Corn Free Southern Sweet Iced Tea
Sweet, refreshing, and deeply Southern, this iced tea is the kind of drink that turns an ordinary afternoon into something worth savoring. The recipe keeps things beautifully simple — just water, black tea bags, and granulated sugar — which is exactly what makes it such a reliable choice when you're avoiding corn-derived ingredients. Many store-bought sweet teas and flavored syrups sneak in corn syrup or dextrose, so brewing your own from scratch is the smartest way to stay in control of what's in your glass. Dissolving the sugar directly into the hot tea concentrate ensures every sip is evenly sweet without any grainy texture. The trick of not squeezing the tea bags is a small but meaningful step that keeps the flavor smooth and mellow rather than bitter. Serve it over a tall glass of ice with a lemon slice or a sprig of fresh mint, and you've got something that looks and tastes like it came from a front-porch pitcher in the best possible way.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 8 cup water
- 6 black tea bags (family-size or regular)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
For serving
- ice, for serving
- lemon slices, for serving (optional)
Can be omittedlemon
- fresh mint sprigs, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Bring 4 cups of water to a full boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the tea bags, and steep for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the tea bags without squeezing them — squeezing releases bitter tannins.
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