If you're from The South, you know that nothing really hits like an ice cold glass of properly made sweet tea. My sweet tea concentrate captures that familiar flavor in an easy-to-use syrup you can add to all kinds of drinks! It'll have you sitting out on the porch sipping the summer away in no time and you don't even have to be southern to enjoy it.
And if you like this recipe, you'll love my hibiscus sweet tea, too!
Jump to:
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Quick and Easy - You don't need any fancy tools or techniques and this tea syrup concentrate recipe only takes about five minutes of active cooking.
Authentic Southern Sweet Tea Flavor - One slurp and you will recognize the very sweet, rich, and bold flavor. And the smell is just lovely.
I'm a big advocate for making flavored syrup at home because it's just so dang simple. Once you've made this recipe, you'll must check out my most popular citrus simple syrup and very dreamy strawberry vanilla syrup. And don't sleep on hibiscus grenadine syrup and caramelized pineapple simple syrup!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Black Tea - As a good southern girl, I must tell you that Lipton or Luzianne are the brands to use for that signature taste of orange pekoe black tea. They don't come in loose leaf varieties so I make my sweet tea simple syrup using tea bags.
Sugar literally puts the "sweet" in sweet tea and you can use whatever kind you have available and like. I use either granulated sugar, cane sugar or brown sugar with great results.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Lemon - If you normally take your sweet tea with lemon, feel free to add lemon juice to the recipe--just note that that would make it more of an iced tea simple syrup or iced tea liquid concentrate than a sweet tea syrup.
Looking for more tea syrup options? Check out my matcha syrup and chai spice syrup next!
How to Make Sweet Tea Simple Syrup at Home
Step One: Dissolve sugar in water over medium high heat then add in tea bags. (Photos One and Two)
Pro Tip #1: For less fuss and mess, cut or gently pull off the string and tags from the tea bags before you add them to the pot. Alternatively, you can lay the tags over one side of the pot to keep them out of the liquid.
Step Two: Bring the liquid to a boil then remove from heat and steep until cooled. (Photo Three)
Step Three: Remove tea bags from syrup and discard. (Photo Four)
Pro Tip: Do NOT squeeze the tea bags when removing as this releases extra tannins, which will make the concentrate bitter. Simply lift and let them drip a little then toss.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make this recipe up to six days ahead of time so long as you store it properly.
Store your tea syrup in an airtight container and refrigerate it. It will keep for up to two weeks this way.
You can freeze this syrup and keep it in the freezer for up to one year. However, due to the high sugar content, it will probably not freeze all the way solid and instead become super thick.
How to Use Concentrated Sweet Tea Syrup
I recommend keeping a jar of tea syrup concentrate in the fridge so you can make sweet tea in just two minutes whenever you want it. Just add about half an ounce into eight ounces of ice water and you're good to go.
This tea flavored syrup is also amazing for adding flavor and moisture to cake layers and I use a version of it on my famous sweet tea pound cake!
Lastly, I love using tea flavored syrup in cocktails and mocktails as a mixer with my favorite spirits and it pairs amazingly with anything from tequila to whiskey and even gin.
Don't believe me? Peep my sweet tea old fashioned and sweet tea mint julep! And don't skip over the sweet tea martini or sweet tea margaritas or sweet tea mojito. See? Told ya!
More Favorite Flavor Syrup Recipes
I hope you'll find many ways to enjoy this sweet tea infused simple syrup soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Sweet Tea Concentrate Syrup
Equipment
- 1 slotted spoon or tongs or strainer
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6 black tea bags
Instructions
- Add sugar and water saucepan over medium high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Add in tea bags and bring mixture to a boil.
- Remove from heat then steep the tea until syrup is cooled (about 30 minutes).
- Remove tea bags from syrup. Do not squeeze the bags to get extra liquid out as this releases tannins that can turn the syrup bitter.
Kati Lee says
Perfect recipe for cocktails!
Beverly says
Delicious! Definitely reminds me of my trips to the South. Every glass is a memory’s. Highly recommend!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks, Beverly--glad you enjoyed this one!