McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!) (2024)

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McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ is famous for a reason: its tea is strong, sweet, and cold – as sweet tea should be! Next time you’re craving a glass of McAlisters Deli Tea, save yourself the drive and make your own with this easy copycat recipe! You just need 3 ingredients (+ water!)

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Table of Contents hide

1 What Type of Tea Does McAlister’s Deli Use?

2 What You Need to Make McAlister’s Deli Tea

3 Why is there Baking Soda in This Recipe?

5 How to Make McAlister’s Deli Tea

6 How Much Sugar is in McAlister’s Sweet Tea?

7 How is McAlister’s Tea So Good?

8 Is McAlister’s sweet tea caffeinated?

9 Looking for More Easy Copycat Recipes?

10 McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!)

10.1 Ingredients 1x2x3x

10.2 Instructions

10.3 Nutrition

What Type of Tea Does McAlister’s Deli Use?

According to their website, McAlister’s Deli uses high-qualityblack tea leavesto make its McAlister’s World Famous Sweet Tea™.

What You Need to Make McAlister’s Deli Tea

Why is there Baking Soda in This Recipe?

In this recipe, we add baking soda to help take out the bitterness of the black tea and keep your tea fresh for longer.

Trust us, once you try this trick, you’ll swear by this hack! We’re so sure it works that we guarantee your tea will taste just as fresh the next day!

What If I Want to Make McAlister’s Deli Unsweet Tea?

To make McAlister’s Deli Unsweet Tea, you can simply omit the sugar in this recipe!

If you want it sweet but just want to cut down on the sugar, you can also substitute Splenda for the sugar, or just use less sugar to your taste preference!

How to Make McAlister’s Deli Tea

  1. In a medium pot, boil 1/4 gallon of the water on medium-high heat.
  2. Once water comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and pour the water into an empty pitcher (I love this specific pitcher).
  3. Add the tea bags and baking soda and allow it to steep for 15 minutes.
  4. Take out the tea bags, then stir in the sugar. Top it off with the rest of the water and stir.
  5. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until cold. Serve the tea as needed in tall glasses with extra ice cubes. ENJOY!

How Much Sugar is in McAlister’s Sweet Tea?

There is 357 g of sugar in every gallon of McAlister’s Sweet Tea.

1 gallon equals to about16 (8 oz) cups, so each 8 oz cup of McAlister’s Sweet Tea contains approximately 22.3 g of sugar.

How is McAlister’s Tea So Good?

McAlister’s Tea tastes great because the tea is high quality and fresh, and the chain has a lot of experience in making tea – especially their World Famous Sweet Tea™ !

Is McAlister’s sweet tea caffeinated?

Yes, McAlister’s sweet tea is caffeinated because it contains black tea.

McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!) (1)

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McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!) (2)

McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!)

McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!) (3)DWELL by Michelle

McAlister's Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ is famous for a reason: its tea is strong, sweet, and cold – as sweet tea should be! Next time you're craving a glass of McAlisters Deli Tea, save yourself the drive and make your own with this easy copycat recipe! You just need 3 ingredients (+ water!)

5 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Steep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 148 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a medium pot, boil 1/4 gallon of the water on medium-high heat.

  • Once the water comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and pour the water into an empty pitcher (I love this specific pitcher).

  • Add the tea bags and baking soda and allow it to steep for 15 minutes.

  • Take out the tea bags, then stir in the sugar. Top it off with the rest of the water and stir.

  • Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, or until cold. Serve the tea as needed in tall glasses with extra ice cubes. ENJOY!

Nutrition

Calories: 148kcal

Keyword authentic recipes, dairy-free, dairy-free recipes, drinks recipe, easy drinks, easy fall recipes, easy recipes, easy snacks, Gluten-Free, gluten-free recipes, gluten-free treats, holiday drink, restaurant copycat recipes, summer drinks, vegan, vegan treats, vegetarian

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McAlister’s Deli World Famous Sweet Tea ™ (Copycat Recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

What kind of sweet tea does McAlister's use? ›

Rainforest Alliance CertifiedTM. Specially filtered. Made fresh with Orange Pekoe Black Tea leaves.

