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Ingredients
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Sweet Iced Tea Base
Finish & Serve
Method
Sweet Iced Tea Base
Steep tea
Remove from heat and add the 6 black tea bags. Cover and steep for 5 minutes for a properly strong brew (steep up to 7 minutes for stronger flavor).
Dissolve sugar
While tea is still hot, add 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and stir until completely dissolved to make the sweet tea syrup. Taste and add up to 1 tablespoon more sugar if you prefer sweeter tea (this recipe targets approximately 180 calories per serving for a specified serving size).
Dilute and cool
Remove and discard the tea bags, then add the remaining 4 cups of cold water to the concentrated tea. Stir to combine and let cool to room temperature (about 20–30 minutes) or place in the refrigerator to chill for 30–40 minutes.
Finish & Serve
Fill four tall glasses with ice (about 1 cup ice per glass).
Pour the chilled sweet tea over the ice, dividing evenly among glasses (each glass yields approximately 1.5 cups of tea).