Sweet tea isn’t just a drink in the South—it’s a way of life. Here’s why it matters, how it’s made, and what it says about ...

It becomes very intimate,” she says. First comes the tea--the strong Turkish tea served in a small glass, or apple tea, a sweet mix invented for tourists.

Sweet tea is refreshing and the South has many more hot months than other places. In the North, you’d be drinking hot drinks most of the year and sweet tea only in the summer.

Sweet tea should not be confused with “sweetened tea.” Though they are both iced teas that have been sweetened with sugar, the two are vastly different. Sweetened tea is perfunctory.

Sweet tea was sacred to me growing up. My family brews tea in an ancient enameled saucepan, the sides stained by the thousands and thousands of sweetened pots made over the years.