Iced tea
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- This article is about the drink. For the rapper, see Ice T.
Iced tea is a form of cold tea, often served in a glass over ice. Any variety of dry tea may be iced, according to one's tastes. All one has to do is brew the tea and then chill it, or purchase a pre-bottled or -canned tea. It is often helpful to allow iced tea to cool to room temperature before refrigerating it to prevent the formation of condensates, which may give the tea a cloudy appearance, and a chalky taste. Warm tea may be poured over ice to chill it (if filtered water is used, the tea may not cloud at all, and flavor is usually unaffected), but prolonged storage in a refrigerator may still render the tea cloudy in any conditions.
Iced tea is commonly available sweetened (as sweet tea) or unsweetened. When using cane sugar, iced tea is best sweetened with simple syrup if cold, or with granulated sugar before cooling, as granulated sugar doesn't completely dissolve in the cold tea. Prepackaged iced tea may come in many different flavors, the most common of which are fruit flavors (lemon, as well as peach, raspberry, lime and cherry).
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[edit] History
Prior to the mid-1800s, tea, when served cold, was referred to as tea punch and was typically spiked with alcohol. These punches had names such as Regent's Punch, Charleston's Saint Cecilia Punch, and Chatham Artillery Punch. Iced tea was popularised at the 1904 Saint Louis World's Fair.
[edit] Iced tea by country
[edit] Belgium
In Belgium, Ice Tea is the brand name of a carbonated variety of iced tea marketed by Lipton since 1978. They also market a number of other non-carbonated iced teas under the "Ice Tea" brand. Other companies have followed suit but use variations on the name. American iced tea is not well-known in Belgium.
[edit] Italy
Iced tea is one of the most popular drinks in Italy and is widely available in cafes in Florence and Venice and probably elsewhere, generally only in lemon- and peach-flavored incarnations.
[edit] Philippines
Similar to the USA, iced tea is served in many bars and restaurants, grocery stores and fast food outlets as an alternative to carbonated soft drinks. In most areas, only the Nestea variety is available, although some offer their own recipes. It is also available in powdered form (just add water) as well as in cans and bottles.
[edit] Thailand
Thai iced tea has a strong Asian tea flavor as well as a creamy sweetness. Recipes can be quite varied, from the type of tea used (Jasmine, Genmai, etc.), the type of sweetener used (cane sugar, red bean), and the type of dairy used (cream, sweetened condensed milk). It has become popular in other countries, such as neighboring Laos, and in Thai restaurants in Western countries.
[edit] United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Lipton sold their carbonated iced tea, similar to the one on sale in Belgium, but the drink disappeared from shelves in the mid-90s. However, recently Lipton (this time non-carbonated) has returned to general sale, quickly followed by Nestea.
[edit] United States
In the United States, iced tea (often sweetened) is very popular as an alternative to carbonated soft drinks, especially in the hotter Southern states: it is ubiquitous in these states in restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, and groceries. It may be freshly made on premises, or available in bottles and cans, and at many self-serve soda fountains. Restaurants sometimes give the customer the choice of sweetened or unsweetened tea. Fruit flavored iced teas are most popular, but unflavored iced tea is also quite popular.
Sweet Tea, sometimes known as Southern Table Wine, is tea brewed very strong with a large amount of sugar added while the tea is still hot. The mixture of sugar and tea is then diluted with water and served over ice and garnished with lemon. Sometimes the diluted mixture is allowed to cool to room temperature other times the sugar and tea mixture is not diluted at all but rather poured hot over a full tumbler of ice to cool and dilute it. The oldest printed recipe of sweet tea dates back to a community cookbook "Housekeeping in Old Virginia", by Marion Cabell Tyree, published in 1879 [1].
Iced tea was popularised at the 1904 World's Fair. Iced tea's popularity in the United States has led to an addition to standard flatware sets; the iced tea spoon is a standard flatware teaspoon, but with a long handle, suitable for stirring sugar into the taller glasses commonly used for iced tea.
