my daddy's sweet tea.

09 December 2008

sweet tea.
warning: this recipe is written in the native tongue of georgian.
so, please read this with your best paula deen accent.

my daddy's sweet tea:
(a lot of us pronounce daddy as 'diddy' in the south.)

oh, and the man taught me the "about" measurements ...
true southern gentleman right there.

about 2 cups of sugar:
(you can make it to your family's taste, but us southerners believe the sweeter the better.)
daddy said if you don't start with at least almost 2 cups, it ain't really sweet tea now is it???

about 6 tea bags:
daddy said, "rachel nicole, 5 makes your tea weak, 7 puts lead in your pencil, but 6 is like seeing a southern bell in a peach dress ... perfection."
(i swear to goodness that's what he said to me.)

about 1/2 pot of water:
he always used a regular boiling pan for this.
i have a medium sized saucepan that is used ONLY for tea.
and yeah, it matters that much.

in my daddy's words:
alright now darlin', take yer pan and put yer water in it.
dump in yer sugar and mix it around a second so it don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
ain't nothing worse than having that sugar stick to yer pan.
you want all that sweetness in that there tea.
not left in that pan sitting right there just going to waste.
add yer tea bags, out over high fire.
then, you let that sweetness just boil it's little heart out.
darlin', you'll know when yer tea is done when you can smell that tea a-brewin'.
and it's frothy looking.
get a pitcher.
only use it for tea rachel nicole.
you understand me???
cause i can't stand the taste of tea that's put in the lemonade pitcher.
if i would have wanted lemon in my tea, i'd go up north.
you understand me, young lady???
now, you fill that there pitcher about 1/2 way with ice.
and then dump in yer tea.
now, add yerself some cold water to yer empty pan.
you don't waste none of that sugar now, you hear me?
you wanna fill up that tea pitcher to the rim with cold water.
now go over there and get me a glass with some ice in it.
don't forget to rinse it out first.
and then pour me a glass of tea.
and then yer done, you can pour one for yerself if you 'ont to.

god bless my daddy's little heart.
i'll never forget the day he taught me how to make it.
i was knee-high to a grasshopper.
{11 years old.}

i taught my yankee hubby how to make it, exactly how daddy taught me.
he looked at me like i was nuts.
AND he said, "what do you mean by lemon in tea, go up north?"

i really hope y'all enjoyed this.
i miss my daddy SO much.
it's hard living in separate states.
but at least while i was writing this i almost felt like i was with him.

and yes ... i seriously make this EVERYDAY.

hope y'all enjoy.

xo, rachel

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24 comments:

Desiree said...

Too funny! I'm a transplant to east TN and wouldn't live anywhere else. I was lucky enough to marry a southern boy and they do like their tea sweet, LoL! Thanks!!

Eileen said...

ha-ha.. cute post. But wow that seems like a lot of sugar to me!
:-) I'm from the north!

Rachel T. said...

I so have a tea pan that sits on my stove all the time! It is only used for tea. The jug is the same way. I don't put quite that much sugar in, but I may have to try your recipe at least once.
~Rachel

quilterpolly said...

I love the tea...and that is how I drink mine. You can't get it to sweet. I totally relate to the lemon to..:} What a cute post. I hear you about missing your daddy and living in another state...I miss mine to and wish we could be closer!!!

Sit A Spell said...

OH my goodness...I'm laughin' when you said go up north for the lemon! I am a southern girl stuck in the north, bless my heart! I MAKE SWEET TEA EVERY DAY TOO! Yes, I have a special pot as well. Question: your pitcher...is it a gallon darlin' cause if it's 2 quarts, that is SWEET tea for sure! As a matter of fact...I think I need to make a pitcher for supper. I also lived in GA for a bit and am Irish/English : )

Anonymous said...

Awwww, you sure taught me how to make reeeeeeeeal sweet tea! I'd sure be lost without my Irish/Southern/Friends-Obsessed/Sweet-Tea Drinking Best Friend!!!

