Unpopular Opinion

If you’re using “sweetener packets”, you’re not drinking sweet tea.

If you’re talking about northern restaurant iced tea, yeah, it’s awful. Have you ever tried to reheat hot black tea gone room temperature in the microwave? Refrigerate that horror show and you’ll have northern restaurant iced tea.

To make it worse, some people try to mix granulated sugar into this iced cold mess, where it doesn’t dissolve, but sinks to the bottom of the glass instead.

OP is right, this is garbage. But OP likely hasn’t had real sweet tea. It’s brewed such that the bitter, tannin taste isn’t there. The sugar is added when it’s still hot.

Unpopular? Depends on where you’re saying this.

And my friend, by mentioning sweetener packets, you’re drinking the wrong sweet tea. Come on out to a BBQ restaurant in the American south where they brew it with actual sugar as part of the process. Ranges from a pleasant beverage to making your teeth hurt.

Unsweetened iced tea fan here. There’s a time and place for the sweet stuff, but it can be good. Generally speaking it errs on too sweet though.

UK sweet tea is just regular tea, sugar and a splash of milk. It's awesome, although I usually take my tea without sugar unless I'm hungover or tired.

Sweetener packets?? Sweet tea needs the sugar added before it is iced, its grade school science.

Sweet tea is awful, but your reasoning is wrong. Proper sweet tea can give you second hand diabetes being at the same table as someone drinking it. There's nothing remotely bitter about sweet tea.

Unsweetened iced tea FTW!

If your sweet tea is bitter you doing something wrong son.

no matter how many sweetener packets you put in it

Ok, legit question: does unpopular opinion allow straight up trolling?

If the tea is bitter you're using water that is either too hot or too hard, or both, or you're using over oxidized tea leaves.

Sweet tea (at least in America) is generally made with black tea, which is made by oxidizing dried tea leaves. The level of oxidation is (in part) what determines the quality of the black tea. Some brands (like Lipton) use the lowest graded tea leaves they can get because it's cheaper. Which leads to more bitterness and off flavors.

All that said, I generally agree with you that sweet tea is awful. Though I'd go a step (or several) further and say that adding either sugar or milk to tea should be a crime punishable by being drowned in the disgusting swill you made.

I suppose you're talking about some American abomination and not like turkish tea or peppermint or rosehip tea with sugar added?

Probably needs more sugar.

Black tea like Earl Grey with honey and lemon totally replaced coffee for me. Refreshing, zingy and energising.

If it isn't sweet to you, you're making it wrong. As some of the other commenters have said, assuming you're talking about Southern style sweet tea, the stuff uses so much sugar that it will not dissolve unless it's added while the water is still hot, like 1 or 2 cups of sugar per gallon of tea was what my family used growing up, but some places will literally cram in double the sugar content of coca cola from what I've heard. Sweetener packets just ain't gonna cut it.

That being said, while I grew up with and love the stuff (though try to drink it only occationally and make it with sucralose now, because it's a truly ridiculous amount of sugar to consume as one's main beverage), I think you'll find your view less unpopular than you think, except among Americans (especially southerners). I remember being surprised to learn growing up from some foreign classmates that it's considered something of an acquired taste, if you didn't grow up with it, there's a pretty decent chance you won't like it, to my understanding.

Bitter sounds like hard water is altering the pH and pulling more tannins. Cleaner water, like RO water, will pull the flavonoids and fewer bitter tannins.

Second, the water needs to rest for a bit after boiling. 80C/180F is a good temp to pull maximum flavor with minimal tannins. This will again reduce the bitterness of the tea.

An easy alternative approach to tea making that will remove most bitterness is to cold brew the tea in water overnight, separate leaves and tea, and then slow heat the tea. It will have virtually none of the bitterness while keeping the flavor.

Pour the nearly boiling tea over sugar and ice cubes - clean water and slow freezing makes clear ice that leaves no flavor or residue in the tea. The sugar will melt but may require some additional stirring until thoroughly melted. Use more sugar than you might think, like 200g for each liter of tea.

Real sweet tea is a treat, like drinking candied tea.

Gotta agree OP. Others latched onto the packet thing but…honestly it is an awful beverage. I grew up drinking it, steeping it, making it as sun tea. I know how it tastes when made correctly. It’s still not a good drink.

Sweeter packets aren't going to help. In my experience using them, too many start to give a bitter taste of their own. We use sugar in this house, and honestly it doesn't take much to cut the tea bitter (which will depend on how and how long you brew it, that's its own debate). Some restaurant sweet teas are way too sweet.

It's like coffee, you have to find the right ratio that suits your personal taste buds. And sweet tea that sits in the fridge for a few days will get sweeter, but I'm always going through mine every other day or so.

My problem with most southern sweet tea is that it's too sweet. I love sweetened iced tea, but usually get unsweetened and add either sugar or lemonade (the latter if it's real, and not that stuff that's mixed from a powder).

/shrug

I don't care for tea in any form as a rule, but I'm not going to take someone to task who does. Life's too short to get outraged that someone likes the taste of something I don't.

I find I have to add in acid to bridge the gap between the sweet and bitter. Adding an emulsifying salt can really help as well im told. So maybe add in some citric acid and sodium citrate maybe?

Bro what a baby. It's the most sugary laiden crap. It's pure sugar?! Bitter? Not in the slightest. Meanwhile if I hand you a frappuchino I bet you not only wouldn't complain, you would pay $12 for it

I have more of a bitter tooth than a sweet tooth, I can't stand sugary stuff but love tea, coffee ect.

Different teas have different brewing temperatures below boiling, and if you're brewing too hot it's going to be bitter. Even better is a nice jug of sun tea!