The New Intimacy

Unsweet vs. Sweet

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Contributor: Ansley Ansley
I can't ever remember a time when there wasn't a gallon of tea hanging out in the fridge. Mom always made it with a full cup of sugar and you could see the sugar form a syrup at the bottom of the jug. I never thought much about it until I met my husband who would order an unsweet tea at a restaurant and then add a packet of Sweet n Low.

A waitress brought me a Diet Coke instead of a real Coke one night and I was dying of thirst so I took a sip of his glass. I was hooked after that and slowly started dropping the amount of sugar I used in my tea. Now, I'm down from a full cup to a quarter or less cup of sugar for each gallon and it tastes so much more refreshing to me.

So, which do you prefer: sweet or unsweet iced tea? What's your ratio of tea/sugar?
10/26/2011
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Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
I do enjoy sweet tea, but I think my favorite is making unsweetened tea and than adding sugar to that and drinking the tea through a straw so I can crunch the sugar as I drink it.
10/26/2011
Contributor: karay123 karay123
I don't drink it so I'll speak for my husband. He prefers unsweetened. He seems to think it's a regional thing. Well, more like the South prefers sweetened.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I do enjoy sweet tea, but I think my favorite is making unsweetened tea and than adding sugar to that and drinking the tea through a straw so I can crunch the sugar as I drink it.
Hahaha, that's awesome!
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by karay123
I don't drink it so I'll speak for my husband. He prefers unsweetened. He seems to think it's a regional thing. Well, more like the South prefers sweetened.
I was born and raised in the south, husband is from up north. I used to be able to drink McDonald's sweet tea by the gallon and now I think I'd go into a sugar coma if I tried.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Vanille Vanille
Sweet tea! More sugar the better!

...I must just have a giant sweet tooth 'cos I'm not from the South. LOL
10/26/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
I was born and raised in the south, husband is from up north. I used to be able to drink McDonald's sweet tea by the gallon and now I think I'd go into a sugar coma if I tried.
McDonald's sweet tea is a little ... off. I can't quite put my finger on it but it seems to go bad, I guess you could say, a lot faster than if I just made sweet tea at home.

And I won't really drink it anymore. The day I got married, I had McDonald's for breakfast and I got a sweet tea. I remember leaving it in my car because hell, it was January and all it was gonna do was freeze. Well I forgot it in the car while we went on our honeymoon. When we came back and I went to take it out, it was frozen like I expected it to be, but all this syrup had oozed its way through the styrafoam cup and made the whole outside of the cup sticky. I had to get rid of the glove I was wearing when I picked it up lol.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ryuson Ryuson
(Review Program Mentor)
My boyfriend prefers unsweetened!
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
McDonald's sweet tea is a little ... off. I can't quite put my finger on it but it seems to go bad, I guess you could say, a lot faster than if I just made sweet tea at home.

And I won't really drink it anymore. The day I got ... more
Gross! I have noticed that about commercially prepared sweet teas, there's just something...off about them, as you say. I use Luzianne tea bags and I have a very specific way of brewing it. It's never bitter or anything like that. I think it took me six or seven years of making two gallons a week to figure out how to do it just right.

We left a Chic-fil-a bag in the car when we went on vacation, I thought we'd come back to a disgusting situation. But, it was completely unchanged with no odor and it had been almost a week of it sitting in the sun with temps at 70+ degrees. I think there was half a buttered biscuit and a couple of hashbrowns still in the bag. Hahaha, it's kind of scary when you think about it.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Kkay Kkay
Southern-style sweet tea is occasional. For tea-tea, I generally add a touch of sugar unless it's naturally sweet.

Tip for the sugar-at-the-bottom issue- whip up a batch of simple syrup and use it to sweeten instead of using pure sugar. Takes care of the melting issues.
10/26/2011
Contributor: KnK KnK
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
McDonald's sweet tea is a little ... off. I can't quite put my finger on it but it seems to go bad, I guess you could say, a lot faster than if I just made sweet tea at home.

And I won't really drink it anymore. The day I got ... more
Speaking as someone that worked at McDonald's for 2 years. I agree. I used to like it, now sweet tea, especially the stuff from MCD's makes me nauseous.

Let me share the amount of sugar in their tea. I can't remember how many industrial sized packets of tea are steeped for those massive keggers, but I believe it's around the number of 5.

Imagine a 5 lb bag of sugar. Now imagine pouring that 5 lb bag of sugar in that keg. You use a tiny bit of hot water to whisk the syrup into a syrup, then you add the rest of the tea an continue whisking until it is moderately blended.

