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S/o Southerners, do you boil your tea?


KarenNC
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Southerners, when you are making ice tea do you steep it (pour boiling water over the tea bags and let it sit) or boil it (boil the tea bags along with the water? There's a discussion on the hotdish thread about whether this may be regional within the South, so if you're willing, include your area.

 

I'm from NC and I've always steeped, as did my mother (also from NC).

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MD, for what its worth. My mom boils tea bags in water, then pours it into the pitcher with more cold water. We used to add sugar.

 

Edit: the tea bags and formerly boiled water sit for a while first.

Edited by Guest
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I used to bring a pan of water and tea bags just to almost boiling, then turn the heat off, cover, and let set for however long (depending on when I got back to it). Now I boil water in my electric kettle and pour it over the bags in the pan, cover, and let it set. I don't let it set until it is cool, though. Then I pour the tea in the pitcher with more water and sugar. 

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My family steeped, but we were transplants as my folks were born and  raised in Pennsylvania. Dh's family was born and raised in the south and they boil. 

 

My family's tea is lighter and less sweet while tea dh's family makes is more concentrated and very sweet. 

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Boil a pot of water. Add tea bags and let steep, preferably for 24 hours. Then put a bunch of sugar in the pitcher, add the steeped tea, add water until the pitcher is full, and stir.

 

I grew up in Georgia. I rarely make iced tea these days.

Edited by purpleowl
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But then again, that mr coffee thing we used steeped, so maybe it does work well. Idk. I just go to Chick-fil-A and zaxbys to get my sweet tea fix.

Ohhhh chik's sweeeeeet teeeeea. mc'd is a poor substitute but it's on the way.

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Deep South - steep. If you want to get picky, in a stainless steel pot. Bring water to a boil, remove from heat and add tea bags. After about 10 minutes remove bags and add sugar for the "hot melt" before icing.

I'm in Indiana and this is what I do (I was taught by someone who lived in SC)

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

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NC -- steep.

 

I put hot faucet water in a small pot to preheat it  while I boil water in an electric kettle. Then I empty the water in the pot, pour the boiling water over the tea bags and allow them to steep for 12-15 minutes. Mix with more water and ice to make however much tea (sometimes I make a half gallon and sometimes a gallon).

 

I have boiled. One of my best friends (born and raised here) boils. I seem to vaguely remember that my paternal grandmother boiled. i can't tell a tremendous difference in steeped versus boiled.

 

Everyone I know makes a concentrate.

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I'm not sure if I count as a southerner. Born in NJ and spent my first 13 years there. 40+ years in Florida, which is kind of southern but kind of not and depends on which part of the state you live in.

 

That said, no I don't boil tea. Neither do dh's Tennessee relatives. 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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Arkansas. Steep. 

 

 

Arkansas, steep also.  I can still hear my 8th grade home ec teacher yelling 'Don't boil the tea!!'  (as she was frantically removing the boiling tea from the burner because well, someone was boiling the tea--not me because my mom raised me right.  ;))

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I grew up boiling. I’m pretty shocked at all these steeper’s. Now I just bring it to a simmer. I like my tea strong. My in laws steep, but they like weak tea, it’s basically flavored water.

But like others have said, boil it for a few minutes then let it sit until the rest of dinner is done. Tea is always the last thing you make. You can always heat it back up so the sugar will dissolve.

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Midwestern parents, raised in the South. 

Both?  Bring bags & water to a boil, then turn off the heat and steep for 30 minutes before adding sugar and cold water to make a gallon.

 

ETA: I've only busted bags once, when I forgot to turn the heat off soon enough.  I set timers now.  :)

Edited by CES2005
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I have good memories of my mom making sun tea on the ledge of our deck in California. She had a special clear pitcher and everything.

 

I should totally do that for my kids in the summer, they’d love it. She used a fruity black tea (like a mango black) and sweetened it with some stevia. It was so good!

I've heard it's a good way to get sick. Never got sick from it as a kid, though, or from raw cookie dough either. :laugh:

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If I leave the tea out overnight instead of putting it in the fridge (after removing the tea bags), it gets a weird taste to it which I think of as old or sort of fermented, even without sugar. Likewise sometimes I'll get tea out somewhere and it tastes what I describe as stewed or almost burnt.

 

I've made sun tea, but that stays out longer without getting the off flavors because it's not a high heat.

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Seriously?  no one but me and the one person in the other thread was raised boiling it???

 

 

I was raised boiling it.  pan full of water with a large red diamond tea bag, then put in pitcher and fill with 1 cup sugar and tap water.  My MIL still makes it that way.  My mother was from Miami when she moved hear in 1968 and my grandma taught her this method.  My mom would leave the tea bag in.  yes her tea of potent LOL

 

Its a very strong bitter tea compared to other methods.

 

Once I started making money and trying different in southern restaurant I went to the  this method

 

bring pan of water to boil/pour over tea bags, seep tea bags for 5 min,  add cup of sugar and water.   I also only use filter water.  It makes all the difference LOL

 

We have a local restaurant that started selling their tea by the jug  Milo's  Its so addictive.  

 

In Alabama sadly babies are fed tea in their bottles.  We still have a lot of baby teeth rot.

 

Also we have lots of diabetes which I'm sure our sugar/tea culture doesn't help

Edited by Cafelattee
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If I leave the tea out overnight instead of putting it in the fridge (after removing the tea bags), it gets a weird taste to it which I think of as old or sort of fermented, even without sugar. Likewise sometimes I'll get tea out somewhere and it tastes what I describe as stewed or almost burnt.

 

Yes. I dislike "old" tea. I get that taste even if it's been in the fridge for much more than 24 hours.

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Steep it.  Bring water to a boil, remove from heat, add tea bags and steep for about 12 minutes.

 

Remove tea bags and squeeze all liquid out of them.  Add sugar and stir occasionally until all dissolved.

 

(Louisiana and SC)

 

Same, except I don't boil all the water. If I'm going to make say a gallon of tea, I'll boil a quart, steep it and add sugar, then add the other 3 quarts. It gets cooled faster that way.

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Now, who here has had sun-tea? My grandma used to make her sweet tea that way back in East Texas. I vividly remember a big glass jar full of water and teabags sitting on a stump in the sun for hours.

 

This is what I do for parties.  I keep the ginormous glass container with the spigot at the bottom just for that.  

I figure that this is my version of the punch bowl with little glass cups that my mom brought out for parties in the 70's.   

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Boil water, pour water in a pitcher and steep tea bags for 10 minutes.  For a gallon of tea, I add half a cup a sugar to the hot concentrated tea then add ice to fill the pitcher.  Adding Ice instead of more water makes it taste sweeter with less sugar.

That's why we have two ice makers.   ;)

 

I make at least a gallon of tea every day.

 

 

Edited by Frosch
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