Copycat McDonald's sweet tea

Sweet Tea fans, here is a great recipe that is sure to hit the spot on a hot summer day. According to my girls and their friends, it tastes just like McDonald’s Sweet Tea! Sweet, smooth and refreshing. To me, it tastes like summer in a glass. Hands down, this is the BEST sweet tea recipe!

A few years ago, I stumbled onto Allrecipes.com, looking for a way to make iced tea smooth and less bitter. Who knew all it took was a PINCH OF BAKING SODA! Don’t be scared of the baking soda (I was), you’ll be telling everyone this tip. The baking soda also helps to keep the tea clear. So long bitter, cloudy tea.   

 

 

Today’s recipe is being shared by request from my youngest daughter’s friend – she loves my sweet tea and recently moved. I told her I would post the recipe so she could make it in her new home. As promised, here it is ♥ …

Copycat McDonald’s Sweet Tea

Print Recipe  

Ingredients (Makes 4 quarts = 1 gallon)

• 3 Family Size Lipton iced tea bags  
• pinch of baking soda (optional) 
• 4 cups boiling water
• 12 cups cold water
• *1 1/2 cups sugar (you can use less)

Directions

Drop a pinch of baking soda in the bottom of a heat-proof, one gallon pitcher (plastic pitchers are best when working with boiling water). In a small sauce pan, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags and allow to brew for 15 minutes, dunking tea bags up and down a few times while brewing. Remove tea bags, pressing out excess tea with a spoon. Transfer hot tea to pitcher, add sugar, stir and allow to dissolve completely. Add 12 cups cold water and stir. Store in fridge until chilled. Serve over ice. Enjoy!   

 

Tips

• Plastic pitchers work best – NEVER pour boiling water in glass pitcher that is not heat-proof, it may shatter.
• If you have an older plastic pitcher and/or are concerned about chemicals with hot liquids – use a larger sauce pan and add your sugar in the pan, when the sugar is dissolved, add it to the pitcher with the 12 cups of water already added.  
• *Adjust sugar amount to desired taste. My girls like a little more sugar, but I always use less. 
• Try different flavored tea bags, like peach. YUM!
• If you like stronger tea, add an additional tea bag(s).

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!