Iced Tea

History
Sweet Tea vs. Iced Tea
Which Teas to Ice
How to Make Iced Tea: An Overview and 5 Recipes
Sweetening Your Tea
Other Flavors for Iced Teas
Iced Tea Your Way

History

Iced tea is relatively new in the world of tea. According to most sources, it was invented in the summer of 1904, during the St. Louis World Fair. As inexpensive black teas began to make their way from India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), South America, and Africa, black tea began to replace green tea in America. Richard Blechynden, then the India Tea Commissioner, was offering free samples of hot black tea in the Fair’s East Indian Pavilion to promote the move toward black tea. However, that summer proved to be mighty hot . . . . So hot, in fact, that I have to let my friend Vuokko Designo, a self-described Southern belle, tell the story from the heat of her native North Carolina.

"Come gathah ’round so as I can tell you-ins the story. It was awfully hot. ’Smatter-a-fact I reckon it was hot enough to make the young-uns pitch a dang conniption fit. Warn’t a soul right inclined to swaller the boilin’ hot brew. Lucky for Mr. Bleck-y-in-din, he had the smarts to uppin throw in a whole messa ice to that steamin’ hot pot o’ tea. An’ goodness gracious me! The tea did so right by them, that rascal’s idear went gallavantin’ clear down to Alabammer, where it ain’t never left since!"

(Translation: It was so hot that no one would drink the tea. He decided to pour the tea over ice and it was an instant hit across America.)

As entertaining as that version is, it’s not the only one. According to Linda Stratley of What’s Cooking America and several other sources, it’s not exactly accurate. Richard Blechynden certainly popularized iced black tea at the World Fair (and, later, with free samples at Bloomingdale Brothers Department Store), but iced GREEN tea had already been around for about a hundred years. It was most often made as a heavily alcoholic punch, the most popular of which was Regent’s Punch, but there are also records of iced tea very much like Southern sweet tea, albeit with green tea instead of black, dating back to 1879. Turns out Blechynden didn’t invent iced BLACK tea either--it had been around since at least 1884.

After iced tea was invented, ahem, popularized in 1904, Americans began to buy specialized tea accoutrement, including tall "iced tea glasses" and long-handled spoons for stirring in sugar or lemon. Later, Prohibition "spiked" tea’s popularity even more, as Americans sought out interesting, tasty, LEGAL beverages to enjoy. Green and black iced teas were common until World War II, which cut off the green tea supply to the U.S. British imports of Indian black tea replaced green tea almost entirely, which explains why iced tea was almost always black tea in the U.S. . . . that is, until quite recently. Tea’s resurgence in popularity in the US (it used to be the nation’s most popular beverage) has revived non-black iced tea. Now you can find bottled iced green, white, and even rooibos teas at all the health stores and even a number of bodegas (that’s Newyorkian for "convenience store"). Well, in New York you can. I can’t speak for the rest of the country.

For more information on iced tea’s fascinating history, see this article.


Sweet Tea vs. Iced Tea

North America is very split on how their iced tea "should be." In the South, iced tea (also referred to as "sweet tea") is served very sweet. I’ve often heard the expression, "so sweet you could stand a spoon in it" used in reference to Southern iced tea . . . by Southerners, and usually as a compliment. It may or may not have a slice of lemon to cut the sweetness. In the North, iced tea is served unsweetened, usually with a slice of lemon. In Canada, tea is sweet, but not usually as sweet as the Southern version. In Mexico, the most common "iced tea" is an iced tisane made of aloe vera. Sometimes it’s "tea flavored." North Americans tend to be fiercely loyal to our own specific region’s way of making tea. Rivalries aside, which is the best? It depends. Tastiness is in the taste buds of the tea-drinker, you see. I’m a Southern-born gal living in the big city up North, so I compromise with lightly sweetened iced tea. I prefer to sweeten mine by with a dab of honey, rather than the customary addition of copious amounts of sugar. In the South, this is blasphemy. In the North, it’s an oddity. But I’ll tell you how to make it anyway, just because it’s how I like it and it’s MY website. It’s toward the end of the section below entitled "Sweetening Your Tea," which, until that point, is devoted to explaining how to ensure that your iced tea will have the teeth-rotting sweetness so beloved down in Dixie. No matter what your preference, I suggest trying it "the wrong way" at least once. Who knows--you may like it!


Which Teas to Ice

Some teas are splendid hot, but wretched iced. How do you know how your tea will turn out? There are a few things to consider.

