Sweet tea

OK, OK. Enough already! I'll tell you the secret to great sweet tea - just quit pestering me.....

First, you have to have good tea. I only use Luzianne or Tetley, in the family size bags. You can use decafe but you have to use more sugar as the process for removing the caffeine leaves a bitterness.

Second, you have to have a coffee maker. It has to be dedicated to tea making. If you make coffee in it, your tea will taste like coffee. Yuck!

Third, you have to make it by the gallon (or by the 2 gallons, like I do!).

OK - so here goes...

Take 2 family-size tea bags and place in coffee maker. Pour in about half a carafe of water. Let it run through its cycle. Try to not leave cooking on the hotplate - it will turn dark and a little bitter.

In gallon pitcher, put 1 cup of sugar. Then pour in the hot tea. Mix until sugar is dissolved and fill the rest of the way with water. Give it another stir for good measure.

If you are making 2 gallons, leave the first 2 tea bags in the coffee maker and add a third. Pour in a full carafe of water and let it run through its cycle. Place 1 cup sugar in gallon pitcher and then add the tea, just like above.

If you don't have a dedicated coffee maker, you can make it on the stove top. Put a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a full boil. Remove from heat. Add your sugar (1 cup or 2, depending on if you are making 1 or 2 gallons) and stir until dissolved. Add tea bags and leave it to steep. I usually leave it for 30 minutes or so. Then put in pitchers and fill the rest with water.

And there you have it - the recipe for perfect sweet tea!! Now go grab a glass and relax a while on the porch watching the world go by. Don't forget to wave to your neighbors!!