As a Southern raised girl, iced tea is my first drink of choice. I use a 2 quart pan filled with water, bring to boil, drop in 10-12 tea bags (yes I like tea to look like tea), put lid on, remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes. I drink it unsweetened totally. But when I was growing up, my mother would remove the tea bags after 5 min. and add the sugar while it is still hot so it dissolves. If you add sugar, add more than you think because you will need to dilute this tea after cooling. I use two half gallon Ball jars putting about a quart of tea in each one and then adding water diluting to the color that I prefer.