ICED TEA

Americans have had a long love affair with iced tea, in fact 85% of the tea consumed in the U.S. is served over ice! During prohibition, there was talk of making “tea” America’s national drink and today, June is National Ice Tea Month plus tomorrow, June 10^th, is Iced Tea Day!

The oldest known recipe for sweet ice tea was published in 1879 in a community cookbook called Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree. The recipe calls for green tea since most sweet tea consumed during this period was green tea.

Even by 1904, the U.S. tea market was still dominated by China and most Americans drank green tea especially in the Midwest. As a result, an Englishman, Richard Blechynden, was trying to introduce black tea from India and Ceylon to Americans at the St. Louis World’s Fair. He hadn’t anticipated the heat wave that made his steamy hot beverage undesirable. After a few unsuccessful days, he had an idea. He purchased several blocks of ice and began filling glasses first with ice then with his brewed tea. The black tea was a hit and finally India and Ceylon had made an inroad to the U.S. tea market and iced tea became the tea of choice for Americans year round. In addition, during World War II, the major sources of green tea were cut off from the United States, leaving them with only black tea from British controlled India. Americans came out of the war drinking nearly 99 percent black tea.

In order to properly brew this favorite beverage, you must start with a good loose leaf tea. Iced tea is no time to skimp on quality if you want a great tasting beverage. Since cold temperatures and melting ice lessen the flavor, double the traditional amount of tea when brewing for iced tea, however steep and strain as usual (five minutes for black tea). If you desire sweet tea, sugar should be added during the brewing process! Adding ice immediately can make the tea cloudy so allow the tea to cool to room temperature before chilling. Two other methods for making iced tea include sun brewing and the cold water method. To sun brew, fill a container with cold water, add tea and cover. Place in direct sunlight for 2-4 hours. Strain and serve over ice. The cold water method is similar except the container is placed in the refrigerator for 8 hours before being strained and served over ice. Whatever method you choose, do not let your tea sit for longer than 72 hours for the best flavor. Enjoy this beverage that acts as part of your water intake, has natural health benefits and refreshes thirst without all the additives.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
Psalm 34:8