am in a hurry I also keep the Arizona Teas with Ginseng – sugar free made with sucralose (splenda) as Nutrasweet gives me a migraine.
I have experimented with honey and can’t get it right, I have yet to try to more healthy stevia products. Would love some advice on those!
Suzanne says
Sun tea! In the morning, I put 3 family size tea bags in a clear 2 liter drink container and place it on the porch. By 5pm, I have brewed tea. I place it in the refrigerator. Ta-dah!
Sara says
**MY FLAVORED TEA** I make my own tea and make a gallon and pour 2-3 of Crystal Light on the Go packets in whatever flavor I am craving (Lemonade, Fruit Punch etc). It adds no addl calories and it is easy. I would start with 2 packets to start and add to taste the way you like it! It’s cheap and easy!
jade says
Being from SC where sweet tea is a staple. I use the coffee pot. For a gallon I use 2 family size tea bags &eat brew like you would a pot of coffee (12 cup maker). Add sugar or splenda to taste. And once you mix those in the pitcher add cold water till you have a gallon & put it in the fridge
Hippy says
Ha Ha, everone has a different opinion on how to make tea. I also gave up soda(well almost), so I like tea now also. I’ll try all the options you all gave me. I live in the south now, but came frome the north where tea makng is not an art. I drink a lot of juice with club soda. Old Orchard brand juice concentrate is awsome and cheap. Its always on sale and always has coupons.
Kim says
We have tried several brands of tea but find that Community tea bags are our favorite! I found a recipe for Southern Sweet Tea in an issue of Southern Living. It works for us!
keisha says
We use our coffe pot too! I put 3 Tetley family size and then split it between 2 gallon pitures, then do again with the same tea bags, split and add a cup and a half of sugar in each one.
Kelly Hess says
We have had The Iced Tea pot from Mr. Coffee since our bridal shower 9 years ago. WE make A LOT of iced tea, 2 -3 pitchers a week. Best iced tea ever and well worth it!
keisha says
We make about 2 pitchers a day for our family of 5!
Kristen D. says
Oh gosh, to make good southern sweet tea, boil your water. Once it’s to a boil, stir in your sugar and REMOVE it from the heat! Drop in at least 2 tea bags and let it soak a good long time. Then, pull your tea bags up and use a spoon to press them firmly against the side of the pot, squeezing out the last goodness in there.
Refrigerate and voila! Good sweet tea :D.
Diane says
I never thought a tea making appliance was worth the price, until my husband bought me the Mr. Coffee tea maker for a Mother’s Day present a few years ago. Now I use it at least twice a week to replenish my supply, and I love it. It’s easy–just a little water, a bunch of ice, and 2-3 family size tea bags (depending on the size of the batch you want). I stock up on decaf family tea bags when Publix puts them on bogo, or just pick them up at Walmart. I love having the big pitcher of tea in my fridge whenever I want to reach for it. Even with the purchase of the tea maker, there aren’t many drink choices cheaper than homemade iced tea!
Molly says
Thank you!! I really appreciate all the info/help. :)
Kasee says
I put 4 tea bags in my coffee maker and brew a whole pot. I pour the HOT tea into a large bowl with 1 cup of sugar. Using the same tea bags, I brew another full pot and add it to the first one. I then drop in the used tea bags and steep ’til it starts to cool. Once completely cool, I pour it into a large pitcher. — I calculated the sugar ratio to be approximately the same as 2 sugar cubes per coffee mug full of tea. — Vanilla teas come out nice, but anything works well. I’m partial to Celestial Seasonings.
Shannon Morris says
I also boil water like Amanda mentioned above. I use a 1/2 cup of Splenda instead of regular sugar. It is just a little sweet, but not too much. You can add more to your liking. And I just bought WalMart brand Family Size Tea Bags, and the tea is quite good. In fact, I will buy it from now on. Infinitely cheap way to go. You gotta love it!
oly says
Also — I’m the only one out of my childhood friends who is not on any medications and is healthy. (No diabetes, no PCOS, no immune system issues etc etc). But I have no doubt I’d be in their shoes too if I hadn’t given up sugar (and gluten too). Anyway, Dr. Lustig a pediatric neurologist says it all in “Sugar: The Bitter Truth”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
oly says
Congratulations on giving up softdrinks! I about instantly dropped 10lbs giving up soda (about 11 years ago). I’ve had to remain strictly sugar free due to the price of being raised on soda/kool-aid/juice though I’ve found that giving up artificial sweeteners was also an important step in that journey. Here’s an alternative hydrating and refreshing drink that isn’t a sweet-tooth-gateway-drug:
Big cup full of ice/fill with water squirt in lemon juice or cut up a lemon and toss in. If you have a whole lemon in, you can just continue to re-fill with ice + water.
Alternative: half a lemon + 1/3 raw cucumber.
Teas:
A boil is too hot, you’ll burn the tea.
Salt cuts through bitter, as does dairy.
You may also want to try some herbal teas like chamomile or mint to see if they are more your “cup of tea”. White tea is also very mild.
