Sweet tea
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Sweet tea is a form of iced tea in which sugar or some other form of sweetener is added to the hot water before brewing, while brewing the tea, or post-brewing, but before the beverage is chilled and served. This especially sweet variation of tea enjoys most of its popularity in the Southern United States, though bottled iced teas labeled "Southern Style" or "Extra-sweet Southern Style" appear in refrigerated cases throughout the country.
Sweet tea and the American South
Sweet tea has long been a staple beverage in the American South. It is almost universally made with black tea, sweetened with large amounts of cane sugar, and served over ice. Most restaurants in the region, including fast-food and other national chains, offer the customer a choice of sweet tea or unsweetened iced tea. It is a signature drink of the region, to the point where the Southern use of the word "tea" is largely used to refer specifically to cold, sweet tea and not to hot or unsweetened varieties. Its widespread use is probably due to its light taste, ease of preparation, and low cost.[citation needed]
An important part of the tradition of sweet tea in the South is the fact that it can be made in large quantities, easily several gallons, quickly and inexpensively. It is usually consumed daily as a staple soft drink. Because it is relatively cheap, some restaurants place a pitcher of sweet tea on the table for the entire dinner party to share, and keep refilling it for free. Even when served in individual glasses, sweet tea refills are often provided free. While home cooks usually use tea bags to steep the tea, restaurants often make large quantities of sweet tea using large drip brew machines similar to those used for coffee.
Sweet Tea Outside the Southern United States
While iced tea is usually served sweetened throughout the Southern United States, in other regions, iced tea is usually served unsweetened. It is moderately common to add a small amount of sweetener to the already cold tea. Much bottled and canned tea is sold, usually sweetened with a natural sweetener such as cane sugar or with an artificial sweetener such as Splenda.
Although sweet tea (as a moderately watered, sugar pre-added, iced drink) is stereotypically a South-Eastern United States tradition, it is common in many cultures to add sweeteners to their tea.
In recent years sweet tea has been more commonly found in areas outside the Southeast, due to restaurants such as McDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, Raising Cane's, Arby's, and Zaxby's carrying the item as a regular menu offering.
History
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. This recipe calls for green tea. In fact, most sweet tea consumed during this period was green tea. However, during World War II, the major sources of green tea were cut off from the United States, leaving them with tea almost exclusively from British-controlled India which produces black tea. Americans came out of the war drinking preponderantly black tea. [1]
See also
- Cuisine of the Southern United States
- Iced tea
- Tata Tea
- Lipton
- Luzianne
- Red Diamond
- Tea
- United States Regional Cuisine
References
- History of Iced Tea and Sweet Tea
- Housekeeping in Old Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree. ISBN 1-4101-0508-3
- A Slate article on sweet tea