The most important factor is the taste. If you’re making an unsweetened iced tea, you may want to start with a tea that has some sweetness to it. I suggest a scented green tea, like a jasmine green, a flavored tea, like Rishi’s Peach Blossom White Tea or Tropical Citrus Rooibos, or a sweet tisane, like Harney and Son Peach Fruit Tea (actually a tisane) or Elmwood Inn’s Blueberry Infusion. Ceylon teas are also very popular in the U.S. If you’re making a sweet (Southern) iced tea, those teas still work well, but so do more "basic" teas such as Oolongs, Japanese greens, and black teas from Assam, Sri Lanka (Ceylon teas), and China (excluding smoked black teas, which result in a less than tasty concoction when iced).

The other main factor to consider when selecting a tea to ice is the appearance. Teas that are heavy in tannins will leave the tea cloudy. So will low-grade teas, which contain dust and particulate matter. Some floral herbals (such as chamomile) have this problem as well. If you don’t want your tea to look cloudy, avoid these teas. You may also consider the color of your tea. You can get some stunning colors out of iced fruit tisanes, which I like to serve in a clear vessel like Bodum’s Ceylon Tea Jug.

There are a number of "iced tea blends" on the market that are made especially for a balanced taste and lack of cloudiness. Some of these are quite nice, and if you want to skip the trial and error (or, what I call "the fun part"), I recommend them to you. Otherwise, you can buy "regular" teas that you like (or would like to try) and experiment with them.


How to Make Iced Tea: An Overview and 5 Recipes

The first step in making iced tea is selecting your tea. If you don’t know whether or not you want your tea sweetened, now is the time to decide. Then you can pick your recipe. There are countless variations on how to make iced tea. Just like your Aunt Susan and your co-worker Allison’s similar (but not-quite-the-same!) chocolate chip cookie recipes, each recipe claims to be the definitive one. The main types of iced tea recipes are outlined below with one version of each. Play around with these to make your own "World’s Best Iced Tea" recipe.

Quick and Easy Iced Tea

This recipe is the fastest and easiest to make, but it should be avoided if you are using a black tea base (assuming it’s not specially blended for iced tea) and you don’t want it to be cloudy. See Tips for Making Iced Tea for more info on what to do if your tea is cloudy.

Brew your tea at AT LEAST double strength, that is, use less than half the amount of water or more than double the amount of tea you would normally use. Brew at the usual temperature for the usual amount of time or slightly longer. Add sweetener, if desired, and pour over LOTS of ice in a pitcher. Fill glasses with ice and serve in the glasses. The ice in the pitcher will melt when you pour the hot tea over it, so be sure to have plenty of ice for the pitcher AND the glasses.

Easy Iced Tea

This recipe is very easy, but not as quick as the first one. It may cause clouding with black teas, too (see above).

Brew the tea as you normally would, but add 10-15% more tea leaves. (If you normally use 1 teaspoon of tea per cup and you’re brewing 6 cups of tea, use 7 teaspoons of leaves. If you’re making 8 cups, you can still increase tealeaves by only 1 teaspoon. It’s to compensate for the melting of the ice, so it’s not an exact science.) Put the tea in the refrigerator to cool, and then serve over ice.

Cloudless Iced Tea

No clouds, even with the most tannin-filled black teas you can find. Plus, it’s quicker to make than the previous recipe.

Brew your tea at AT LEAST double strength. After it has brewed, add enough cold water to double the amount of tea. (If you have 4 cups of tea, add 4 cups of cold water.) Put the tea in the fridge until it is cold. Serve over ice.

Sun Tea

This method works best with regular black tea and should not be use with tisanes. It’s best in temperate or warm climates during the summer months. To avoid creating a bacterial playground on your windowsill, make sure your jar is very clean, your water is fresh and sanitary, you don’t leave the tea to brew for more than 4 hours, and you refrigerate the drink as soon as it is done. If your tea appears thick or syrupy, throw it away--it has been contaminated by bacteria.

Place 9 teaspoons of tea in a gallon-sized Mason jar, or about 1 teaspoon in a pint jar. Fill with cold water, loosely cap the jar, and place it in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours. Add sweetener if desired. Serve over ice.

Cold-Water Tea (a.k.a. "Refrigerator Tea")

This tea is similar to sun tea. You don’t have to worry about bacterial growth, but it takes a little longer to make.

Use 1.5 times the amount of tea you’d normally use. (If you would usually use 1 teaspoon of tea per cup and you’re making 4 cups, use 6 teaspoons instead.) Put the water and the leaves in a glass jar and put the lid on lightly. Leave it in the fridge for 8 hours, then strain the leaves and serve over ice.

Tips for Making Iced Tea

If your tea turns out cloudy and you don’t like the way it looks, you can try adding a splash of boiling water or lemon juice to the brew. Sometimes it helps reduce the appearance of tannins (which cause the cloudiness).