You may also want to try instant unsweetened ice tea.
Anna says
Oh yeah – Wal mart brand is the best I’ve tasted!
Anna says
I use my coffee pot to make tea. 2 family sized tea bags and 6-8 cups of water and brew. I make sweet tea– so 1 cup of sugar and add what’s brewed and fill the rest of the 2 Q with water and fridge….. hope this helps!
rebecca says
Sweet tea is helping me break from soda also. We finally think we have found the perfect tea recipe. Boil 3 cups water, put in 2 family and 1 regular tea bags, any brand, we have found, taste the same. Boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup sugar into your pitcher, we then put 7 cups water in another pitcher in the freezer to get cold. After the 3 cups has finished steeping, pour into pitcher with sugar, stir well until sugar is disolved. Then pour in the 7 cups of cold water. You can adjust the sugar next time if it;s not to your liking. This tea is as close to perfect as we have found. Not bitter, you still taste the tea. LOOOOVE IT!
Tammie W says
I love lipton cold brew and make a pitcher and add lemon and 1/4 cup sugar. I also really love raspberry lipton ice tea. So cheap at $3.90 or so a can and then with a coupon even cheaper. The I only use about a fourth of the recommended amount. Yummy I also use lipton ready and go packs. I think $1.90 at target and then a coupon really cheap. I love the lipton coupons and the target by me always has something by lipton on special
Monica says
I love the Publix ‘Diet” Sweet Tea made with Splenda. It goes BOGO evey couple weeks so I stock up and it usually lasts me until the next BOGO.
brenda says
I agree with many of the posters who like the Luzienne family sized iced tea bags. Dependant upon how strong you like your tea, the box says to use 1 family size bag for 1 quart of water. I use the Mr Coffee Iced Tea maker, simply because it has the water-tea-ice ratio all figured out and marked on the pitcher to not make it watery. I use artificial sweetener in mine; 8 packets for 3 quarts of tea for a mildly sweetened tea. For specialty flavors, I like the Tazo brand. Their teas are so strong I can use two regular-sized tea bags for my 3 quarts of iced tea. Hope that helps!
crunchy says
Congrats on giving up the soda. I broke my 20 year diet Coke habit back in February.
Try making a flavored tea such as mint or berry and sweetening it with stevia drops. I drink this both hot and iced when I’m not drinking water with lemon wedges.
Kimberly Broughton says
My husband and kids love Sweet tea, we use Luzianne Family sized tea bags, 3 of them for a gallon of tea, I put them in a small pot on the stove, on very low for a few hours or just however long you prefer, then for a gallon of sweet tea (we live in the south so I think our sugar usage is higher here, LOL) I use about 1 1/2 cups of sugar, pour in the tea and add water.
You can also put the same # of tea bags in a measuring cup with 2 cups of water in the microwave for about 5 mins,same amt of sugar, add water and you’re good to go..
We also buy sweet tea from the grocery store, Milo’s gallon tea is the best–Its about 2.50 a gallon.
One more tip–when we go on vacation to our timeshare (with a kitchen) I buy a gallon of tea, and also teabags and sugar–reuse the gallon jug from the 1st gallon so you have a container but don’t have to buy gallon tea all week!
dina says
My husband makes really good tea. We have an iced tea maker but he will put a kettle on to boil and fill up the pitcher with ice, add tea bags, and sugar. When the water is ready he pours it over the top and stirs. He lets the bags steep a bit and that’s it. I’ve always thought home brewed tea is better the second day. We aren’t partial to any brand, but we have Lipton and many times he’ll throw in a bag or two of the Celestial Seasonings or Republic of Tea and ease up on or eliminate the sugar. It’s a trial and error kind of thing… start with the amount recommended on the box then +/- bags and steep time until you find the flavor you want. I was also told once that if you squeeze your tea bags after they’ve steeped you’ll get a bitter tea. Not sure, since I haven’t made tea in forever. I let him do it!
Heather M says
I have a Westinghouse iced tea maker but I don’t know if they sell them anymore, I’ve had it for about 12 years :)
I put in 4 family sized Luzianne decaf tea bags, then fill to the water line, pour in, fill up the container with ice, add about 1 cup of sugar (I’m a southern girl, we like it sweet :), then turn it on. When it’s done, I pour out the ice and most of the tea into a 4-quart container then I fill the tea maker container about halfway with water and stir, stir, stir, until the sugar is completely dissolved. I add that into the 4-quart container and stir, adding more water/ice if necessary. The family sized box of luzianne decaf tea is about $5 and it will give you about 12 pitchers of tea! Good luck!!
Traci Benefield says
To make a gallon of sweet tea take 4 family sized bags of Luzianne decaf and heat in a few cups of water on the stove top. Do not boil it!!!!!! Boiling makes it bitter. caffinated tea is also bitter. I like my tea mildly sweet so I put 1 and 1/4 cup of sugar in the pitcher before I add the tea. Lipton is bitter, caf is bitter, boiling makes it bitter!!!!! Heat it up for 3 mins and let it steep. Add more sugar if u want. You don’t need an additional appliance, just don’t let it boil. Sweet Tea is the only Tea. My family has lived in GA since the 1700’s. I know Tea.