How much caffeine is in McAlister's tea? ›

According to the ingredients list they use orange pekoe tea. Generally orange pekoe is listed as having about 45 mg caffiene per 8oz of serving. Your milage may vary.

Can I use brown sugar in sweet tea? ›

Sugar: Traditional sweetener for classic Southern iced tea.

Brown sugars might be too overpowering for delicate green iced tea, but they're great with strong, spicy black tea recipes. You can also enjoy sugar in fun forms, like cubes, rock crystals and even swizzle sticks coated in crystallized sugar.

How many ounces is a Mcalister's sweet tea? ›

Mcalisters Deli Sweet Tea (32 oz) Delivery or Pickup Near Me - Instacart.

What does McDonald's sweeten their sweet tea with? ›

Ingredients: Medium Invert Sugar, Water.

What kind of tea is used for sweet tea? ›

Sweet tea is most commonly made by adding sugar or simple syrup to black tea while the tea is either brewing or still hot, although artificial sweeteners are also frequently used. Sweet tea is almost always served ice cold. It may sometimes be flavored, most commonly with lemon but also with peach, raspberry, or mint.

Is McAllister healthy? ›

McAlister's Deli is the face of fresh, offering a huge menu of sandwiches, salads, soups, and spuds. There's plenty to choose from that can fit into a healthy diet and satisfy any lunch craving, but the menu is studded with less than healthy foods as well.

What flavor of tea has the most caffeine? ›

Black tea caffeine: Black tea typically has the highest caffeine content among teas. Oolong tea caffeine: Oolong tea generally has less caffeine than black tea, but more than green or white tea. Green tea caffeine: Green tea usually has less caffeine than black or oolong tea.

Why is southern sweet tea so much better? ›

Still, there's a balance to the flavor—the tea is brewed long and strong, so it gets an astringency that can only be countered by lots of the sweet stuff. Southerners, of course, have a taste for sugar that is demonstrably stronger than what you find up North.

What makes tea taste sweet without sugar? ›

Some examples include aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame K, saccharin, and xylitol. These often have a much sweeter taste than refined sugar.

What size are McAlister's cups? ›

For the first time, tumblers will be 32 ounces to match in-restaurant tea glasses – perfectly sized to quench any tea craving.

How much alcohol does sweet tea have? ›

Bojangles Hard Sweet Tea was developed as a new-to-world alcohol product intended to clearly distinguish that it is an alcohol beverage, clearly noting “Hard Tea,” “contains alcohol,” “21+,” and “5% ABV” on all primary and secondary packaging.

What are the ingredients in McAlister's lemonade? ›

Lemonade (Sugar, Water, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Lemon Pulp, Natural Flavors). Lemonade (Sugar, Water, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Lemon Pulp, Natural Flavors).

Who makes brisk sweet tea? ›

Brisk: Iced Tea and Juice Drinks with bold flavor and a bolder attitude. Pepsi Lipton combines the size and scale of two of the largest consumer goods companies in the world: PepsiCo and Unilever. The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership is a joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever.

What is sweet tea and pink lemonade called? ›

The name “Arnold Palmer” has legendary roots as an original beverage combination of half iced tea and half lemonade, widely known for its refreshing taste and ability to revive the senses after a competitive round of golf.

What is hard sweet tea? ›

Hard Sweet Tea (formerly Naughty Tea) Made from 100% natural tea, our Naughty TEA wine contains no grapes. Tastes of peach on the front end, slightly sweet, and a finish of black tea leaves. Every serving contains 47mg of caffeine, the same amount of caffeine as a normal cup of tea.

What tea does Chick Fil A use for their sweet tea? ›

Chick Fil A Sweet Tea Ingredients

Tetley Iced Tea Family Size Black Tea Bags. Real Cane Sugar (Granulated White Sugar)

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