Dolly Parton's Sweet Tea

Dolly's original recipe called for 6 regular sized tea bags and a cup of sugar.

 Ingredients:

 16 cups filter water

5 regular-sized tea bags or 4 family-sized tea bags

1 pinch of baking soda (for bitterness)

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Place 4 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. Tie together the strings of the tea bags together and place them in the saucepan with the string tabs over the edge of the pot. Cover and step for 15 minutes.

Remove the lad, use a spoon to gently press the tea bags to extract as much tea as possible, and discard the tea bags. Stir in the baking soda. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. 

Transfer the tea to a large serving pitcher and stir in the remaining 12 cups of water. Refrigerate for at least two hours.