Eleanor P. says
We always make it the way Amanda does it. We just use 2 Lipton tea bags. There are usually coupons for lipton and I was able to get a really good deal on them last week.
Brandi says
We bought a Mr. Coffee iced tea maker from walmart. i believe they are around $17 and could be on clearance. luzianne makes the best iced tea according to my husband. he likes his on the strong side so we use a lot of tea bags. he uses like 3-4 family size tea bags and the water measurements are on the pitcher. and if you like sweet tea add sugar till its how you like it. he uses like a cup and a half. i dont drink it but he loves it.
Janice says
I actually prefer Lipton Iced Tea Mix to brewing tea to ice down. Many Safeway grocery stores have it, but it is easier to find during the Summer months. 1/4 cup tea mix, 1/2 cup sugar, and 2 quarts water. It is the best and I practically live off the stuff.
Gayle says
Put your tea bags in a gallon of cold water in a glass jar. Set it out in the sun and let it sit for a couple of hours. Makes wonderful tea.
Lani says
That’s what we do! There’s nothing like sun tea!
Khara says
I always make my iced tea hot and then cool it to room temperature and put it in the fridge. I haven’t found an “iced tea” method I like that starts with cold water. Your issue might not be the method, but the tea you’re using. I love Lipton tea hot, but find it too dry for iced tea, making me want to add more sugar (might as well have a soda at that point). Since Honest Tea is a mild tea, maybe try finding a milder tea blend?? Also, loose tea is cheaper than bags so you can boil your water with the loose tea (and also can add some fruits as the posts above mentioned) and then strain it through a sieve or a coffee filter.
Tara says
Boil the water without the tea bags and put them in after you turn off or remove from the heat. If you boil the tea with the water, it can make it bitter. I use two family-sized tea bags to a half gallon of boiling water. I boil in my tea kettle on the stove and put it in my Tupperware pitcher. I use artificial sweetener in mine, but wait to do it until it is room temperature. If you are using sugar, you will want to do it while the water is hot, so it will melt into your tea. I like mine with a squirt of lemon in it. I buy Minute Maid frozen lemon juice because I think it tastes great. You can also boil water in the microwave and then add the teabags.
Gretta says
I use the same method as Amanda. The key (if you’re making sweet tea) is to add the sugar while the tea is still warm, so it dissolves. If you want to flavor your tea, once it’s come off the heat add fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, berries, etc. Strain out when tea is ready (put a strainer over the top of your pitcher and pour the tea from the pot through it to strain out the mint, fruit, etc.). OR, instead of adding water to top off your pitcher, just add juice (orange, pomegranate, cranberry, lemonade, whatever).
Brandi1leigh says
I’ve found that how I make the tea (boiling it, microwave, cold tea bags) is less important than one thing…what water I use. My tap water is terrible. I don’t drink it, I splurge on bottled water. So why do I think it would taste great just because I added a tea bag? I buy a jug of water at the grocery store and add cold brew tea bags to that. It’s easy and tastes great.
candice says
boil it on the stove is one way…. about 4-5 bags about 6 cups water or i prefer the coffee pot… and some sugar…. if u like squeeze lemon juice in it.
boomer3145 says
I make green tea. I use 6 bags of the regular green & 3 bags of Lipton’s Orange & Passion Fruit. I sweeten it with honey. I have the first cup warm & the rest iced. When fruit is in & cheap, I add it like a Sangria or dump in the excess juice from fruit salad. Peach ice cubes add great flavor. Not too many calories, healthy, & pretty cheap.
Ginger says
We brew it in the coffee pot. We use 5 small tea bags and brew a pot. Put a half cup of Sugar and a packet of Crystal Light Lemon Aid (the large one) and make are own version of Arnold Palmer. We fill the rest of the pitcher with ice from are ice maker, it’s perfect! It’ s a real hit in our house!
Amanda says
Drop 2 of the large tea bags in a few cups of water and bring to a boil either on your stovetop or in microwave. Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes. This allows all the tea flavor to seep out of the bags. Pour the tea into your pitcher and add sugar. I do sweet tea so I add just under a cup of sugar. Fill the pitcher the rest of the way with water and stir. No need to waste money on an iced tea maker.
Amy W says
Being from Alabama, I take great pride in my sweet tea, and this is exactly how I make mine too! :)
Jennifer in TN says
That is also how I make mine.
Karen Sch says
I liked the Hamilton Beach 40911 2-Quart Electric Iced Tea Maker. (I had to go look at it in the kitchen to tell you all that LOL) You can use tea bags in it or loose tea. It makes wonderful tea. I bought it on Amazon awhile back and it was around $30 I think it should be a lot less now. This is honestly the best tea maker I have ever had. I had the Mr. Coffee 3 quart on before and it was okay. The pitcher cracked on it and you have to buy a whole new unit instead of the pitcher. I don’t know of anything else out there that is a nice price and makes good tea like the HB unit I have. I hope this helps.