There was a radio ad here in Austin some years ago where an elderly comedienne asks her server for sweet tea. A short while later a glass of tea is placed upon the table, but much to the older woman's lament, it is unsweetened. When informed that what was brought was not what was ordered, the young waitress replied "I brought you tea and we have sugar on the table."

To use the brunt of the punch line of the joke as an analogy, "If I ordered a cake would you bring me raw eggs and flour?" Neither would adding sugar to iced tea make it proper sweet tea.

True sweet tea relies on a fairly basic principle everyone learns in high school chemistry: super-saturation.

Some of the more health-conscious among you may balk at the amount of sugar used, but keep in mind, it gets hot down South, and we Southerners needed a drink which was both refreshing while providing a boost of energy on those scorching Summer afternoons when the temperature and humidity climb into the nineties.

The keys to making the tea right are multi-fold, though not very precise. There is variation from region to region, family to family, but once you arrive at that perfect point, that masters blend, you will be rewarded with people asking for your secrets. Here are mine:

Brewing

1. Fill your serving container with water and then pour water into a saucepan large enough to adequately hold that volume and heat the water.

2. Just as the water begins to boil, but before it really gets going, reduce heat and steep your tea bags for 5 minutes (shorter times will result in weaker tea, five minutes makes the strongest tea without loosing too much heat). This maximizes the flavor of the tea without scorching. It also preserves antioxidant levels.

3. In the pitcher, add one heaping cup of granulated sugar per quart then pour in your tea (depending on factors such as temperature and altitude you may be able to add more or less sugar). Stir vigorously until sugar is completely dissolved. This is where the timing of the operation becomes important and the supersaturation occurs. Liquids at higher temperatures dissolve and absorb things more readily and in higher quantities than at cooler temperatures. Sweet tea relies on this principle, and the maximum dissoluble amount of sugar should be used.

4. Refrigerate. Once the tea has absorbed the sugar at higher temperatures, rapidly cooling it will allow it maintain a higher quantity of sugar than normally possible at lower ones. This is why you can't make "sweet tea" once it has cooled.

Serving

1. Fill a tall glass full of ice.

2. Pour in tea.

3. Garnish with a lemon slice or wedge on the rim

4. Enjoy!

Refrigerate fresh tea immediately to maintain freshness.