Decaf sweet tea?

[SASM]

Calling all of the Southern belles...

I just came back from NC and have found myself addicted to Sweet Tea! I normally love the stuff but with the hot weather it had been especially yummy. Unfortunately, I could not find any decaf out there on our trip (or at home at Chick-Fil-A). So...as simple a recipe as Sweet Tea is, does anyone have any favorite recipes for a DECAF version?? I would also like to try it out with Splenda ~ any specific measurements for sugar or Splenda? Favorite tea brands and methods for infusion?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I know...Being pregnant I should only drink water or milk; however, in the summer heat, sometimes a girl's tongue needs more than water to satify!! :) I also fell in love AGAIN with GRITS!! YUM!!! :)

[trentsmom]

Mmmmm - sweet tea! I do believe you've just flung a craving on me!

I've never used decaf tea. No, I take that back. I tried using decaf when I was pregnant, but I didn't care for it. It didn't seem to have enough "tea" flavor for me. But I only tried Lipton brand. Maybe another brand would work better for decaf.

So, here's how I make mine:

This makes 2 quarts

Boil some water and a pinch of baking soda in a small saucepan. (The baking soda helps with the sometimes bitter taste.)

When it's boiling, remove from heat, add 1 cup of Splenda and 8 tea bags (I use 6 Luzianne and 2 Plantation Mint). Cover with a lid and let sit for a while - at least 20 minutes. I've even forgotten about it and let it sit for an hour!

Remove tea bags, pour into pitcher, add water to make 2 quarts.

Now, for some reason I think it tastes sweeter when it's completely cold from the fridge.

OK, now I need to go make some. Should be nice and cold for breakfast!

[SASM]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Chantel!

Yesterday, I found a recipe on www.allrecipes.com since there were no bites on here and I was DESPERATE in the 90 degree heat! It didn't come out as I had hoped but it could be b/c I was using decaf Irish Breakfast, which is my usual tea. I like my tea VERY strong and this didn't quite do it for me.

So...my questions for you are:

1) Did you use reglar Splenda or the Splenda Blend? Yesterday my pregnant brain was hurting just as much as my back and sciatica b/c I was trying to figure out how many packets I should use to equal 1 1/4c sugar. UGH!!!!

2) How much water do you use when you are making the brewed tea? If this recipe makes 2 quarts, are you using 1 1/2 quarts of water to make the brew? I think that this amount will affect the strength of the outcome. :)

I sooooo want sweet tea but am afraid that I'll drink the entire pither in one afternoon. I definitely do not need all of the sugar!!

THANK YOU!!

[trentsmom]

>1) Did you use reglar Splenda or the Splenda Blend?
I use regular Splenda - the big bags I get at Costco. I've sometimes done a mix of sugar & Splenda. As long as I've got the equivalent sweetness of 1 cup of sugar.


>2) How much water do you use when you are making the brewed
>tea? When I brew the tea, it's more like I'm making a tea concentrate. I probably boil about 4 cups of water. Maybe more. Depends on what size pot is clean! :) And you might want to add less water at the end to make a little less than 2 quarts of tea. The ice cubes water down the tea a bit. My tea this morning seemed a bit thin since I think I added too much water last night.

>I sooooo want sweet tea but am afraid that I'll drink the
>entire pither in one afternoon.
It's easy to drink the whole pitcher in an afternoon! You'd like what my great-grandmother always said when she sat down to a big meal and had sampled everything, "Well, I do believe the tea's the best."

Hope you get your tea fix soon! I'm having my tea right now. :)

[ajmom]

Hmmm, seeing as we make make tea all the time, I never thought of it as a recipe! ;)

I use Luzianne Decaf tea bags regularly. I put 4-5 bags into my 2-cup glass measuring cup, fill it with water and microwave it about 5 minutes (needs to boil).

In the meantime, I put 1 c. (or a little less) sugar into my pitcher. When the tea's done in the microwave, I pour it over into the pitcher and stir. You want to dissolve the sugar while the water is hot. When the sugar is dissolved, I fill the rest of the pitcher with water. Voila!

I've never used Splenda b/c I don't like the aftertaste, but I think you use is cup-for-cup like regular sugar.