Then, you leave the tea out for about 12 hours. When you know what they do, it makes most of the food a lot less tasty...
10/26/2011
Contributor: WhoopieDoo WhoopieDoo
Born and raised in the south, but my whole family's from up north so I was raised on unsweet.....which seems to be a foreign concept to many southerners.
10/26/2011
Contributor: domsub1993 domsub1993
I live very little sugar in my tea. Sometimes I will even drink unsweetened tea plain, with nothing added.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
Gross! I have noticed that about commercially prepared sweet teas, there's just something...off about them, as you say. I use Luzianne tea bags and I have a very specific way of brewing it. It's never bitter or anything like that. I think it ... more
That is kinda scary. Like Mountain Dew does that. I'll leave some in a cup for almost a week and all that's changed is it's flat with a little bit of dust lol.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ash1141 Ash1141
I love both. When I'm at a restaurant though, I will order unsweetened tea and add 2 packets of sweet n low to it. Yum!
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ansley Ansley
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
That is kinda scary. Like Mountain Dew does that. I'll leave some in a cup for almost a week and all that's changed is it's flat with a little bit of dust lol.
That stuff is the Devil. Mmhmmm. I do like Code Red Mountain Dew, but I pretty much stick with just Coke.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Pixel Pixel
Despite living in the South for the past 5 years, I cannot stand sweet tea. *shudders* It makes my teeth hurt.
10/26/2011
Contributor: lashes2000 lashes2000
I have only ever had sweet ice tea. I don't drink it often. I really don't like it that much anyhow.
10/26/2011
Contributor: chicken12 chicken12
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
That stuff is the Devil. Mmhmmm. I do like Code Red Mountain Dew, but I pretty much stick with just Coke.
Code Red Mountain Dew for me, too. I don't like the plain kind at all.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Adriana Ravenlust Adriana Ravenlust
I don't drink regular tea, it's always flavored. In the North, we're not so much tea drinkers
10/26/2011
Contributor: Katastophy Katastophy
I love sweetened tea. I like my hot tea sweeter than my iced tea though.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Hot'n'Bothered Hot'n'Bothered
Ick.....neither....
10/26/2011
Contributor: oldhippy oldhippy
I had the experience of growing up loving my tea so sweet that I would eat the sugar off the bottom of the glass with a spoon. My tea started as unsweet, then I would add the sugar. This lasted until I was about 11, then I was informed I was using wwaaaaayy too much sugar. I got to stop using sugar in my tea right after that. Since then, I have been drinking my tea, either hot or cold, without sugar. Even the 6 years that I lived in Georgia, I could not handle sweet tea. My wife loves sweet tea, as does my son who lives in Kentucky.
We (my wife and I) brew our own tea, but don't add sugar to the mix. We always use Luzianne tea bags for iced tea, but also add at least one of Constant Comment since we both love the flavor of Sun Tea.
10/26/2011
Contributor: Taylor Taylor
I can't stand sweet tea. I drank a lot of tea growing up but never put any sort of sweetener in it. In fact I never realized that people did put sugar in their tea until I was older. I remember the first time I had sweet tea. I went on a trip to Virginia and ordered iced tea at a restaurant and was expecting regular tea. So when I took my first sip it was such a shock to me that I spit it out lol
10/26/2011
Contributor: Ghost Ghost
I drink unsweetened tea mixed with unsweetened cranberry juice.
10/27/2011
Contributor: Ghost Ghost
Quote:
Originally posted by Taylor
I can't stand sweet tea. I drank a lot of tea growing up but never put any sort of sweetener in it. In fact I never realized that people did put sugar in their tea until I was older. I remember the first time I had sweet tea. I went on a trip to ... more
I used to live there and thought it was gross, as well.
10/27/2011
Contributor: Britt&Daniel Britt&Daniel
Quote:
Originally posted by Ansley
I can't ever remember a time when there wasn't a gallon of tea hanging out in the fridge. Mom always made it with a full cup of sugar and you could see the sugar form a syrup at the bottom of the jug. I never thought much about it until I met ... more
I love sweet tea
10/27/2011
Contributor: js250 js250
Unsweetened. Unless I am sick, then it is hot tea with a spoon of sugar, just like my grandma made for me. It was better when she made it though.
10/27/2011
Contributor: Rossie Rossie
I like my iced tea slightly sweet, McDonald's sweet tea is way too sweet for me. If I'm drinking very dark English Breakfast Tea, then I need lots of sugar and cream.
10/27/2011
Contributor: GravyCakes GravyCakes
i like sweet tea. my bf hates it when i order tea, b/c i order it sweet, then add sugar till it doesn't dissolve anymore. he laughs at me & has to take the sugar away from me.
10/29/2011