Val's Summertime Sweet Tea

This recipe rests through the winter months on the inside flap of my KitchenAid Mixer cookbook; but, when summertime arrives, out comes the recipe.

My friend, Valerie, gave me this recipe years ago.  It provides just the right 'quench' to that summertime heat - dry, hot, thirst we all have here in the South.

This is a Southern, pass it along, kind of recipe.  So, there will not be precise measurements.  I'm writing this blog post the way I hear her instructing me in my head.

In a gallon jug (glass is prettier, but all I have is plastic - it works just fine), mix 3 quarts of cool tap water and 7 regular size Lipton tea bags.  Sit the jug out in the sun all day and let the tea steep.

Bring the jug inside, and remove the tea bags, squeezing to extract all the tea's essence. (As hot as it gets here in the South, most of that essence was extracted hours ago.)

To this water/tea steeped mixture, add 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (the original recipe uses 2 cups granulated sugar here.  The South loves their sweet tea, but that's just a little too much sweet for me!)  Stir well to dissolve the sugar.

Add 1 cup white grape juice

Add 1 package Kool Aid Lemonade mix.

Stir well to combine all ingredients.

Place in refrigerator to get really cold.

I like this served in a tall glass with very little ice (glass above is from Grandmother Pearl, who was born in 1891).  The ice dilutes the Summertime Sweet Tea too much, in my opinion.

Enjoy!

Thanks, Valerie. 

 

Here's a glass of tea to you.