Y'all Sweet Tea comes in large pouches to make one full gallon of tea at a time. Made from a grandparent approved combination of an old family recipe, with a custom-blended black tea, their claim to fame is "One Glass 'n You'll Be Back!" They are correct!
Y'all Sweet Tea Review
As someone who has been blogging for a few years now, I occasionally get samples of cookbooks or products to review, and in turn, if I like it, and only if I like it, I share my review of said cookbook or product with y'all here on the Deep South Dish website.This, actually, is not one of those times.
From time to time a reader will also share a product they love with me and this is that!
Many of you know that I am a lover of one particular Louisiana black tea product, so anything away from that is gonna be a hard sell for me, but... I felt challenged to give this tea a try.
Y'all Sweet Tea is produced in a town called Hayden, way up in the north central part of Alabama and well, except that I have ordered from them a couple times now, they don't know me from Adam's housecat.
While they have a few videographer partners on Facebook, (Cooking with Brenda Gantt and Mountain cookin’ with Missy come to mind) I am not one of them. I'm just sharing my opinion, and I've not received any free product or compensation for doing so.
We drink a lot of iced tea in this house. I am not sure what makes this tea different, but it sure is tasty y'all, and I have certainly been enjoying it. Their motto is "One Glass 'N You'll Be Back!" and that's a factual statement, for sure. I recently had some workers at my house and I served them some Y'all Sweet Tea and even they commented on how good it was - and asked for more!
Now, despite the name, there is actually no sugar in the tea bags. You add your own sugar or sugar substitute to the sweetness you like. For me, that is around 1-1/2 cups.
Far as I know, Y'all Sweet Tea is not yet available to purchase at any stores, so at least at this time it's available at Amazon or via mail order direct. As of October 2021, for mail order it costs $21.50 to have two 10-count bags shipped to me and it takes about a week to get them. Each bag makes a gallon, so that seems reasonable to me for 20 gallons of tea! It's available in both caffeinated and decaffeinated.
They also sell some cute Southern sayings t-shirts on their website, and there is an adorable sweet tea starter kit that comes with a branded, lidded quart jar with a straw that would make a nice gift, and the quart y'all jars, lids and straws can all be purchased separately as well.
I have to say I am super impressed with not only the quality of this tea, but the flavor too. It really is a delicious blend and I have a feeling that once you give it a try, you'll be going back for more, like me!
Now, like having mighty fine choices between Louisiana and Alabama for smoked sausage and andouille, I can have the best of both worlds here in Mississippi with my sweet tea too! It's nice being a middle child sometimes!Now, despite the name, there is actually no sugar in the tea bags. You add your own sugar or sugar substitute to the sweetness you like. For me, that is around 1-1/2 cups.
Far as I know, Y'all Sweet Tea is not yet available to purchase at any stores, so at least at this time it's available at Amazon or via mail order direct. As of October 2021, for mail order it costs $21.50 to have two 10-count bags shipped to me and it takes about a week to get them. Each bag makes a gallon, so that seems reasonable to me for 20 gallons of tea! It's available in both caffeinated and decaffeinated.
They also sell some cute Southern sayings t-shirts on their website, and there is an adorable sweet tea starter kit that comes with a branded, lidded quart jar with a straw that would make a nice gift, and the quart y'all jars, lids and straws can all be purchased separately as well.
I have to say I am super impressed with not only the quality of this tea, but the flavor too. It really is a delicious blend and I have a feeling that once you give it a try, you'll be going back for more, like me!
Speaking of sweet tea... one of the best investments I made this summer, was to get a portable, countertop ice maker. I use a lot of ice - a LOT - and I have never had an ice maker that was able to keep up with my ice consumption, no matter how new the fridge.
It really is one of the best purchases I've ever made. It's a basic icemaker, but not a freezer icemaker, so it will not keep the cubes it produces frozen. They will either eventually melt back into the water tray underneath, or you can do like me and use it to make baskets of ice that you then pour into your refrigerator/freezer basket, or into a separate cooler. It actually makes a good bit of ice pretty quick, which is handy when you are a sweet tea drinker like me!
The cubes can be a little drippy with water though, so you'll probably want to pick up a good, sturdy ice pick if you're using one to supplement your freezer ice. I bought this one. It's nice and heavy and does the job well!
Y'all Sweet Tea also has a Facebook page, where they make announcements and host giveaways, so be sure to swing by, say hello and let them know that Mary from Deep South Dish sent you!
There are great directions on the bag, and it makes a perfect gallon of tea, though I make mine just a tiny bit different. Here's how.
Add 5 cups of filtered water to an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup.
Microwave on high for 10 minutes. You can also do this in a saucepan on the stovetop too of course. Carefully remove from microwave using a grab mat or oven mitts. Add tea bag.
Microwave on high for 10 minutes. You can also do this in a saucepan on the stovetop too of course. Carefully remove from microwave using a grab mat or oven mitts. Add tea bag.
If you've ever burned the heck out of your hands trying to transfer something from your microwave, these multipurpose Safe Grabs are an excellent tool to have. Just like in the picture below, you can grab things using the mat and keep your hands safe!
Use tongs to submerge bag fully.
Cover with a lid or plate and let steep for 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove bag, gently squeezing out tea bag.
Add enough ice to Pyrex cup to fill to top, give it a good stir and transfer into a gallon pitcher. Add enough cold, filtered water to top off the gallon. Serve!
My preference is to use glass containers for my tea, but I don't have one that holds a full gallon. This Lock and Lock pitcher is perfect for storing the tea, and for serving, you can transfer the tea over to a pretty, glass 2-quart pitcher like the vintage one pictured at the top that belonged to my Mama, if you prefer.
Y'all Sweet Tea
Yield: 1 Gallon
Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Y'all Sweet Tea comes in large pouches to make one full gallon of tea at a time. Made from a grandparent approved combination of an old family recipe, with a custom-blended black tea, their claim to fame is "One Glass 'n You'll Be Back!" They are correct!
Ingredients
- 5 cups filtered water
- One gallon-size bag Y'all Sweet Tea brand
- 1-1/2 cups sugar or sugar substitute, or to taste
- 4 cups ice
- 3 to 4 cups cold filtered water
Instructions
- Add 5 cups of filtered water to an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Microwave on high for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove using oven mitts, and add tea bag, using tongs to submerge bag fully.
- Cover with a lid or plate and let steep for 10 minutes. Using tongs, carefully remove, squeezing out tea bag.
- Whisk sugar or sugar substitute into the hot tea until fully dissolved.
- Add enough ice to Pyrex cup to fill to top. You'll need about 4 cups of ice roughly. then transfer into a gallon pitcher.
- Add enough cold, filtered water to top off the gallon. Serve!
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