Chef Dean
Bourbon Peach Smash
Ripe summer peaches crushed with fragrant mint and Kentucky bourbon, shaken until frost forms on the glass, then crowned with fiery ginger beer. This is Southern porch culture in a tumbler.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Southern Sweet Tea
Created by Chef Remy
The house wine of the South, brewed strong and sweetened while hot, served cold enough to fog the glass and refresh the soul on even the most brutal summer afternoon.
Beverages
Southern
BBQ
Potluck
Picnic
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield1 gallon (8-10 servings)
Sweet tea is not a beverage. It is a declaration of identity. Across Louisiana and the rest of the South, sweet tea tells you who raised the person pouring it, where they come from, and whether they understand hospitality. Get this wrong and you might as well hang a sign on your door saying you are not from around here.
My grandmother Evangeline made sweet tea every single morning of my childhood. She brewed it strong in an old aluminum pot, sweetened it while steam still rose from the surface, and poured it into a glass pitcher that stayed in the icebox door until someone drained the last drop. That pitcher was never empty. Company could arrive unannounced at any hour and there would be cold sweet tea waiting. That is the bayou way.
The technique is simple but unforgiving. You brew the tea strong, you sweeten it hot, and you serve it cold. Three steps, no shortcuts. The sugar must dissolve completely in hot liquid or you end up with that grainy residue at the bottom of the glass that marks an amateur. The tea must steep long enough to develop backbone but not so long it turns bitter and tannic. And the final product must be cold, properly cold, served over enough ice to make the glass sweat.
At Lagniappe, we go through five gallons of sweet tea on a slow day. On a Saturday during crawfish season, we cannot brew it fast enough. There is no mystery to why: sweet tea is pure comfort, the taste of summer porches and family reunions and lazy afternoons when nobody has anywhere else to be.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
water for brewing
Quantity
4 cups
family-size black tea bags
Quantity
6 (or 12 regular-size)
baking soda
Quantity
1 pinch
granulated sugar
Quantity
1 to 1 1/2 cups
cold water
Quantity
to fill pitcher
fresh lemon slices (optional)
Quantity
for serving
fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Quantity
for serving
ice
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| water for brewing | 4 cups |
| family-size black tea bags | 6 (or 12 regular-size) |
| baking soda | 1 pinch |
| granulated sugar | 1 to 1 1/2 cups |
| cold water | to fill pitcher |
| fresh lemon slices (optional) | for serving |
| fresh mint sprigs (optional) | for serving |
| ice | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Medium saucepan (2-quart)
- •Gallon pitcher (glass or plastic)
- •Long wooden spoon
- •Timer
Instructions
- 1
Boil the water
Bring four cups of water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan. You want real boiling water here, with bubbles breaking the surface aggressively. Lukewarm water will not extract the tannins and flavor compounds that give sweet tea its backbone. Once it hits a full boil, remove the pan from the heat immediately.
Fresh cold water makes better tea than water that has been sitting or reboiled. Start with the coldest tap water you have. - 2
Steep the tea
Add your pinch of baking soda to the hot water first. This is the old Louisiana trick my grandmother Evangeline swore by: the baking soda neutralizes the tannins that make tea bitter and cloudy. Now add your tea bags, pushing them down gently to submerge. Let them steep for exactly ten to fifteen minutes. No more, no less. Walk away if you must, but set a timer.
- 3
Dissolve the sugar
Remove the tea bags and squeeze them gently against the side of the pot with a spoon. Now, while the tea is still hot, add your sugar. Start with one cup if you prefer it less sweet; go to one and a half cups for proper Louisiana sweetness. Stir until every crystal dissolves completely. You should see the tea transform from murky to clear as the sugar incorporates. This is the only way: sugar will not dissolve properly in cold liquid, and you will end up with grit at the bottom of your glass.
The sweetness should hit you immediately, then the tea flavor should come through. If you taste only sugar, you have gone too far. If it tastes like tea with a hint of sweet, you have not gone far enough. - 4
Dilute and chill
Pour the concentrated sweet tea into a gallon pitcher. Add cold water until you reach the gallon mark, stirring to combine. The tea will lighten to that perfect amber color, like late afternoon sun through cypress trees. Taste it now and adjust: a little more sugar dissolves fine while the tea is still warm. Refrigerate until thoroughly cold, at least two hours.
- 5
Serve properly
Fill tall glasses to the brim with ice. Pour the cold sweet tea over the ice, letting it cascade down and chill even further. The glass should frost immediately with condensation. Add a lemon slice if you like brightness, a sprig of mint if you want that garden freshness. At Lagniappe, we serve it in mason jars with a long spoon, because that is how sweet tea should arrive at your table: honest, generous, and cold enough to make you close your eyes on a hot Louisiana afternoon.
Chef Tips
- •Use Luzianne or another Southern brand if you can find it. They blend their tea specifically for icing, which means less bitterness when brewed strong. Regular Lipton works fine in a pinch.
- •The baking soda trick is not optional if you want clear, smooth tea. Just a pinch, maybe an eighth of a teaspoon. More than that and you will taste it.
- •Sweet tea keeps for three to four days refrigerated, but it is best in the first two days. After that, the flavor starts to flatten and go stale.
- •For a crowd at your next barbecue, double or triple the recipe. Use a large stockpot for brewing and multiple pitchers for serving. At Lagniappe, we keep three pitchers rotating: one pouring, one chilling, one brewing.
- •If your tea turns cloudy, you either boiled the tea bags (never do this) or let them steep too long. The baking soda helps prevent this, but timing matters too.
Advance Preparation
- •Sweet tea can be made up to three days ahead and stored refrigerated. The flavor is best within the first 48 hours.
- •For parties, brew the concentrated tea (before diluting) the night before. Dilute and chill in the morning so it is ready by afternoon.
- •Pre-chill your serving glasses in the freezer for an extra touch. Frosted glasses keep the tea colder longer and look like you mean business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 450g)
Calories
110 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
10 mg
Total Carbohydrates
28 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
28 g
Protein
0 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Chef Remy's Beverages
Browse the full collection
Chef Remy
Georgia Peach Bourbon Smash
Ripe Georgia peaches muddled with good bourbon, brightened with fresh lemon and wildflower honey, then crowned with spicy ginger beer over crushed ice. Summer hospitality in a glass.
Chef Dean
Georgia Peach Sweet Tea
Sun-ripened peaches meet slow-steeped black tea in this honey-kissed Southern classic, cold-brewed overnight for a smoothness no boiled tea can match.
Chef Remy
Mint Julep
The quintessential Southern sipper: bourbon gentled by fresh spearmint and simple syrup, served over a mountain of crushed ice in a frost-kissed cup that begs you to slow down and savor the afternoon.