I got this from a Southern Gal I know.
"So, here is how to make real Southern iced tea:
2 quart sauce pan
2 quart pitcher
2 quarts of water
LIPTON (this is the brand Southern people use) iced tea bags
2/3rds to 1 cup of sugar
If you get the big family sized tea bags, you need 3. If you get the little
ones, you need 8. You can adjust this to how strong you like your tea.
Okay, put tea bags into sauce pan with 1 quart of water. Set on stove and
cook on medium low heat for about 10 minutes, until the tea looks right. By
this I mean, has the color you want for how strong you like your tea. Do
not let the water boil or bubble. This will scald the tea and it will taste
funny.
When the tea looks right, pour the tea into a pitcher with the sugar in it.
I use 3/4 cup of sugar, plus about 1 tablespoon. Adjust sugar to how sweet
or unsweet you like it. Stir it up while it's all hot to dissolve the
sugar, then pour in the remaining 1 quart of water and stir it all up good.
Then put the pitcher in the fridge to cool. You can drink it right away,
but it tastes better if you let it sit for a couple of hours.
Also, tea goes bad. If you don't refrigerate it, it will go bad in a matter
of hours, depending on the temperature. Usually around 4-6 hours. If you
refrigerate it, you have about 4-5 days. You will know when it's bad, it
gets all weird tasting, I think it has a "rotten" taste to it. Although, I
have known people to not notice and drink it anyway, which is totally sick
and gross.
Good luck my Yankee love."
She also made me a mixed drink with Sweet Tea, vodka and an Orange slice.