- Freshly Brewed Iced Tea
- Iced tea is traditionally served in the United States with a slice of lemon on the rim of the glass. In the Southwest United States (or at least in restaurants with a Southwest theme), lime is also very popular (especially in Mexican restaurants). It is not entirely uncommon for establishments to put out slices of both lemon and lime for the customer to take for themselves.
- Because of the varieties of eateries in the United States, as well as climatic and cultural differences, a variety of iced teas are available. Most prominent are:
- In barbecue, soul food, and Southern cuisine -style, establishments, along with greasy spoons and general eateries, black tea (Orange Pekoe) is iced, often available sweetened and unsweetened. This is by far the most commonly available form of freshly brewed iced tea, to which the above statements apply. Fruit flavored and herbal flavored brewed iced takes a close second in fresh brewed iced tea within the United States.
- In some coffeehouses, more exotic varieties may be iced, such as Jasmine tea or Earl Gray tea.
- Thai iced tea is common in Thai restaurants.
- Iced Chai tea (spiced Indian tea) is available from some restaurants and stores. While not traditionally served iced, in the U.S. chai is frequently served iced, often with honey as a sweetener, or presweetened when bottled.
- Iced Jasmine tea, Genmaicha, and Hojicha are available from some Chinese cuisine or other Asian cuisine restaurants, but rarely. It's more common to find one of these varieties hot, where the patron may pour the tea over ice.
- Bottled Iced Tea
- The main manufacturers of bottled or canned iced tea are Nestea, Lipton, Snapple and AriZona Beverage. Such tea can be found on the shelves of most American groceries and convenience stores, in a variety of flavors, and leaf types (usually black or green, occasionally white). With iced tea that's mass-produced at this scale, unsweetened varieties are somewhat rare: most are sweetened with corn syrup, and their sweetness places them in the same market as soft drinks. Both the sweetened and unsweetened varieties usually contain the additive citric acid, labeled either "for flavor" or as a "preservative." Canned varieties are canned under high pressure to prevent the cans from being crushed, which may result in very mild effervescence.
- In health food stores and some other specialty stores, you'll find a different set of ice tea bottlers, which may include Honest Tea, Tazo, various U.S. brands of the Japanese green tea giant Ito En, and other small companies. These are also available in a variety of flavors, although there is less emphasis on fruits and sweeteners, and greater emphasis on traditional tea spices and herbs (which can range from mint to oil of bergamot). Corn syrup as a sweetener is rare, with cane sugar, honey, and other sweeteners being more prominent. Citric acid as a stand-alone ingredient (i.e., present as a chemical additive and not because of the addition of citrus) is less common. Also, with these alternative producers unsweetened tea with no additional ingredients (just tea infused water) may be available, and uncommon varieties can be found (chai tea, white tea, genmai tea, Jasmine tea, Earl Gray tea, and hoji tea are some examples).
- Iced Tea From Soda Dispensers
- In 1996, a FDA survey [2] revealed high levels of coliform bacteria (due to inadequate cleansing) in the tubing from the reservoir to the spigot in a few of these containers. Approximately the same time, the Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola companies began aggressive targeted marketing campaigns aimed at replacing fresh brewed iced tea in food service establishments with the cola companies' own tea concentrate which is dispensed using the same method as fountain drinks, pumped from a Bag-In-Box. In many cases, the cola companies provided a fountain dispenser for the tea concentrate that looked similar to the containers that were previously used to dispense fresh brewed tea. However, few serious iced tea drinkers were impressed with the cola companies' stale, chemical tasting products and tea sales at those establishments that offered them consistently fell after the switch to concentrate. Recent advances in tea brewing equipment and sanitation procedures have prompted some establishments (such as McDonalds) to return to brewing iced tea in recent years.
[edit] Vietnam
In Vietnam, ice tea is often served for free in coffee shops and some restaurants. It is usually delivered while the customer is choosing what to order.
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