Sweet/unsweet Tea Recipe

Steep the tea

Bring 8 cups of fresh water to a rolling boil. Place 6 black tea bags (or equivalent loose tea in an infuser) into a heatproof 2‑quart (or larger) pitcher. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags, fully covering them, and let steep 5 to 6 minutes for standard strength or 8 minutes for stronger tea. Do not oversteep more than 10 minutes to avoid excessive bitterness.

After steeping, remove and discard the tea bags (or strain out loose tea). If you used tea bags and want a clearer brew, press each bag gently against the side of the pitcher with a spoon to extract the last bit of flavor, then discard.

Make simple syrup and sweeten

While the tea is still very hot in the pitcher, add 1 cup granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely (about 1–2 minutes). This creates a hot simple syrup blended into the tea so the sugar dissolves evenly. Taste and adjust: for less-sweet tea, start with 3/4 cup sugar; for more-sweet, increase up to 1 1/4 cups. If you want unsweetened tea, skip this step.

Add 4 cups of cold water to the brewed tea to bring it to serving strength and temperature. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust: if too strong, add up to 1 more cup cold water; if too weak, add a small amount of concentrated brewed tea or steep an extra tea bag in 1/2 cup boiling water for 2–3 minutes and add.

Fill a large pitcher or individual glasses with ice (about 6 cups of ice total for serving). Pour the tea over the ice. If making a large batch to chill, transfer the tea to the refrigerator and chill at least 1–2 hours before serving; add ice only to individual glasses to avoid diluting the whole batch.

Garnish each glass with a lemon wedge or thinly sliced lemon wheel if desired. Serve cold.

Storage: keep leftover tea refrigerated in a covered pitcher for up to 5 days. Stir before serving if separation occurs. For unsweetened tea, same storage; sweet tea may slightly thicken as it chills but will re-mix when stirred.