Also, never squeeze your tea bags- it makes your tea bitter. I know it's tempting to get every last drop of water out of them but it isn't necessay and may ruin the taste.

[crayonblue]

OH, I LOVE sweet tea!

Let's see, here's how I make mine:

Boil 8 cups of water. Pour water into whatever you have to steep the tea in. I use a large glass measuring cup. Add 2 large Lipton iced tea bags (Decaf works just fine) and 3 small peppermint herb tea bags. I then cover the tea with foil so none of it escapes! Steep for as long as you like. I usually just leave it steeping for 10-15 minutes or so. Take bags out and add sugar. Ok, I'll admit that I use plain old sugar- anywhere between 1/2 and 3/4 cup. I cannot get it to taste right with Splenda. :(

I then pour the tea into a pitcher and add some ice and refridgerate.

A friend of mine steeps tea with whole cloves and her tea is fabulous!

Oh, and I love grits too! :)

[elephantmeg]

Our family (parents) live on decaf iced tea year round. We buy the family size lipton decaf iced tea bags. Their method. Boil a kettle of water. Take a 2 qt pitcher and add a family size decaf iced tea bag and tie it to the handle (easier to get out). Add the kettle of boiling water. When it's steeped (15 min to an hour or before you need it!) take the tea bag out and add water to fill the pitcher (or ice if you need it soon) and we use 1/3 c sugar or splenda to a pitcher. Less sweet than say Hardees etc but still good. My method. Take a 10 cup coffee maker (and I really almost never use it for coffee). Fill it with water, put the tea bag in where the filter and coffee goes and brew it. Pour it into a pitcher, add water and sweetner.

[SASM]

My computer has been down for a while so I was only able to read Chantel's first post before I really started to experiment (I didn't even get to jot the recipe down so it was by memory).

So...this is what I finally came up with last night and it turned out perfect. :)

* Use a 1 gallon pitcher.
* Boil 3 qts water and then turn off heat. Add TEN family size Luzianne Decaf tea bags.
* Like Chantel, I let it steep for a while. I was intending for only 30 minutes or so but it turned into 1.5 hours. :)
* The tea was obviously cool so I nuked a mug to add to the Splenda to dissolve.
* Add 2 cups of Splenda to the empty pitcher and mix with the warmed up tea to dissolve.
* Add the rest of the tea to the pitcher. Add either water or a combination of ice cubes and water to make 1 gallon.

This is probably sooooo wrong but it was strong enough for my tastes. Tastes more like Chick-Fil-A. :) All of the other experiments that I've tried were quite watered down. I was HOPING to get by without using so many tea bags but I guess that is what I will have to do to get the desired strength.

THANK YOU!!! My poor baby is going to be swimming in decaf sugar-free sweet tea this summer. I HOPE to get over this craving soon but it doesn't seem to be waning. :( It's not like lemonade where I can quickly get off the kick by making it too tart. :)

[trentsmom]

Wow, that does sound like some really strong tea! But sometimes, you just need that great tea flavor. And what a great time of year to get this craving! There's nothing better than a cold glass of sweet tea when it's really hot outside.

I was thinking about this post this morning. The local paper had an article about sweet tea!

[SASM]

That is too funny! Is there a link to the article? :)

As for the strength of the tea, I would sooooo love to cut back on the bags to stretch out one box of bags but I cannot imagine 5 bags steeping for 1.5 hours being strong enough for me with a gallon container...and I really do NEED that gallon container!!! The gallon that I made last night is almost GONE! I will say that I have been trying to drink a glass of water in between each helping of tea to give the baby/me some healthy hydration and stretch out the gallon. YIKES!!! This craving has to end!!!! Like my bacon craving, I know that EVENTUALLY it will. Oh...I think I just started up the craving again. It REALLY is that easy for me. :(

[trentsmom]

This not from my local paper, but it is the article http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070530/LIFE/705300337

And I can't believe you've almost finished a gallon of tea! That is some craving! Wow, what pregnancy does to a body... If it makes you feel any better, I love bacon so much that I bet I could eat a pound of it by myself. I'm looking forward to tomatoes coming into season so I can have some BLTs!