Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or medium sauce pan.
Add teabags to a heat-proof ceramic pitcher or large glass 8 cup measuring bowl/cup. (If you don't have either, you can steep the tea in a stockpot or sauce pan on the stove.)
Pour boiling water into pitcher. Make sure tea bags are in the water, so they can steep. Dunk them a couple times, then drape strings over the side of the pitcher, if possible.
Allow the tea to steep for 20 minutes on the counter.
Remove tea bags with a long wooden spoon, squeeze tea out of them and then throw away the tea bags. Stir in sugar with wooden spoon, if using. Add remaining 4 cups of water to tea and stir.
Fill glasses with ice. Pour tea over ice and enjoy!
Notes
Makes 6 tall glasses of iced tea.Sweetened tea can be refrigerated and drank the next day, but it starts to take on an unpleasant aftertaste that I do not enjoy. I recommend you drink the tea the day you make it.