Sweet Tea Takes the Edge Off

I'm a southerner and if there's one thing we southerners are known for (besides our funny accents) it's our sweet tea. And there's good reason for that; our sweet tea is far more addicting than crack cocaine and it's much more refreshing than virtually any other drink available.

Admittedly, it took me a while to get used to the idea of drinking tea. See, momma was a yankee of sorts who made her tea by setting it out in the sun to steep and adding only a little bit of lemon to the tea to take away the harsh taste.

It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties that I even learned how to make tea. I do believe that after years of practice, I finally have the art down enough to share with you.

I'm lazy, so I use my Mr. Coffee to make my tea. A word of caution: do not use a coffeepot that is used to make coffee in to make sweet tea. The coffee will ruin the taste.

Use three family-sized tea bags and 12 cups of water in the coffeepot. While Mr. Coffee is doing his job, you need to be doing yours. Mix two cups of sugar with a quart of hot water in your gallon-sized pitcher. Stir this until your sugar is dissolved completely.

Once the tea is done, you can add it to the pitcher with the sugar-water and stir well. Fill the remaining space in the pitcher with ice. Serve in a nice tall glass filled with ice. Perfect for sippin' on the front porch while the cars go by.

**The recipe may be reduced by half simply by using only 2 teabags and reducing the quantities of the water and sugar by half.