*This is a sponsored post written by me, on behalf of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea.
Summer is oficially underway, and honey, in the south, a southern summer essential is sweet tea. Now, I spent the first ten years of my life in NJ, where if you ask for tea, you will likely be served hot tea, and if you mean iced tea, that's what you'd better ask for. In the south, asking for tea means you'll be given sweet iced tea. If you want hot tea or icea tea, you have to specify. I have grown accustomed to sweet tea, and when I say sweet, I mean so sweet that your mouth tastes like molassas for two days after you drink a glass. I love sweet tea, but truthfully, the amount of sugar that I wind up putting into a pitcher of tea when I make it at home is sort of unreal... and definitely not the best choice for my family.
Recently, I was given the opportunity to try Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, which brews up a unique twist on an old southern summer tradition. Southern Breeze Sweet Tea takes all of the guesswork and measuring (not to mention the overuse of sugar) out of prepping a delicious pitcher of sweet tea. What's different about it? Southern Breeze Sweet Tea is 'a sweet tea with southern sweetness in every bag.' That's right, the sweetener is already blended in with the tea (sweetened with Splenda), inside of each tea bag! How awesome is that!?
If you're anything like me, you might enjoy sweet tea year round, and in the summertime, I always have freshly brewed sweet tea chilling in my refrigerator, so I can offer it to family, to guests, or just to have on hand for my own family's enjoyment and refreshment.
Check out this fun box of sweet summer goodness from Southern Breeze Sweet Tea!
I was so excited to receive a special box of goodies from Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, which included some product information, a box of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea (containing 16 family size tea bags), a Southern Breeze Sweet Tea mason jar glass, and a cute paper straw!
I couldn't wait to sip some cold, freshly brewed Southern Breeze Sweet Tea!
The packaging is so calming- every time I look at the Southern Breeze Sweet Tea box, it makes me want to go sit on my porch and relax!
The brewing instructions were clearly printed on the back of the tea box- very handy!
I gave the instructions a quick read, just in case the directions were different than what I am used to doing when I make sweet tea at home. It's usually a quick process, and it looked like my Southern Breeze Sweet Tea brewing experience would be short and sweet, as well!
Look at all of those tea bags- just a'waitin' to be brewed this summer!
As I opened up the tea box, I noticed the scent of the tea right away. I love the smell of tea in all flavors! This is an original blend, so it's nothing fancy, which is just how I happen to like my sweet tea. I want it to taste like good 'ol southern sweetness!
Everything I need to brew up a fresh pitcher of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea...
I have to admit that I was really intrigued by the idea of the sweetener already being in the tea bags. This meant that I wouldn't have to dump (you don't want to know how many) cups of sugar into the pitcher, while the water boiled. I'm sort of old fashioned with a modern (I want it now) twist when it comes to brewing tea. I boiled water in my kettle, and waited for the whistle. If the whistle hasn't blown on the kettle, don't even bother with the hot-warmish water, because it's not hot enough to get a good steep from your tea bags.
A watched pot never boils, so I prepped the pitcher while I waited for the whistle.
I placed two Southern Breeze Sweet Tea bags into a 4 qt. pitcher.
The 2 tea bags were enough for a 2 qt. pitcher or tea. I could have used four tea bags to make a full 4 qt. pitcher, but with a three-year-old in the house, and becoming very independent, I figured this would be less disastrous, if he tried to take the pitcher out of the fridge, himself.
After the kettle whistled, I poured the boiling water over the Southern Breeze Sweet Tea bags, directly into the pitcher.
I used a little less than 2 quarts of water for my first pitcher of tea. I would rather the tea be too strong, than too weak... you can always add ice or more water, later.
My mason jar glass was ready to be filled with tea, but I patiently waited, and allowed the tea to steep for close to 2 hours, and cool down, out on the counter. I never put my tea directly into the refrigerator while it's still hot.
After a couple of hours had passed, I poured the sweet tea into my adorable mason jar glass, and added a few ice cubes. Oh yeah, I like my tea ice cold. I popped my cute little paper straw into the glass, and readied myself, prepared to taste the sweet goodness that I had been waiting so patiently for, for the better part of an afternoon.
Tea time! And by the way, in the south, every cold drink tastes better if you serve it in a mason jar. That's just the way it is round these parts.
