Sweetened Iced Tea at it's Best

"Ecstasy is a glass full of tea
and a piece of sugar in the mouth."
Alexander Puskin


Growing up we would only drink iced tea during the summer months. The iced tea would be served along with a gracefully long- handled iced tea spoon with which you would add sugar one teaspoonful at a time according to your taste. I never really appreciated iced tea because the sugar would all settle to the bottom of the glass and it was like having a piece of sugar in the mouth when you get to the bottom of the glass,but the trick was enduring the nonsugared portion of the tea you must imbibe before getting to that sweetness.



Then I moved to the state of my husband's birth, and these people are the connoisseur's of sweetened iced tea! Drinking tea all year round was the first shocker, but by far the most pleasant surprise was" sweetened iced tea", meaning tea that was sweetened while it was hot and poured over ice. Now the sweet level is a matter of taste and I find that most around here prefer it a little sweeter than I do, but nonetheless, tea is my beverage of choice and I will choose it over anything else anytime and anyplace. Yes, it is truly ecstasy.
Note: Be sure not to order sweetened iced tea in my home state because you will get a glass of unsweetened tea and a long-handled spoon served on the side....trust me I sometimes forget!

A Good and Easy Recipe for Sweetened Iced Tea(2 quarts)

Pour 6 cups boiling hot water over 8 individual or 5 family- sized tea bags.

Cover and steep 20-30 minutes.

Put 1 cup sugar in pitcher and pour hot tea directly over the sugar( more if your sweet tooth requires more).

Stir until all sugar is dissolved , then fill the remaining pitcher with cold water. (I have the water run over the used tea bags in order to use up every bit of the tea water....why waste it?).

Lemon and mint leaves are an added treat.