Iced Tea Day is celebrated on June 10.
Photo by Southern Living.com©
Historians believe that people began serving cold tea sometime during the 19th century. The drink became popular when vendors started selling it at public events.
Popularized at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, iced tea has become a summertime staple in the United States.
Iced tea or ice tea is a form of cold tea, usually served in a glass with ice. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink.
It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, strawberry and cherry. While most iced teas get their flavor from tea leaves, tisanes are also sometimes served cold and referred to as iced tea.
In the United States, iced tea makes up about 85% of all tea consumed and is very popular as an alternative to carbonated soft drinks, especially in the hotter southern states: it is ubiquitous in restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, and grocery stores. It may be freshly made on premises, or available in bottles and cans, and at self-serve soda fountains. Restaurants typically give the customer the choice of sweetened or unsweetened.
Iced tea’s popularity in the United States has led to an addition to standard cutlery sets: the iced tea spoon is a teaspoon with a long handle, suitable for stirring sugar into glasses.
In the summer, iced tea is at its most popular. It is a common stereotype of the Southeastern United States due to the popularity of sweet iced tea in that region that unsweetened iced tea is not available and/or frowned upon. It is true that often the term “iced tea” is assumed to mean sweetened iced tea by default in that region. (With material from: Wikipedia)
Today, people make iced tea using a variety of different flavors. You can also mix iced tea with other beverages. One of the most popular iced tea beverages is an “Arnold Palmer,” which consists of half iced tea and half lemonade.
Sweetened or unsweetened, flavored or unflavored, celebrate Iced Tea Day with a nice, tall glass of your favorite iced tea!
The Best Way to Make Iced Tea
From the test labs of SomethingEdible.com
Photo by the Something Edible blog. (2011)©
Servings: Makes a half-gallon (around 2 Liters)
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
Special Equipment
- French press The big 1 Liter model.
- half-gallon pitcher Must be stainless-steel or durable plastic.
- instant-read thermometer For testing water temperature.
The Consumables:
- 3 Tbsps loose black tea heaping (.75oz by weight for the persnickety.)
- 32 fluid oz very hot water (Between 180F-200F)
- 32 fluid oz very cold water (That’s still a quart, people)
Instructions:
Using a microwave, electric kettle or whatever, heat your water to the desired temperature. Add loose tea to the French press, pour hot water over the leaves, replace the lid of the press (taking care not to yet mash the plunger) and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Press the steeped tea according to your press manufacturer’s directions and pour the hot tea into your thermally-resilient pitcher; then add the remaining cold water.
To serve, pour over ice and garnish and/or flavor as you see fit.
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