Down to a T: Iced Tea

General Info
Origin: Camellia sinensis, herbal tea or fruit infusion.
Taste: Sweet, fruity, citrus, smooth.
Caffeine level: none - high. Depending on the type of tea you’re using.
Storage: In the fridge, always.
Best before: If homemade, no more than a day.

Since the beginning of the summer, I’ve been consuming iced tea like my life depends on it. My daily cup of tea has been replaced by a dripping jar of iced tea, and my freezer is filled with ice so that I never run out. Even my boyfriend has replaced his morning coffee with iced tea. It is the perfect way to wake up with something fresh, or to wind down after a day in the heat. But beware: when I say iced tea, I don’t mean a glass of Nestea. No, no. I mean real iced tea. Tea, but iced. 

History
Although cooled tea became popular in ancient times, iced tea as we know it today is much more recent than regular hot tea. It became popular in 1904, when Richard Blechynden introduced it at the World’s Fair, in St-Louis, United States. After that, iced tea started to appear in restaurants and cookbooks, with slight variations. Contrary to traditional hot tea, iced tea is easily customizable and you can change up ingredients to your own liking. Most regions even have their own version of the iced tea.

In Hong Kong, iced green tea is often offered with dessert, sometimes with tapioca pearls at the bottom, and is usually flavored with jasmine blossoms. In Taiwan, they serve the very popular bubble tea, which is strong black tea to which was added sugar and condensed milk. Like in Hong Kong, it is served with tapioca pearls at the bottom. In Vietnam, it is so popular that it is served free in coffee shops, so you can enjoy your iced tea while you select your food. In Brazil, iced tea is sold on the beach by walking vendors, a concept that is very deeply rooted in the beach culture. In the United Kingdom, however, iced tea only became popular in the year 2000, and it hasn’t yet reached the popularity level of traditional hot tea. On the contrary, in the United States, iced tea quickly became extremely popular, dethroning regular tea in one swift movement. It has become the popular alternative to soft drinks, unmistakably served in restaurants and food courts. Cutlery sets even now have an iced tea spoon; a tea spoon with a long handle that allows you to stir sugar in the tall glass in which is typically served american iced tea.

When two employees of the Swiss Bischofszell beverage company tasted american iced tea, they brought the concept back to Europe and suggested that they make a similar drink in a bottle, all ready to drink. The idea quickly caught on and made its way back to the United States, where bottled or canned iced tea can now be found anywhere. The tea is usually mixed with flavored syrup, the most popular ones being lemon, cherry and peach. Even though the usual american iced tea is a whole lot sweeter and more artificial than the other variations, it is still (usually) made from real tea.

The making
The original iced tea is made with black tea, coming from the Camellia sinensis plant. However, as the tea market expanded, other types of tea appeared and some of them are now used to make iced tea. Herbal tea and fruit infusions in particular give a really nice, sweet flavor when iced. In Asia, green and oolong tea is often drunk iced. All around the world, iced tea is now so commercialized that you can buy “fake” tea in frozen cans or in powder form. Needless to say, these are mainly sugar mixed with artificial flavor and preservatives. Although these are nice to enjoy poolside when it’s boiling hot outside, you can easily tell the difference between these store-bought beverages and a pitcher of freshly made authentic iced tea.

 Little fun fact: bottled iced tea is usually sweetened with corn syrup, which contains a very high amount of sugar. The added sugar places bottled iced tea in the same category as regular soft drinks like 7Up or Coke. If, like me, you were selecting iced tea at food courts and movie theaters thinking you were choosing the “slightly healthier” option, think again.

Iced tea can be homemade in various ways. The most common is to simply brew strong black tea in just-boiling water. If you’re making a pitcher, you should use the equivalent of 1 teabag per cup of water, and let steep for a maximum of 10 minutes. If you’re just making a jar, you can brew your tea the usual way, but in smaller amount. Once brewed, add a ton of ice to cool immediately, or stick the container in the fridge for a couple of hours. Before cooling the tea, you can add sugar or honey to sweeten it. You want to add any kind of sweetener when the tea is still hot so it can completely dissolve. Iced tea is usually served with a slice of lemon or lime. Once made, it technically should only be kept in the fridge for a maximum of 8 hours. However, if you’re a little intrepid, it can easily be kept for up to a full day.

There is a very similar beverage called sweet tea, mostly popular in the south of the United States. It is made the same way, except that the tea is brewed with a very large amount of sugar. It is a beverage that’s easy to enjoy for those who are not tea enthusiasts or for kids.

Sun tea is another interesting variation. The tea is brewed in cold water, in a jar that’s placed in the sun for hours. Normally, when brewing tea, the hot water slightly burns the tea leaves, creating the characteristic bitter taste. Brewing the tea in cold water overrides that and gives the tea a flavor that is much smoother. The only problem with sun tea is that, since the water never reached a boiling point, it isn’t warm enough to get rid of bacteria, making the beverage a bit risky to drink. To avoid that, people started making sun tea by putting the container in the fridge for multiple hours, instead of out in the sun. That beverage is simply called fridge tea, which, let’s admit it, sounds a lot less appetizing.

Proper Use
Iced tea is used in a multitude of beverages, and most of them are summer staples. In the United States, a very popular drink is a half and half, also known as an Arnold Palmer, a very popular golf player of the 1960’s. Half iced tea, half lemonade, it was apparently Palmer’s favorite drink after a day on the course. In Florida, you can order a Caddy Cooler, which is a mix of sweet and unsweetened iced tea, for indecisive minds. Finally, sweet tea is used in some alcoholic drinks, like the John Daly (sweet tea, vodka and lemonade). Iced tea also gave its name to the Long Island Iced Tea, although the original drink from Long Island doesn’t have any iced tea. However, the mix of tequila, gin, vodka, rum, triple sec and cola weirdly resembles iced tea, which is what inspired the name.

I think iced tea is something that has become so rooted in our culture that we don’t really notice it anymore. We drink it without wondering where it’s coming from or what it’s made of. I enjoyed digging for information about this very popular drink and discovering more about its origins. Once again, it goes to show that tea is so much more than just a cup of leafy water.

Wow, I’m thirsty, aren’t you?

Until next time,

Much love,