I was born and raised in northern Wisconsin (friends of mine in college used to jokingly refer to my hometown as "nearly Canada") and, as such, have been accustomed for the majority of my life to an outdoor environment closely resembling a walk-in freezer. While many individuals adore the icy weather and nearly immeasurable yearly snowfall of such northern climes, I personally have never quite taken to winter (actually, anything below 60*F is, in my opinion, too cold...you can imagine how well that went over growing up). Given the nearly-year-round exposure to temperatures well below freezing, my beverage preferences usually ran along the lines of "steaming"...cocoa, coffee, cider, and, of course, tea. Nothing in the world works to fend off a wintry chill quite like a huge mug of tea and over the years I have consumed thousands of piping-hot cups.
However, after marrying my Air Force pilot and moving south, I ran into something of a dilemma. Summers in Georgia are quite different from Wisconsin; going outside is here is more like walking into a sauna than the aforementioned freezer. Enter sweet tea. Such a highly-sugared version was, at first, an unsettling concept as I had until that point preferred my tea hot with cream and a minimal amount of sugar. However, I quickly learned - and was encouraged by my husband who, having lived in North Carolina for several years, has had a liking for the beverage for some time - that nothing refreshes you on a 95*F-with-86%-humidity day like a tall glass of ice-cold sweet tea. Unfortunately, despite multiple attempts, it soon became clear that even the gas station down the road from our house could apparently brew a better pitcher of the sweet stuff than I, a northern-Wisconsin import used to brewing only single servings of hot tea, could.
This is where the satellite dish guys came in. Yes, you read that correctly. After several months of the television set being used for nothing except movies and the occasional video game, we decided to have satellite dish service installed (I used the in-progress 2012 Summer Olympics and the upcoming NFL season as my primary reasons...someone didn't argue too much). As the day on which the company representative arrived to hook up our service was a typical mid-summer scorcher, I offered the gentleman a cold drink and listed the options we had on hand. When I mentioned "iced tea," his eyebrows went up and he asked (I now believe out of sheer curiosity given my "accent") what kind of tea. I had to admit it was bottled peach-flavored iced tea, which prompted a hearty laugh and an exclamation of, "You're not from the south, are you, ma'am?" I said no, I was not, and explained my (by now many) failed attempts at brewing an even halfway-decent pitcher of sweet tea. He asked me to collect a pencil and paper while he finished installing the dish components and then kindly offered me his mama's recipe/method; he even requested I show him the pitcher I would be brewing the tea in to determine how much tea and sugar I would need for a proper batch. Low and behold, after following his instructions the next day (I had to make a grocery store run to obtain the right type of tea), I finally had a pitcher of sweet tea I could serve to company and be proud of.
The DirecTV Guy's Mama's Sweet Tea (makes approximately 2 liters)
2 family-size "Luzianne" brand tea bags
2 liters + 1/2 C. cold water
3/4 C. white granulated sugar
Pour 2 liters of cold water into a large saucepan; add the tea bags and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the tea mixture 30-45 minutes until desired strength has been reached (apparently you can learn to tell by the color; I've just stuck with 35 minutes and have been happy with the results). Meanwhile, pour the sugar into the bottom of the pitcher in which you'll be serving the tea. Heat the remaining 1/2 C. of water to a boil and add to the pitcher, swirling to ensure all the sugar melts (basically you're making a simple syrup). Once the tea has finished steeping, remove the tea bags and pour the hot tea into the pitcher containing the water/sugar mixture. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until well-chilled (do not add ice while the tea is hot as this may alter the flavor of the tea and water the entire mixture down).
