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Half drunk mason jar with sweet tea, ice , and lemon it it with a lantern and green plant in the background.
KeepItSimpleAnnaSue

Making Sweet Tea with Tea Bags on the Stove

5 from 1 vote
Summertime is in full swing and making sweet tea with tea bags on the stove takes me back to my childhood and is a real treat that tastes like summer. All you need is ten minutes, sugar, and tea bags to make sweet tea that is mmm mmm good!
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 5 tea bags for iced tea
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5-9 cups water

Equipment

  • medium sized saucepan
  • pitcher

Method
 

  1. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan on the stove.
    Water bubbling and boiling in a pan.
  2. When it comes to a boil, take it off of the heat, and put 5 tea bags in it for 5 minutes.
    Tea bags steeping in a medium sized black saucepan.
  3. You can throw the tea bags away or keep them for a stronger tea.
  4. Carefully pour the tea from the saucepan into a pitcher.
    Tea being stirred in a glass pitcher.
  5. Add in 1 cup of sugar and stir until dissolved.
    Sugar waterfall going into a glass pitcher with tea in it.
  6. Pour in 4-5 more cups of water and stir.
  7. Refrigerate for at least four hours. The colder, the better.
  8. Serve over ice. You can add in lemon if you like.
    Mason jar full of sweet tea, ice, and lemon.

Notes

I like slightly, I repeat, slightly stronger tea. Instead of throwing the tea bags away, I leave them in the pan after I pour the five cups into the pitcher. I pour 4-5 cups of water back into the saucepan and let the used tea bags steep (sit in the water) for another three to five minutes. You don’t need to put it back on the heat for this. I then add that water to the pitcher. It is still simple and easy and is the way we like to have our tea.
To make a stronger tea, let the tea bags steep longer. The tea bags still have a lot to offer even after they have steeped in the water the first time. 
If you like a sweeter tea, add more sugar. 
However, if you like your tea less sweet, just decrease the amount of sugar that you add to it.