# Sweet Tea drinkers...how much sugar?



## Wisconsin Ann

I recently tried (accidentally) McDonald's sweet tea and it was like drinking sugar syrup. for me..icky icky nasty stuff.

I'm interested in knowing how much sugar those who drink sweet tea use?


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## Chandler

If we make sweet tea at home, we put about half a cup (maybe a bit less) in a gallon of tea.


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## Txsteader

3/4 cup to a gallon of tea.


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## hmsteader71

We use 1 cup per gallon. My daughter works at McDonalds and they use a 5 lb. bag of sugar for 5 gallons of tea.


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## Chandler

hmsteader71 said:


> We use 1 cup per gallon. My daughter works at McDonalds and they use a 5 lb. bag of sugar for 5 gallons of tea.


I'm surprised they can dissolve that much in the tea... :O


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## kim Allen

What brand of tea does McDonalds use?


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## Cabin Fever

I like my sweet tea without sugar.


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## Wisconsin Ann

ahhh. So not quite as sweet then. Almost...from 1/2 to 2/3rds as sweet. Cool.

After looking at the McD's nutrition stuff, their Sweet Tea has 230cal in a 32oz. That would be 1/3cup tea per quart...or 1 1/3cup per gallon.

my mymy. that's a lot of sugar  Not nearly as much as the coke tho. a 32oz coke is 310, which is .4cups sugar and that's...way too much. shoot. when I do drink sodas, it's coke. well PIFFLE!


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## Guest

Cabin Fever said:


> I like my sweet tea without sugar.


 This ain't for you creek water drinkers, CF! {laughing}

I vary somewhat between 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the gallon of tea. If it's going to be heavily iced I use more tea and more sugar. 

.....Alan.


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## gran26

Just a little more than 1/2 cup per gallon. Its not really that sweet, just slightly so and refreshing.


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## Wisconsin Ann

hmsteader71 said:


> We use 1 cup per gallon. My daughter works at McDonalds and they use a 5 lb. bag of sugar for 5 gallons of tea.


That would be 2cups per gallon..which would be 1/2cup sugar per quart.(32oz). (it's approximate 2cups = 1lb sugar). so, sugar is 774cal per cup...353calories per quart. which is more than their website says....My guess would be that if they make 5 gallons at a time, they just use the easiest method of dumping in the sugar..dump a bag. (I've seen the bags of sugar they dump in at our local store)

ouch.

well, at least they don't add a deepfried sugar cube or something


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## TexasArtist

too some folks it ain't sweet tea until you can knock a hummingbird outta the air just because the little birdy flew by your glass:icecream:


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## Jan Doling

When I fill my cup at McDonalds, I first add ice, then a good couple of inches of the Light Lemonade from the soda dispenser, then top it off with the sweet tea or sometimes I mix the sweet 50% with the unsweet tea. If the McDonalds you're at fills the cup for you, ask for lemon to be added.


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## Saffron

normally - 1.5 cups to 2 cups - depends on the day


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## foxtrapper

I like it right on the edge of being a supersaturated solution.

But, in an effort for health and weight loss and such, I drink it unsweetened if it all possible. Learning to not grit my teeth so hard as I swallow. In enough time, I might even learn to like it this way.


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## mduncn52

Why would anyone want to ruin perfectly good tea by adding sugar. EEEEECccchhh. You people are nuts LOL
Mark


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## kohburn

always liked my tea "extra sweet, no lemon"

1/3 cup per quart is how i've always made it

probably should cut back to 1/4 cup though


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## Saffron

Definitely NO Lemon!


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## suzyhomemaker09

In my experience all Mc Donald's sweet tea is not equal.....
It's possible that you got one form somewhere that was sugar heavy or they just made a batch and didn't make sure all the sugar had been mixed in hence sunk to the bottom.


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## ChristyACB

Here is a hint for those who like their sweet tea but are trying to cut back on sugar and don't want chemical sweeteners.

If you put about a tablespoon of honey in the pot while your hot brewing the tea, before you put it in the pitcher with water, and stir it in, it fakes our your taste buds a bit and seems like there is a LOT more sweetening in it. Works really well with a pot of green tea too.


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## kohburn

if I remember correctly studies have shown that honey provides about twice the sweetening power by weight when compared to sugar.


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## Shepherd

I like my iced tea with honey... but only prepare it by the glass because I was never sure how much honey to add to a gallon jug. Anyone have suggestions? I like it sweet!


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## GingerN

Wisconsin Ann said:


> I recently tried (accidentally) McDonald's sweet tea and it was like drinking sugar syrup. for me..icky icky nasty stuff.
> 
> I'm interested in knowing how much sugar those who drink sweet tea use?


1 cup per gallon. My kids like it much sweeter, but 1 per gallon is good.


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## plowjockey

hmsteader71 said:


> My daughter works at McDonalds and they use a 5 lb. bag of sugar for 5 gallons of tea.


Yuck!

No wonder Americans are getting so fat.


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## Farmerwilly2

I like to make a sugar syrup and keep it in a squeeze bottle. It lets folks sweeten to taste.


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## chickenmommy

I use 8 little blue Equal packets to a gallon. I know. Chemicals. I have been working on the unsweet at work. It's not as bad as I thought it would be.


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## dixon_yankee

Using the 'Hillbilly Housewife' recipe, we use one cup of sugar for each gallon of tea. On my husband's days off, we go through about a gallon of iced tea every day...


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## FiddleKat

hmsteader71 said:


> We use 1 cup per gallon. My daughter works at McDonalds and they use a 5 lb. bag of sugar for 5 gallons of tea.










