Sweet Tea

[Muley]

I met Bill at the Arkansas Rally last month. He walked up to me, looked at my HD&M EV and said "that's the best looking color combination on any Guzzi". I knew right away that either 1) He was being sarcastic or maybe had been around Wayne Orwig too much, or 2) He owned another HD&M. The latter turned out to be correct, so it was only fitting that Bill and I decided to sample some of the great Ozark roads together. We rode a roughly 150 mile, clockwise route from Eureka Springs over to Harrison, then south to Fallsville, west to Hwy. 23 (which I think is called the pig trail or maybe pig path) and then north to Huntsville and back to the POB. The roads and scenery were great except for a stretch of fresh pavement with tar and (loose) gravel. Huntsville seemed like a good place to stop and find some food and relax for a while. We stopped at a local cafe and went inside to the welcome cool air and protection from the sun.

I ordered the lunch special as did Bill, and I asked for sweet iced tea. Normally, in Georgia, I just ask for tea and it's a given that it will be sweet. In fact, if one wants unsweetened tea, then it usually must be asked for specifically. Now I realize that much of the USA is unenlightened and does not have pre-sweetened, iced tea. How many times have I heard a waitress say (with a somewhat annoyed look) "there's sugar on the table, and you can sweeten it" ? Folks, it simply is not the same ! Proper iced tea must be sweetened while it's warm so the sugar will all dissolve and not just swirl around in the glass and settle to the bottom, and it's always best if served right after brewing. In fact, I prefer to have my iced tea served hot off the stove top and poured over ice to cool it and dilute it just the right amount for maximum enjoyment. Left over iced tea, after being stored in the refrigerator for hours, or even longer, is far inferior to that which is fresh brewed.

To my amazement, Bill had never partaken of real sweet tea ! Let me digress just a bit. You see, he lives in St. Joseph, Missouri, which is apparently outside the "sweet iced tea zone". When the waitress took my drink order, she asked Bill if he would also like sweet tea. His reaction was much the same as if she had asked him if he also wanted mountain oysters, hog brains, or livermush. He said something like "oh no, I don't think I want to try that". By this time, I was intently studying his face to see if he was kidding, but he was genuinely afraid to drink it. I convinced him to give it a try and even put a lemon slice in for good measure. It actually took a little convincing, but he finally sucked it up and bravely said yes.

After three or four glasses, he was a convert.

I just hope he (or his wife) doesn't screw it up and make some undrinkable concoction. After all, preparation of proper sweet iced tea, like grits, is more art than science, and it's not as easy as it seems.

 

[Roblatt]

OK Muley,

I've never tried that stuff! I'm a coffee man. However, I'll give your sweet ice tea a go. Now I want the recipe.



cheers

Robert

 

[Holt]

Really, sweetened tea makes me sick.
So; it's easier for you sugar addicts to sweeten your tea than it is for me to un-sweeten the tea. Right? :laugh:

A good twist of lemon will do it.

 

[contractor20]

I'm with Holt on this one but I'm also a die hard coffee fanatic ....black and strong. The only time I drink tea is bailing and carting hay and then it has to be hot, black, strong and with lemon .

Hey thats sorta how I like pancakes too:silly: :silly: :silly: :silly:
The sugar bowl in my house doesn't get used from one week to the next

PS. G'day rob, we'll have to wean you off the red wine first:laugh: :laugh:

 

[Muley]

Roblatt said:

I've never tried that stuff! I'm a coffee man. However, I'll give your sweet ice tea a go. Now I want the recipe.

And Holt added:
Really, sweetened tea makes me sick.
So; it's easier for you sugar addicts to sweeten your tea than it is for me to un-sweeten the tea.


Allright, but remember, this is much more an art than a science. This is directly from my wife, who makes sweet tea every day and is very good at it. YMMV


First add about 2/3 cup of sugar to a standard pitcher (about 1/2 gal. size), add enough hot tap water to fill about 1/4 the pitcher, and let it stand while you're doing the rest. The sugar must dissolve before you add the brewed tea.

Using a boiler (or pot as some call it), boil about 1 qt. of water. When it comes to a full boil turn off the heat and add two family sized tea bags (Luzianne brand is our favorite). Steep for around 30 minutes with the stove top off.

