Real Southern Sweet Tea

1 quart water
4 quart size tea bags or 1 large gallon size
1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar

Bring water to boil. Remove from heat and steep tea bags for 6 minutes. Place sugar in the bottom of a gallon size pitcher. Remove tea bags and pour tea over the sugar. Mix well, till the sugar is dissolved. Add cold water to top of pitcher, stir till mixed. Serve with ice and lemon wedges if desired.

Hints: If you steep tea for too long, you release tannins into the tea. This makes your tea bitter. Also, the sugar syrup is the main difference between sweet tea and sweetened tea.