Love you lots!!!

Manders
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Nanette Merrill said...

Laughing - I can almost hear your southern voice tellin how ta make that there tea, pretty sweet.

You are so fun.

StitchinByTheLake said...

I had to read this to my husband - he doesn't speak southern! blessings, marlene

Cindy said...

Enjoyed that cookin'lesson from your Daddy! Gotta love that sweet tea...although I rarely drink iced tea anymore I still have to make it everyday for the boys & whoever else stops in...always lookin' in the frig for sweet tea! LOL
I picked up Paula Deen's kitchen journal for my oldest boy who's movin' out this weekend! He'd commented last week about me needin' to write out my recipes so they'll know how to fix em....includin' how to made sweet iced tea! Goin' to fill it out between now and Christmas!

Dionne said...

I know this post is old, but I just found it, and it's just about the best recipe post I've ever read! I LOVE sweet tea - w/lemon I'm afraid. But what can I say, I'm not a southerner. I'm printing out this post and putting it in my recipe book exactly as written!
Cheers,
Dionne

Little Bluebell (Adrianne) said...

Hi Rachel,

I came over from Old Red Barn's quilt a long. This is the best recipe ever!!! I'm a California girl (seven generations) but I've visited Georgia with my Mom and Grandma and we fell in LOVE with sweet tea. I love that you wrote it in you Daddy's voice. It made all the sweeter! :) Off to make a batch...

Joyce said...

This is so cute. I am a native New Mexican but my Mama was from East Texas and made sweet tea very much like this. She always put lemon in hers though, said she had to once she moved to New Mexico with our hard water. I still make tea every day, but after 40 years of drinking it sweet--I have gotten used to drinking it with no sugar--for health reasons. ; )

Sharon said...

HI! I'm new to your blog came by way of Alex at http://www.canadianhomelearning.blogspot.com/ looking for a calendar quilt thing, but then saw your Daddy's sweet tea recipe and had to check that out! My son makes the tea here and it is not too very good. So I doctor it up. No lemon? What about mint!? I loved this post! Thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

Sound bout how I'd make it...Love the way you typed it out...glad I stumbled upon your blog.
Christa

Mrs. Gamble said...

Thanks! I think that sounds amazing and I want to use it for a beverage at my wedding this summer. I LOVE tea...and your dad it right...it can't be too sweet!!

Jill

michelleml said...

This is how i make my tea everyday. It was too funny to read seeing how i make my tea the same way.
My Hubby is fro PA and he doesn't like tea this sweet so i water his down.

:)

Cheryl said...

I'm a transplant from Buffalo, New York to Virginia and sweet tea is not for me. I don't like it with lemon, either. I'll take my iced tea with 2 teaspoons of sugah, please. Your story is cute.

Kristin Wilson said...

Love your clever imagination, and your delightful sense of humor!! Keep it coming . . .

kelly said...

i just made this. it is perfect.

GG said...

Thanks for the 'Paula Dean' voice tip! It helped.

crafter1953 said...

That was a very good story and yes that was the way my Grandma made it real sweet and so do I because she taught me all I know about needle work and makin tea.

leanne said...

I must try this recipe - I've just finished reading out loud in my best pretend southern accent rachel nicole - and I don't know why but the whole time I had visions of that sweet southern boy (Josh Lucas) from sweet home alabama in my head !!

cbee said...

I'm a Georgia girl...been here almost 40 years! I grew up with words phrases like "you on't to?", and "I reckon." I think that sweet tea is probably responsible for all of the fillings in my teeth, but I love it! I loved reading this because it took me way back to when I learned to make tea, by watching my mama. :) Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

Sexy Me Boutique said...

I love that story! I'm a sweet tea 'oholic and make mine very much the same way! I think our momma's put sweet tea in our bottles!

Thanks for sharing! I love being from the South!!!

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