Add the brew to the pitcher, which by now should have a "slurry" of dissolved sugar. Finish by topping off the pitcher with cool tap water.

Note: The amount of sugar can be varied to suit individual tastes as well as the time the tea bags are steeped. It is a matter of trial and error, so please be patient since it's well worth the experimentation:laugh:



Holt, you might be getting sweet tea that is either way too sweet or too strong or both. I cannot tolerate extremely sweet drinks either, and if the brew is also strong, it's not very tasty or easy on the stomach. As I said in the first post, the warm tea poured over ice further dilutes it and makes it just right. After the mixture cools, it can become too strong.

I suggest you vary your sugar amount and brewing time to get a finished product that is clear and easy to see right through, not dark and murky. Proper iced tea is amber colored and clear.

And absolutely not, you cannot sweeten tea after it cools, so it's better to make both types, unsweetened and sweetened if you have some strange people who don't like the sweetened variety

Don't expect to achieve perfection the first few times. Like most good cooking, this really is something that takes practice.

Of course, any of you are invited to our house to sample the real deal whenever you're passing by

 

[Muley]

contractor20 said:

then it has to be hot, black, strong and with lemon .

Hey thats sorta how I like pancakes too

Well, I don't know about hot, black, strong and with lemon pancakes but I'll try most anything once.



Important addendum to the sweet tea recipe:

Water quality is all-important. We use tap water because our source is a deep well, and we're fortunate enough to have excellent tasting H2O. However, if you live in a city and have chlorinated water or have other substances like sulphur, etc. then you would be well advised to use a filter or some type of bottled water.

Whatever you use to make coffee, hot tea, etc. will work just fine. Don't expect good tasting sweet tea if your main ingredient is foul tasting water:S


Incidentally, I drink strong, black coffee with no cream or sugar, hot teas (of all kinds) with nothing added and don't consider myself a sugar junkie at all. What we're talking about here is a unique beverage that MUST be sweetened when it is made and while hot. Do not confuse this with iced tea that you add sugar to after the fact. It's a matter of opening your mind to other ways of doing things.


Next project - grits:woohoo:

 

[Holt]

Muley wrote:

Of course, any of you are invited to our house to sample the real deal whenever you're passing by

Thank you.

I don't use tea bags either, but prefer FOP Darjeeling brewed the proper way, in a pre-warmed teapot, 4-5 minutes.
A little kinky, I admit. I want it perfect - that's why I'm riding a Guzzi. :side:

Cool that tea in the fridge, add some freshly pressed lemon juice - and you got the supreme quencher for really hot days.

 

[RJVB]

The supremest beverage for really hotter days is the mint tea you get served in North Africa. Steaming hot, cooled off just by the art of pouring it from as high as one can and, depending on the country, sweetened or SWEETENED.

Yum. Now I'm dying for a succulent lamb-and-prunes tajine...

 

[Holt]

RJVB wrote:

The supremest beverage for really hotter days is the mint tea you get served in North Africa. Steaming hot, cooled off just by the art of pouring it from as high as one can and, depending on the country, sweetened or SWEETENED.

What!? Not Coke ? :blink: B)

 

[StormShearon]

Muley

big +1 on the Luzianne tea. I order mine from the factory as no one in Washington state carries it. Of course, there arn't too many people out here who know what sweet tea is all about anyway. I acquired a taste for it after a business trip to Montgomery, Alabama. Really good when made correctly. I usually keep a pitcher in the fridge. I use a slightly differetn recipe, but will have to try yours the next bathc I make.

 

[RJVB]

Africa, Anders, not America

I suppose they do know Coke in the Maghreb, but probably as the powerful rust-remover it is

 

[Muley]

StormShearon said:

I acquired a taste for it after a business trip to Montgomery, Alabama. Really good when made correctly.

Yep, I don't know of anyone who doesn't like it better when pre-sweetened. The part about "made correctly" is important. Sweet tea is so common around here, it is often of horrible quality, so please don't order some at a restaurant in the South and use the taste of that one sample to judge it. Homemade is always best. Of course, I like unsweetened iced tea also, just not as much in especially hot weather. I also love a slice of lemon in mine (and make sure to squeeze it before dropping it in the glass).