1 pound of sugar for 1 gallon...I like sweet tea but not that sweet!!

At home we use the Lipton. I suggest getting the tea without the sugar, and then just add sugar packets to your taste liking.


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## Prickle

I'm in the 1 C. to 1 Gal camp.

Although I do think it's more refreshing unsweetened.


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## Wisconsin Ann

As much as I love LOVE unsweetened iced tea (with lemon most times), I have to admit that in the hot humid days of summer in the south, I really liked the sweet tea. I suppose the sugar gave me a punch of energy. The other difference is that on hot humid days I'll drink plain iced tea fast...while with the sweetened, I would have a swallow, wait a few moments, another swallow..more like I could sip it and savoring the sweetness. (this was a couple of years ago, sweet tea from a restaurant in Georgia and one in Florida....the tea was not NEARLY as sweet as the McDonald's.)


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## TSYORK

2 cups of sugar to a gallon of tea. Lipton is the only thing that's allowed in this house!


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## calliemoonbeam

I use 2 cups of sugar to a gallon of really strong Luzianne tea, but I only drink it freshly made and still hot, so when you pour it over ice it waters it down some. 

I tried McDonald's sweet tea for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and it was way too sweet for me (and that's saying something, lol)! Plus it just didn't have a very good flavor, almost like it was about to go bad, or it could be the brand of tea they use. I took two sips and threw the rest out!


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## samm

4 tea bags ( decafinated), 1 cup sugar, 1 gallon water.....its so good, we can go through 2 gallons a day in the summer


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## mosepijo

1/4 Cup Xylitol per quart of tea. I make a quart a day.


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## Just Little Me

A cup per gallon here. Stired in while good and hot.


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## Cliff

1/2 cup per gallon and feel guilty about using that much. If I use sweet n low 3 packets. Don't really like using chemicals but neither one is great for you. Should learn to drink it unsweetened, but it's kinda hard to get used to when you've lived in the south your whole life  Lots of people around here do the 2 cup/gallon thing.


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## Jenn

One or two teaspoons per large restaurant glass of UNSWEETENED tea.


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## mamita

used to make my sweet tea with 1 cup sugar to 2 quarts. now I use Splenda...just a little sprinkle in a glass of unsweetened prepared tea. dang...I miss my sugar sweetened tea! quite often I drink my tea unsweetened (lawdy...what happened to me???) lol


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## Chandler

Cliff said:


> Should learn to drink it unsweetened, but it's kinda hard to get used to when you've lived in the south your whole life  Lots of people around here do the 2 cup/gallon thing.


I came to the point where I actually prefer my tea unsweetened a couple of years ago. DH and I went to a restaurant and I ordered unsweetened tea and the waiter asked me where I was from. He was shocked when I told him I'd lived in NC my whole life. :nana:


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## nathan104

We either out in 1 1/3 cup or sometimes 1 and a half cups of sugar. We like it SWEET!


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## Annsni

Hmm - the container I'm using holds 3 quarts and I use 1/3 of a cup of sugar dissolved in boiling water then 5 Red Rose tea bags steeping for 15 minutes. Then I pour it all over ice and/or add enough water to fill the container. I don't like my tea too sweet - the McD's is WAY too sweet for me.


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## oldgaredneck

Being diabetic, I use 1 cup of Splenda or an alternative to 1 gallon of tea. I use 2 family size teabags for a gallon, because I like strong tea. Been researching stevia as a healthier alternative to Splenda


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## TSYORK

I like Stevia. It's a good alternative from switching from white, refined sugar; it's much healthier for you. 

I've made a lot of changes in my diet and exercise program since last November. My cholesterol had gotten way out of whack, and at 34 years old, I was told to fix it now or fix my will. I made up my mind that I was going to change my lifestyle. Since that time, I've been able to drop about 80 pounds. I've only got about 25 more pounds to go, but it seems that this is the hardest. I'm determined to get it off, but my body is just not cooperating. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day!


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## Saffron

wow - what a difference in recipes.

my tea is - 4 family size bags (Tetley, Lipton, Luzianne, Store) boiled in water about 5 minutes, then steeped for 30 min+. Poured into gallon jug over 1.5-2 cups sugar, shake to mix. Add cold water to fill the gallon jug, refrigerate.


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## NickieL

I hate sugar in my tea...unless it's hot tea, then I add a teaspoon of honey and some lemon.


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## Wisconsin Ann

I sent off a nice note to McDonald's using their "contact us" comment box (actually, it's a question box, but....), not expecting to ever hear anything about it. All I said was that I'd tried the sweet tea, it was like drinking sugar syrup and not at all like I remember the sweet tea in the south tasting, blah blah. No "i'm never eating here again" or anything. Ended with a "just thought you'd like to hear some feedback on a new product"

Well..color me AMAZED. I got an email from the the next day (automated response) saying "thankyou for your interest", etc. The very next day (2 days after my original comment) I received an email asking me to call a customer service number to tell them what store it was, and to give them more information and gave me a reference number.

I called. It was a pleasant experience. The person on the line had my original comment in front of her, she related that "the team" had been concerned by my comment because the sweet tea is supposed to reflect "the southern favorite" sweet tea, and they will send a regional manager out to find out if the recipe is being neglected.

so. That's cool.


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## NickieL

wow. I'm surprised such a large corporation actually took the time to look into it!


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## Saffron

Great job McDs! I know they are really touting the Sweet Tea - so that's probably why they are going to follow up on it.

Good job to you too.


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## KittenMittens89

We put a half of a cup in. Though I can drink unsweetened to. Flavor wise a half cup tastes yummy. Over a cup of sugar to me is unstandable and I add water.


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