Realtree Camo Y’all Sweet Tea

Growing up in the South, sweet tea was omnipresent. It was served with lunch and dinner, occasionally breakfast on those hot summer days, at church functions, picnics, barn parties, and generally anywhere folks got together and wanted something refreshing to drink.

Sweet tea is a southern staple and the combination of Y’all Sweet Tea and Realtree Camo is the perfect way to stay hydrated. All photos by author.

Now, I enjoy spending time up north. Drop me in the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, in the U.P. of Michigan, or just about anywhere in Wisconsin, and I’m a happy camper. Especially in the summer when it’s 100-plus degrees back home. But those poor folks just don’t know about sweet tea. I’ve started bringing a bottle of simple syrup with me to restaurants up there so I can doctor up that bitter brew they call tea as I spread the sweet tea gospel to anyone who will listen.

Like most of us in the South, Darien Craig and Brandon Echols have been drinking sweet tea since they were old enough to walk. Maybe even longer. Back in 2015, they started selling it at festivals and farmer’s markets. Fast forward to 2020, and they developed their own blend of premium black teas to complement their family recipe. It was a hit. The next year, they started marketing their tea and Y’all Brands Sweet Tea was born.

Y’all Sweet Tea was started in 2020.

Now they’ve teamed up with Realtree and their teas are available in your favorite Realtree Camo patterns.

Like I said, I’ve been drinking sweet tea all my life. I can distinguish most of the big national brands just by taking a sip. This is good tea. It has rapidly become my favorite brand. Don’t believe me? Take it from one of the world’s foremost sweet tea drinkers, Uncle Si.

“This is the best way to make tea. Nothing else comes close, and that's a fact, Jack! Y'all Sweet Tea didn't even pay me to put this on Facebook. It's just that good!”

I’ve shared a duck camp or two with Uncle Si over the years. It isn’t an act. The man loves his sweet tea and has a jug in hand from the second he wakes up in the morning. While everyone else in camp is chugging down strong coffee at 3 am, Si is sitting quietly (about the only time he is ever quiet) and sipping his iced tea.

The Realtree Camo resealable, 10-ounce packs contain 10 family size tea bags. One tea bag is enough to make a gallon of refreshing sweet tea.

Y’all comes in family sized tea bags.

If you live in the South, you don’t need me to tell you how to make sweet tea. It’s one of those skills most of us are naturally born with, like catching fish and skinning frogs. But, if you happen to live in an area where sweet tea isn’t as common (cough, cough, the North) the bags have easy to follow instructions on the back.

Their recipe isn’t exactly the same as mine, but it’s close enough to keep my grandma from “blessing their hearts.”

I made up a batch following their exact recipe this morning. It’s good stuff. If you are a sweet tea lover, give it a try. It will quickly become your favorite brand.

I fired up the Camp Chef stove to make this batch stream side following the exact recipe on the bag.

Start by bringing 4 cups of water to a heavy simmer, just short of a light boil. Kill the heat. Add 1 Y’all Sweet Tea bag.

Bring the water to a light boil, then kill the heat and add a tea bag.

Cover and allow the tea to steep for 9 to 10 minutes. While the tea steeps, add 4 cups of ice to a gallon pitcher (they sell those too). Once the tea is ready, remove the bag and pour the tea over the ice.

Pour the hot tea over the ice in the pitcher.

Add 8 cups of water and as much sugar as you like. Start with 1 ½ cups and go up from there.

Add sugar to taste.

Give everything a good stir to dissolve the sugar and serve over ice with a slice of lemon.