Southerners love their iced tea, and these three fruit teas are fresh and delicious alternatives. Treat your family and guests to these delicious drinks.

The basic fruit iced tea makes a big batch of two 1-gallon jugs, perfect for a family gathering or tailgating event. The pineapple tea and orange mint tea can be scaled up quite easily for a crowd.

• 18 to 24 tea bags
• 1 1/2 quarts water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 48 ounces pineapple juice
• 12 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
• 12 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate
• Lemon, for garnish, optional
• Mint leaves, for garnish, optional

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place 18 to 24 tea bags in bowl or pitcher. Pour 1 1/2 quarts of boiling water over tea bags.
• Add 2 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Let tea bags steep in sugar water for several hours or overnight.
• Squeeze tea bags to wring out extra flavor before discarding.
• Pour tea into a large bowl or pot. Add cans of pineapple juice, frozen orange juice, and lemonade.
• Stir until the concentrate has thawed.
• Pour equal amounts into 2 (1-gallon) jugs.
• Add cold water to each jug to fill and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Shake well before serving. Garnish as desired.

• This recipe makes 2 gallons of fruit tea. If you don't want to make such a big batch or don't have enough space or large-enough containers to hold it all, it's easy to cut this recipe exactly in half to yield 1 gallon.
• If you like things less sweet, feel free to add half the amount of sugar in the beginning. You can always add more sugar to taste after stirring in the pineapple juice, frozen concentrates and water. Be sure to stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.