This is how it's made. It consists of black tea. Period. You can use 6 standard tea bags for this, but loose tea tastes MUCH better.
We had a large real tea pot at home as a child. It had a ceramic infuser insert to hold the loose tea. We also had a regular salesman that stopped by on his route around the county who sold tea. He was from the Jewel Tea Company and we called him the Jewel Tea Man. My mother bought her teapot, tea and Autumn Leaf china from him. They were one of the first companies to give certificates for product redemption.
• 1 ounce good loose tea (B.O.P. or Orange Pekoe grade)
• 1 quart just-boiled water
• 1 quart room temperature water
Place the tea leaves or tea bags in the bottom of a metal or glass container -- NEVER, repeat, never in a plastic container.
Bring the water just to the boiling point, just to the point where it's bubbling fully, but do not sustain the water at a rolling boil; over-boiling the water makes the tea taste flat.
Pour the water over the tea/bags and allow to steep for 5-7 minutes. Pour/strain into a 2-quart pitcher, and add the room temperature water. Don't add cold water, because that leads to cloudy tea. Allow to cool, or refrigerate.
Never dilute the tea in the pitcher with ice.
To serve -- Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour the tea over it, and sweeten to taste. Serve guests with a long spoon, a bottle of simple syrup for sweetening, as granulated sugar never quite all dissolves, and pass the lemon slices and mint sprigs for those who like it.
NOTE: if you want to make real Southern "Sweet Tea" add a cup of suger to the hot tea after you strain it into the pitcher before you add the water. You can vary the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you want your tea to be.