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Alabama Sweet Tea Festival

SWEET TEA TASTINGS & Home Brew CompeTEAtions!


Taste buds were tingling as the 2024 festival crowd visited the Tea-Tasting Tent to vote for their favorite entries in the People’s Choice Home Brew Contest for home cooks and the Tea Pro-Master CompeTEAtion for restaurants, food trucks, chefs and others in the food service industry.

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Thanks to all of the contestants, who brewed up traditional and flavored tea for the People’s Choice awards and the Judges; Best Home Brew Contest, which is judged by a selected panel of discerning tasters.

Judges admitted it was a tough job, but they ultimately chose the traditional tea by Lucia Blalock of Bonifay as the $200 first-place winner. They said the choice was difficult between the winning tea and the defending 2023 champion, Erica Massey Parker, who earned the $100 second-place prize this year.  Mandy Powell's tea won the $50 third-place spot.


An unexpected honorable mention in the Judges’ Best Contest was the entry named; Uncle Charlie's Juice by Charlie Glass of New Orleans, who came all the way from Louisiana to enter the contest!  Glass’ effort paid off for the $200 prize in the People's Choice Home Brew competition, where his pineapple-sweetened flavored tea won first place by getting the most votes at the Tea-Tasting Tent. Erica Parker doubled her winnings by taking home second place, and Brittany Merritt won third place.


Huey's Walking Tacos walked away with the prize as the top Tea Pro-Master People's Choice winner

and earned braggin’ rights for the next year.


This was the first Pro-Master competition and the Festival Committee appreciates those who entered.


About 500 people went through the tent and voted while the tea supplies lasted. 

The Alabama Sweet Tea Committee invites everyone to perfect their sweet tea and enter in the 2025 contests.

Check back here in a few months to see how to enter. You never know.

You may be the one to take home the prize!

Downloadable Registration Form Home Brew

Registration will be available soon.

Downloadable Registration Form Pro-Master

Registration will be available soon.

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SWEET TEA CHUGGING CONTEST

Whether you were a contestant or observer, the Sweet Tea Chugging Contest brought fun and excitement to the Festival.  Play-by-play action was announced by Darien Craig and Brandon Echols, owners of Y’all

Sweet Tea. Thanks to Y’all Sweet Tea for sponsoring the ever-popular sweet and sticky sport of the day.


Winners in various age groups were Colt Voak of Headland; Nick Christianson, a Minnesota native and U.S. Army soldier currently stationed at Fort Moore; Dana Ray Roberts of Enterprise; and Levi Pearce of Enterprise.

WINNERS

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TEA PARTEAS

A tea festival wouldn’t be complete without Tea Parties, so Deborah Owen and The Fancy Fork, Gina Garrett and Cookie Crumbs, and Deanna Pierce and Lunations served up some classic ParTEAs with unique twists.

Beautifully decorated tables, dainty teacups, tea-tastings and sweet treats were inviting for guests who were treated to enjoyable activities that featured classic or whimsical themes.


Tea ParTEAs are a great way for businesses and organizations to do fund-raisers and introduce their products or civic missions to new people through this flexible activity that can range from the traditional to a lively informal setting.


It’s never too early to start planning a Tea ParTEA for your civic club, boutique, Sunday School class or other group for 2025. Call Tammy Doerer at 334-389-1554 or Kay Kirkland at 334-348-2310 for information and ideas about how you can take advantage of this opportunity at the

2025 Alabama Sweet Tea Festival.


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Shopping OpportuniTEAs

More than 80 vendors were on hand at the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival to provide a scrumptious combination of food, arts, handmade crafts, novelties, tea products, and activities.


The vendors were a delicious mix with a plethora of arts like pottery, painting and books. Crafts included wood, leather and outdoor metal products, tumblers, home décor, crocheted items, personalized items, jewelry, t-shirts and boutique fashions. 


Many vendors featured tea-themed products like fun home decor, tumblers with tea phrases and clothing items. And of course we featured the official Alabama Sweet Tea Festival t-shirt!


Wonderful crafters and other vendors created a beautiful and lively landscape, and the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival Committee thanks all of those who have committed to be here this year!


Sweet Southern Dining OpportuniTEAs

Of course, sweet tea is plentiful at the Alabama Sweet Tea Festival, thanks to great vendors and wonderful sponsors like Milo’s Tea Company, Y’all Sweet Tea and Royal Cup Coffee and Tea.

You can find it in many forms, even frozen! Many vendors create – or invent – tea delights just for this occasion, so next year, you won’t want to miss exploring the tasty wonders inspired by this festival.

But never fear, for those who don’t particularly pine for the taste of sweet tea, food vendors have plenty of other flavorful options such as lemonade, sodas and water.


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To go with your drink of choice, food vendors have a plethora of festival fare.  This year, vendors had hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ, freeze-dried candy,

baked goods, snow cones, ice cream and lots of other goodies. Some vendors also make the effort each year to create a total dining experience for

festival-goers. Several created their own decorated “porch” with chairs, rocking chairs or some other configuration that allows customers to relax

in the shade, eat comfortably and enjoy a beautifully or  adventurously decorated atmosphere


Those who do create “porches” for their festival space are eligible to win the “Best ParTea Porch” award.

This year, Brett and Kim Dalrymple of 3D Cattle Company, who served BBQ and fixings at their food booth, won bragging rights for

creating a ranch setting with horse pens and large whiskey barrels for dining tables.