Sweet tea should not be confused with “sweetened tea.” Though they are both iced teas that have been sweetened with sugar, the two are vastly different.
Sweetened tea is perfunctory. It’s passive in both grammar and intention. The tea is brewed to the appropriate strength, then it’s left to the drinker to actually do the work: to decide what kind of sugar to use, to determine how much of it to stir in, and then to search for lemon wedges to squeeze into the glass. It’s often served at restaurants, and you’re relegated to stirring granulated sugar into ice-cold tea. Even when vigorously whisked, the sugar crystals settle at the bottom. And if you use a straw, they’re the first thing you suck into your mouth.
Sweet tea, however, is direct and active — a teamaker’s humble offering to those who are blessed to have it poured into their glasses. Preparing sweet tea is an act of service, much like a beloved parent serving a child cut fruit or buttered toast. It embodies the Southern hospitality of the homes and kitchens it’s brewed in.
Sweet tea is not just “tea with sugar” — it’s a beverage in its own right. An inviting elixir, sweet tea has its sugar added early on: The sugar crystals dissolve fully when stirred into piping hot tea. And by brewing the tea extra strong, you can push the limits of just how much sugar you use, since that sugar balances the tea’s bitterness.
Though iced tea first became popular in the North (in part because ice was harder to come by in the South for many years), it appears that it was Southerners who innovated on it by presweetening the tea in brewed batches.
I grew up in Louisiana drinking the best tea recipe I know — one from my grandmother, Leona Marcena Clay Johnson, a woman born and raised in Indiana. This sweet tea recipe is adapted from hers, which she brewed daily (with the help of her Mr. Coffee electric tea maker). Hers is the only sweet tea I’ve known to use such copious amounts of lemon juice and sugar, and the flavor is intense yet delicate. But you don’t need an electric tea maker to prepare it.
I simply use a saucepan and my phone as a timer to ensure that the tea is brewed to the appropriate strength. If you can, splurge on the good granulated sugar — the pure cane kind. Though my family doesn’t drink this tea as often as granny did, it’s essential to our most important festive meals.
Next time you are celebrating with your family, try replacing the bottle of wine on the dining table with a pitcher of tea, something just about everyone can enjoy.