Bring your water to a boil in a pot with some head space. You'll need room for the tea leaves, you'll be using a lot. When the water begins to boil, remove the pot from the heat to stop the boiling, and then add the tea leaves to the pot, stirring to moisten them. Don't try to use a tea bag, or tea ball, or anything, we are using a LOT of tea, and we need it to steep fully.



Don't boil the tea! It will be bitter! Just let it sit in the hot water.



Set your timer for 4 minutes, and wait.



When your timer goes off, carefully strain the tea into your heat resistant pitcher through a sieve or tea sock. I've got a round seive that nestles well in the opening of my pitcher. I pour slowly, letting the sieve catch most of the tea leaves. As the sieve clogs up, I stop pouring, let the sieve drip for a minute, and then knock the tea leaves out of it into the compost.



When the tea is in the pitcher, add your sweetener, and stir to dissolve. You have to add the sweetener when the tea is hot, otherwise you'll never get it to dissolve fully.



Put the tea in the fridge for a few hours to cool it down. If you must have tea soon, you can use the ice to help cool it down, but it won't be as strong. This sweetened tea will save for a week or more in the fridge. I make big batches, and just save the full pitcher in the fridge for serving on demand.