Cold and Iced Tea-The History, Creation, and Classic Recipe

The Tea Detective
Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

America's Favorite Summer Drink is Born

It's hard to imagine summer without a tall, cold glass of iced tea. But did you
know that the creation of iced tea rested on a spur of the moment decision to
improvise? It's true-and here's how it happened.

Sun Tea - Go Green
With This Classic Iced Tea Recipe

Sun Tea
Heres an opportunity to brew up a fresh gallon of iced tea, using solar
power. That's right, all you need is a clean gallon jar, cold water, tea
bags, and a few hours in the sun and you'll have a gallon of iced tea, or
Sun Tea, as it was called in the 70's. Here's what you'll need: A clean
gallon jar with a cover, 16 to 18 tea bags

1) Place the tea bags in jar and fill with fresh, cold water.
2) Place cover on jar, capping loosely, and place in direct sunlight for
3 1/2 to 4 hours, until desired strength
3) Remove tea bags
4) Refrigerate until properly cooled.
5) Serve in tall glasses over ice, sweeten to taste, and garnish with a wedge of lemon (or add a
fresh sprig of mint).

You can play with this recipe, using different flavors of tea, strength, steeping times, etc.

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In the summer of 1904 at the St.
Louis Worlds Fair, a group of Indi-
an tea producers set up a special
tea pavilion to market their India black tea .

Back then most of the tea drunk in the U.S. was
green tea, so this was going to be something new,
and the Indians thought they'd have no problem
attracting the attention of the curious Americans
with their new type of tea.

The one thing they hadn't considered, though, was
the temperature. Under the supervision of an
Englishman named Richard Blechynden, the Indians
offered up their cups of hot tea to the fair goers
who walked right on by, not the least bit interested
in hot drinks.

Some Like it Hot - Some Like it Cold

                                           With the temperatures soaring, the sweltering masses sought out
                                           cold drinks, hurrying by the near empty tea booth.

                                           But Mr. Blechynden wasn't about to be stymied. Well aware of hot
                                           tea's thirst quenching qualities, he knew that if he could just get the
                                           Americans to stop long enough to try the tasty black tea, they'd be
                                           sold. So, he made a quick decision.

                                           If it was cold drinks the Americans wanted, it's cold drinks they
                                           would get. Packing ice into glasses, he poured the hot tea in...and
                                           voila', iced tea was born.

Word spread like wildfire through the fair-
grounds about the new cold drink that just
had to be tried, and the ever curious ready-
to-try-anything Americans quickly got into
line for iced tea.

It wasn't long before they agreed that it was
the perfect drink for a hot summer's day. Iced
tea caught the fancy of millions of Americans,
and by 1992 they were drinking one-and-a-
half to two billion gallons per year, totalling
nearly eighty percent of all tea drunk in the
U.S..

With so many more flavors and choices avail-
able today, I'm sure we drink many times that
amount of both hot and cold teas per year.
Some tea companies are making it easier to brew up
a refreshing, thirst quenching gallon of tea by offering
pre-measured portions, that you just drop in your hot
water and steep-no more measuring or guessing.
See the links below to purchase Lipton gallon sized
pre-measured portions.

The health benefits you derive from tea make it the healthier choice over sodas and energy
drinks. Brew up a cold, fresh jug and add it to your picnic or outdoor barbecue for a refreshing
change of pace. And compared glass to glass with soft drinks, you'll be saving a ton of money.
And that's always a good thing. Enjoy.