Sweet Tea by the Gallon

Not too long ago, McDonald’s introduced sweet tea in their restaurants (at least here in Charlotte). I haven’t had a chance to try it. Chick-Fil-A has had sweet tea for at least a few years, and it’s pretty good – though as I recall it’s rather pricey. Today, I found out that Aldi has started carrying sweet tea as well. I just had a glass, and it’s pretty good. At $1.39 per gallon jug, the price is right too.

Update: Beth made a good point, that people (even stateside) don’t know what exactly sweet tea is. So, here are a couple of recipes. In a nutshell, sweet tea is iced tea, but it is, well, sweet. No adding of artificial sweetness, and no adding of any sweetness after it’s cold. This process must be done while hot or it just isn’t the same.

Update: It turns out that Food Lion sells their tea in two flavors – sweet, and sweet with lemon – and two sizes – by the gallon and by the half gallon. It’s near the orange juice in the refrigerated section. At $1.49, it’s a bit more than what you’ll find at Aldi, but it tastes pretty good.


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14 responses to “Sweet Tea by the Gallon”

  1. Danny Avatar
    Danny

    Ok well sweet tea is made like this lol. At lease its how we make it down here in Texas and Louisiana. Take two lipton family size tea bags and put them into a sauce pan fill it 3/4 of the way full of water and boil. Boil the tea for about 3-4 minutes and pull off and pour it into the gallon pitcher. With the gallon pitcher you wanna add two cups of sugar and pour the hot tea over the sugar and at water till its full stir and enjoy :).

  2. Rook Avatar
    Rook

    I used to drink Coca-Cola like water, but the combination of the carbon dioxcide, acid, and caffeine was giving me horrific heartburn. I made the switch to Gatorade. I work outside in Florida, so I’m drinking 3 or 4 bottles a day in the Summer. I should drink plain water, but can’t bring myself to do it. The Gatorade helped me with my heartburn issue, but I really don’t need that much sodium. Enter Sweet Tea. First time I tried it was at McDonald’s, now I’m hooked. Turns out most restaurants are following McDonald’s and offering Sweet Tea. But, I need it in portable form to keep on my work truck. It’s very hard to find bottled Sweet Tea in plastic bottles. Now I’m thinking of buying a cooler and filling it with my own tea. I’m going to try some different recipes and see what works best. But I’ll be using bottled water to make it because the tap water here tastes lousy.

  3. dale montgomery Avatar
    dale montgomery

    all i can say is its the best dam sweet tea around

  4. Jacqui Grandstaff Avatar
    Jacqui Grandstaff

    I tried Arizona Sweet Tea about a year ago, and I’m addicted (REALLY)! I drink about 6 large (12 oz) cans a day (plastic jug is not the same taste). I can’t stop, and I’ve gained weight from all the sugar. I much prefer sweet tea to regular “sweetened” (bottled/canned) tea on the market. I think it is better because it has no lemon, it tastes more like “tea bags” (not powder), and the extra sugar holds up the flavor even if you add ice. I must mention one funny thing; Arizona sells (I live in NYC) a “version” of their Southern Sweet Tea…… UNsweetened (without any sugar or sweetener at ALL!!!!) Not diet, just sugarless. Duh… Anyway, most stores where I live don’t carry it, and I have withdrawals when I can’t get it. I’m looking for site to ship it to me.