Wait a minute, I hear the boss lady announcing supper is ready, and I know some fresh tea is waiting downstairs

 

[Roblatt]

contractor20 wrote:
[q

PS. G'day rob, we'll have to wean you off the red wine first:laugh: :laugh:[/quote]

Some times dead is better (quote from Stephen King's book "Pet Cemetary")

Rob

 

[Mike.C]

Well being a bit of an ocker I prefer billy tea.

Here is how.

The billy itself is simply a kind of metal cooking pot with a lid and a bucket handle that goes on the fire. The water is boiled and tea made all in the same pot. For a family choose one of 1 to 2 litres, but for a larger gathering you need a billy of perhaps 10 litres or more. It will soon be blackened and sooty on the outside but clean and shiny inside, which adds to the authenticity.

When you travel with your swag in the Outback you don’t carry fresh milk. It is traditional to flavour billy tea with tinned sweetened condensed milk, but the flavour is not one everyone likes. You will need:

1. Strong black tea (any kind, fresh if possible)
2. Billycan of suitable size
3. Water (clean and fresh if possible)
4. Campfire, and somewhere to put the billy
5. Tin mugs (250 ml or larger)
6. Gum leaf (optional)
7. Milk, sugar or condensed milk, as available.

How to go about it:

1. Fill the billycan with water: at least 250 ml per person.
2. Cover with lid and put on the fire to boil.
3. When the water boils, take off the fire by lifting the handle with a stick and remove lid. Be careful – everything is very hot.
4. Sprinkle tea on top of water: a handful for a family billy, several handfuls for a big one.
5. Drop in the gum leaf for its distinctive flavour (optional).
6. Wait. After about 5 minutes the tea leaves will suddenly drop to the bottom. Tapping the side of the billy with a stick may help (at least many people do it!).
2. Alternatively (if you are brave), grab the billy handle with an oven mitt or other suitable insulator (if your tea is hot)
3. Swing quickly around in a full circle three times bringing it back up past your knee then back over your shoulder and so completing a full circle each time. The reason for doing this is that it drives practically all of the tea-leaves to the bottom of the billy so you can pour a drink without filling the cup with tea leaves.
4. Stopping without spilling any water can be a bit tricky, make sure you practice before using hot water.
7. Pour carefully into tin mugs leaving tea leaves in the bottom of the billy.
8. Flavour with milk, sugar or condensed milk if liked.

The tea is strong, invigorating and a surprisingly good flavour. An Australian bush barbeque would definitely not be the same without billy tea. It goes particularly well with damper and jam or golden syrup, but that is another story!

A gum leaf means a young, green leaf of a eucalypt tree. These are available in a surprisingly large number of places outside Australia, but it is very much an acquired taste.

Tradition is that the dregs of the tea from cups and billy are poured into the fire to help put it out before leaving the camp.

 

[Muley]

Mike. C said:

Swing quickly around in a full circle three times bringing it back up past your knee then back over your shoulder and so completing a full circle each time. The reason for doing this is that it drives practically all of the tea-leaves to the bottom of the billy so you can pour a drink without filling the cup with tea leaves.

Very interesting. I wonder if our old campfire method of settling coffee grounds will work with tea? We traditionally use egg shells from the breakfast, added to the big coffee pot to help settle out the grounds. I never knew if it actually worked better than just letting it sit, but, WTH, it's a tradition

 

[SgtCrump]

Muley wrote:

Mike. C said:




Very interesting. I wonder if our old campfire method of settling coffee grounds will work with tea? We traditionally use egg shells from the breakfast, added to the big coffee pot to help settle out the grounds. I never knew if it actually worked better than just letting it sit, but, WTH, it's a tradition

Easier to just run it through the sock you wore the day before.....catches all the grounds.....

 

[Roblatt]

SgtCrump wrote:

Muley wrote:

Mike. C said:




Very interesting. I wonder if our old campfire method of settling coffee grounds will work with tea? We traditionally use egg shells from the breakfast, added to the big coffee pot to help settle out the grounds. I never knew if it actually worked better than just letting it sit, but, WTH, it's a tradition

Easier to just run it through the sock you wore the day before.....catches all the grounds.....

and adds extra flavour too!