Recipe: Fred Thompson's Southern-Style Ice Tea

FRED THOMPSON'S SOUTHERN-STYLE ICE TEA

6 regular-size tea bags
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups boiling water
6 cups cold water
Sugar or other sweetener to taste,* optional

Place tea bags and baking soda in a glass measuring cup or ceramic teapot large enough to accommodate the boiling water. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Remove the tea bags, being careful not to squeeze them.

Pour the concentrated tea into a 2-quart pitcher; add the cold water. Sweeten, if desired. Let cool, then chill and serve over ice.

*Granulated sugar will not fully dissolve in a cold glass of tea. If you're making a whole pitcher of sweet tea, add the sugar while the tea is still hot. Some restaurants serve a small pitcher of simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water, boiled to dissolve the sugar) to sweeten the tea.

Yield: 2 quarts
Adapted from source: Peace, Love and Barbecue by Mike Mills and Amy Mills Tunnicliffe