As I sipped on my cool glass of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, I just sort of relaxed, and let myself enjoy and experience the flavors. The tea was bold, but not too strong, and the sweetener was the perfect sweetness, which I always look forward to and expect from a glass of sweet tea. I knew the tea was fresh, because I brewed it at home, myself. You'll never find a jug of tea that was made elsewhere in my refrigerator or on my family table. Southern Breeze Sweet Tea makes is easier than every for me (and you) to brew fresh sweet tea, right at home.
This is a tea that I knew my family would love, and I am so glad to know about it, and have it on hand, because my parents love iced tea, but they can't have a lot of sugar, due to dietary restrictions. This is the perfect beverage for me to serve to my family members and guests without having to worry about giving them a sugar rush. It allows everyone to enjoy one of their favorite southern traditions- sipping ice cold sweet tea, on a hot summer day... or anytime!
My taste buds couldn't have been happier! I may be addicted to this delicious sweet tea!
Since I first tried Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, I have been sharing a lot about it! I was so excited to introduce it to my parents, and let my mom sample a glass when she had dinner with us recently. She said she loved that it tasted like sweet tea, without being super sweet, and she didn't feel like her teeth were going to fall out after drinking it.
The perfect compliment to southern meal- you can bet a pitcher of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea is always on my dinner table!
I'm blown away by the ease of the brewing process of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea. This is the first time I have made sweet tea at home, where I haven't had to add sugar, or some other sweetener to the tea. I love that the sweetener is already in the tea bags. If you can boil water, you can brew this sweet tea at home! My family and I will be enjoying the rest of our summer, with Southern Breeze Sweet Tea on hand at home... it's our new southern family tradition. Ready to make it yours?
Want It? Buy It!
Head on over to Southern Breeze Sweet Tea to learn more! Southern Breeze Sweet Tea is available for purchase at Harris Teeter, Ingles, Wegmen's, and Amazon.com. Southern Breeze Sweet Tea is social, and would love to connect with you through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Want It? Win It!
One lucky MBP reader will win their very own Southern Breeze Sweet Tea Prize Pack, which includes 1 Box of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea bags, a Mason Jar glass, and a paper straw, just like the ones I received. Giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and older. *Please note that per the request of the sponsor, there is no Rafflecopter entry form for this giveaway.
*Giveaway Entry Instructions*
To enter for your chance to win the Southern Breeze Sweet Tea Prize Pack, leave a comment on this blog post, telling us what you love about Sweet Tea, or share memory of being together with family or friends and drinking Sweet Tea. Winner will be selected directly from the comment section of this post. The comment is the only form of entry for this giveaway.
Special thanks to Southern Breeze Sweet Tea for allowing me and my family to experience the unique flavor and brewing experience of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea, and for offering this fun summertime giveaway for our readers!
Good luck!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Southern Breeze Sweet Tea.
I love the smell and taste of sweet tea! It really wets my whistle on a hot day.
ReplyDeleteI did not grow up with Sweet Tea on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, so my first experiences were at LR during my college years.. it just seems to hit that spot! The smell, the taste!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Susie Q- you have won the Southern Breeze Sweet Tea Giveaway! Enjoy!
DeleteI love the taste of sweet tea and the brewing process.
ReplyDeleteI love the taste of sweet tea and how it cools me off during the summer.
ReplyDeleteI love the way sweet tea can handle your thirst while still bring that little memory of your childhood with your mom having a big ole pitcher cooling in the fridge just waiting on you to dive in.
ReplyDeleteWe live on base here in Shreveport, LA and let me tell you, the southern airmen LOVE their sweet tea!!!! I often make big batches of sun tea to enjoy the evenings with some of our country's finest. This would certainly make that chore easier!!! We always have a pitcher of (Northern style) iced tea in our fridge but I would LOVE to try this. Looks delicious and the mug is adorable! Thanks for the chance. :D
ReplyDeleteLast night I spilled sweet tea ALL OVER my kitchen floor. Talk about a pain in the rear to clean up. UGH! I bet it wouldn't have been such a chore without the sugar, eh?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love the taste of Sweet tea. It reminds me of my mom. I remember the first time she made sun tea and I was flabbergasted by how many tea bags she put it the jar! I was pretty young. Then I was really intrigued when she set the jar outside. Later we sweetened it and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing that she could make tea with the sun. :)
ReplyDeleteI love chilled tea in the summer, besides regular sweet tea, there's chai. DELICIOUS!
ReplyDeleteI remember as a kid, my grandmother would make sweet tea. I would watch her make it fresh put lemons in it. Nice on a hot summer day.
ReplyDeleteI love the flavor of sweet tea.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Susie Q- you have won the Southern Breeze Sweet Tea Giveaway!
ReplyDelete