If your tea is bitter, add a pinch of baking soda to the pitcher. Aside from reducing the bitterness, it won’t affect the taste. It will, however, deepen the color. Bonus!

If you want to add a sweetener, stir it in while the tea is at least warm. It’s much easier to dissolve sugar, honey, or even stevia and artificial sweeteners in warm tea than in icy-cold tea.


Sweetening Your Tea

Most people use regular old sugar to sweeten their tea. I prefer tupelo honey because it has a rich, buttery sweetness that hides under the flavor of the tea. Even mild white teas are sweetened without being overpowered. (Try THAT with clover honey from a plastic bear!) Here’s more information about honey for tea. If you are diabetic or counting calories, you can use an alternative or artificial sweetener. Though you’ve probably formed your personal preferences by the time you read this, you may find this site helpful regarding natural sweeteners and which sweeteners to avoid.

Once you know which sweetener you are going to add, you need to determine how much of it to use. The high end of what I’ve seen for southern sweet tea is 2 cups sugar per gallon (16 cups) of tea. Generally it’s about 1 cup sugar per gallon of tea. If you’re using a sugar substitute, follow the product’s guidelines for sugar replacement. If you’re using honey, divide the amount of sugar called for by 3 (about 1/3 cup per gallon).

It’s easiest to stir your sweetener into the tea right after it has brewed, while it’s still hot. If you’re brewing sun tea or refrigerator tea, add the sweetener before you ice it.


Other Flavors for Iced Teas

There are thousands of ways iced tea has been flavored. The easiest way to flavor your iced tea is to start with a flavored tea. In the same vein, you can add ingredients while steeping. Other options are mixing in juice or other flavorful liquids, or adding a tasty garnish. The main types of flavors are citrus, other fruit, mint, and floral.

The most popular flavor (besides, arguably, sugar) for tea in the US is lemon. You can get lemon flavor easily by starting with citrus-flavored tealeaves, adding lemon zest to the brewing tea or lemon juice or lemonade (in juice or concentrate form--this blend makes something commonly referred to as "Arnold Palmer-style iced tea") to the brewed tea, but garnish of a lemon slice or wedge is perhaps the most common means of getting the tart-sweet taste you desire. Consider using other citrus fruits for your tea--orange and other citrus fruits can pair very well with some teas. I love the classic Earl Grey and Rishi’s Earl Green (also flavored with the rare citrus fruit bergamot) over ice. Beginner matcha drinkers may enjoy iced matcha with a splash of orange juice.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, you can add other fruit favors to your tea. The more common flavors are peach (which you can get by adding peach nectar, puree, or cocktail concentrate) and apple (which you can get with apple juice or frozen apple juice concentrate). I suggest getting creative with it--why not try a pureed pomegranate and white tea blend for extra antioxidants? Or how about a mango nectar or pineapple juice tea for the summer? If you want something with an Asian flair, try lychee, guava, or tamarind tea. You can probably find the fruit (which you can puree) or the nectar at your local Asian market.

Mint iced teas are popular in North Africa (particularly in Morocco) and in the southern U.S. To make mint iced tea, muddle (smash with the back of a spoon, a bar muddler, or a mortar and pestle) spearmint or peppermint leaves to release essential oils. Then either put them in the warming water and strain them with the tealeaves, or stir them in with the tea just after it’s done brewing (before chilling). Sweeten your tea. Garnish the iced tea with a sprig of mint and--voila! You have mint iced tea. Fourteen sprigs (10 for brewing and 4 for garnish) will make 4 cups of tea.

For a floral flavor, I love Urbana Cityspa & Teabar’s Tropical Blend, which is a black tea with dried tropical flowers. A floral taste can also be achieved by steeping fresh edible flowers (many organic and gourmet grocery stores offer these) with your tea and adorning the glasses with them (unsteeped ones, of course) as you would with a sprig of mint. You can also use candied flower petals, which can be made at home from edible flowers and or purchased at some specialty/gourmet food stores. For a floral aroma with a mild floral taste, use a scented green tea like jasmine pearls.


Iced Tea Your Way

I highly recommend tasting iced tea from the other side of the Mason-Dixon line at least once--you may like it! But what if you’re a Yankee visiting the South and you want some "normal" (unsweetened) iced tea, or you’re a Southerner who has moved up North and you want the "real" sweet tea? Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely to happen? I wouldn’t bet on it. There are some places you can buy unsweetened iced tea down South (my favorite being Charlotte, North Carolina’s Urbana Cityspa & Teabar). And if you’re in NYC, I can take you out for the sweetest Southern iced tea you can find in this neck of the woods. Otherwise, you can make it yourself or get a lot of weird looks for asking.


That about sums it up for iced tea. As Vuokko Designo always says, "Ya’ll enjoy your tea!"