Sweet Tea anyone?

My friend, Wendy, blogs for al.com. She blogs about all things frugal and if you haven't checked out her blog in the past, I hope you'll take the time to do so! She's a beautiful person ~ inside and out and I feel blessed to call her friend. (And as much as I adore her, I guess you can tell by the title that this isn't an Ode to Frugal Mom blog...) I digress alot, don't I?

I have struggled on how to make tea. Sweet or unsweet - didn't really matter - it tasted gross either way. I like strong tea - not that weak tea like they serve at some restaurants (interestingly, those are the same restaurants that serve Pepsi products...correlation, asks the Coke product drinker?) Oh, I've digressed again, haven't I?

My friend posted a recipe on how to make sweet tea on her blog a couple of months ago and I finally tried it out of thirst desperation ;) and it's GOOD! I substituted the 2 cups of sugar for granulated Splenda and it's a little too sweet, so next time I'll try a little less, but other than that, It's GOOD! I made GOOD SWEET TEA! I know all my readers *cough* are wanting the recipe, so I want to share it with you:

Southern Style Sweet Iced Tea: Cheap and Delicious!
Posted by Wendy McCormick July 31, 2008 9:56 PM
Categories: Food
I love sweet iced tea. I especially love to drink it on a hot summer day with a slice of lemon and tons of ice.

My husband loves to drink Milo's Sweet Tea. I love the convenience of buying tea already made verses having to take the time and effort to brew it myself.

I used to buy Milo's Sweet Tea by the gallon until I realized how much money we were spending each year to buy our delicious drink.

Let's just say you buy two gallons of Milo's Tea each week. (That is a low estimate around our house... we can go through three gallons a week during the summer ---we don't drink many soft drinks.)

If you buy it at Sam's Club, you can get it for $1.99 per gallon. If you buy it at the grocery store, you are looking at around $2.49 per gallon.

Now for the math. Let's take an average of $2.25 per gallon of Milo's Tea multiply it times two for two gallons purchased per week. We are at $4.50 per week. Multiply that times 52 weeks in a year... You have spent around $250 per year (if you include tax) on iced tea!

To make your own sweet tea for a fraction of the price, here is my recipe:
Southern Style Sweet Iced Tea
3 family-size tea bags (I like Luzianne)2 cups granulated white sugar 8 cups cold water
Start with cold water. Bring it to a gentle boil. Add 3 family (large) size tea bags.Remove from heat and let it steep for at least 5 minutes (but no more than 10).Mix concentrated hot tea with 2 cups of sugar and stir well in tea pitcher. Add cold water until pitcher is full and stir to combine. Serve over lots of ice with a garnish of lemon. Enjoy!

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MMMMM, I'm loving my OWN SWEET TEA! I'm excited about this - can you tell? Y'all just don't know how many things of tea I've thrown out and it's almost shameful to be from Alabama and NOT be able to make any kind of tea. I can hold my head up high now :-). Thank you, Wendy. I heart you!




For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11