I boil water in my tea kettle and when it whistles, I add 4 family-size tea bags and let it steep for about 1 hr. I always use a milk jug for my tea (it holds the large quantity and it's so easy to pourfrom)... I put 1 1/4 c. of sugar in the jug and pour in the hot tea.. swish it around until sugar dissolves. Then I run water back thru the tea bags in the kettle to get every last drop of tea out of the bags and add this to the jug. Refrigerate immediately. Tea gets a spoiled taste if left out in warm weather. I never use sweeteners as they seem to leave a bitter taste in tea. (However, my mom uses 1/2 sugar and 1/2 Splenda and it's ok...but not as good as when she used all sugar.)