Mimi’s Not Too Sweet Tea (With My Earl Grey Twist)

I learned to make tea in Mimi’s kitchen before I was tall enough to see over the pot. I stood on a stool and learned which tea bags belonged together.

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Mimi almost always had a pitcher of tea made. The family rule was simple: if you drank the last of the tea, you started the next pitcher. You finished the tea, and you made more.

Mimi’s original tea blend

Mimi’s tea was not Earl Grey. Her original blend was:

• 4 regular Community black tea bags
• 1 Plantation Mint tea bag, now called Perfectly Mint

That is the tea I remember learning to make in her kitchen. I kept that black-tea-and-mint idea, then made the pitcher my own by adding Earl Grey.

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My Earl Grey tea variation

For approximately 1 gallon of tea, use:

• 2 family-size black tea bags or 4 regular black tea bags
• 2 regular Earl Grey tea bags
• 1 Perfectly Mint tea bag
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• Optional: an additional 1/2 cup Splenda for a sweeter version

Use one black-tea-bag option or the other. Do not combine them. And use Perfectly Mint. I do not substitute Mint Medley because it is overpowering to me.

How I make it

1. Heat approximately half a gallon of water in a saucepan until it is nearly boiling.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add all of the tea bags.
3. Steep until it’s as strong as you like. I tend to forget about mine for a bit.
4. Remove the tea bags.
5. Add the sugar and the optional Splenda, stirring until dissolved.
6. You can serve the tea over ice, or use my preferred method: let it cool until it is not quite room temperature, transfer it to a gallon pitcher, and top it up with cool—not cold—water.
7. Refrigerate the finished tea promptly and keep it chilled.

A few useful notes

The two black-tea options are interchangeable, not cumulative. Use either four regular bags or two family-size bags, then add the Earl Grey and Perfectly Mint.

The sugar goes in while the tea is still warm so it dissolves properly. The optional Splenda is there for the sweeter version; it is not required.

Once the tea is mixed, refrigerate it and keep it chilled.

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