I’ve always had a fascination with the American south, y’all.
Good food, friendly accents, warm
weather…and sweet tea. Last time I went down South was on my Roadtrip to
Disney, when we drove through Michigan to Ohio, then Kentucky, then Tennessee,
then the long part of Georgia, and finally to sunny Florida. We stopped at
probably 10 McDonaldses for pee breaks, lunch, coffees, etc., and that’s where
I learned what the deal is with Sweet Tea.
I know it’s probably bad that McDonald’s introduced me to it…but
seriously, it is so good. Up here in Canada, ‘iced tea’ is a very strange
thing. It comes in a can, and it really…doesn’t taste like anything
recognizable. It definitely doesn’t taste like tea (not that it is bad though).
But in the south Sweet Tea is actual brewed tea, with a
buttload of sugar in it (probably at McDonald’s it was HF corn syrup which is
why I am now addicted). It’s like…sweeter than should be appetizing. And good.
I’ve tried to re-create the taste up here, but it was never
quite the same. I thought maybe it was because I was doing it wrong – sweet tea
has to be drunk outside, from a big glass with a straw, when it is hot and
sunny. And probably you should be wearing a big Kentucky derby-style hat (I
didn’t go that far).
Time was ticking – it was already September, and I thought I’d
missed my window on the hot day thing, but luckily the weekend after labour day
was still hot and summery. So I made the Sweet Tea – and yep tasted better that
way. Especially with a good book.
My recipe:
Make some strong-ass Orange Pekoe tea (I used 6 bags of Tetley
in one tea pot). Stir in a lot of sugar. Like, almost a 3/4 cup or more, for
real. Fill a pitcher with ice, and pour the hot, sweetened tea over. It won’t
be cold enough, so refrigerate until it is chilly and drink in a tall glass
with ice and a straw.
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