Iced tea

For the actor & rapper, seeIce-T.For other uses, seeIced tea (disambiguation).

Iced tea with lemon

Iced tea(orice tea)is a form of coldtea.Though it is usually served in a glass withice,it can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened with sugar or syrup. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink that can be mixed with flavored syrup such aslemon,raspberry,lime,passion fruit,peach,orange,strawberry,andcherry.

While most iced teas get their flavor fromtea leaves(Camellia sinensis),herbal teasare sometimes served cold and referred to as iced tea. Iced tea is sometimes made by a particularly longsteepingof tea leaves at a lower temperature (one hour in the sun versus five minutes at 80 to 100 °C (176 to 212 °F), which is known as sun tea.

Cultural variations

Canada

In Canada "iced tea" commonly refers to a presweetened tea drink similar to "sweet tea"in the southern United States. The variety most broadly available is sweetened with lemon juice. Because of a large Chinese and especiallyHong Kong diaspora,Hong Kong style "lemon tea" ( Hong Kong đông lạnh chanh trà ) is commonly also available as well asmilk teaandYuenyeung( uyên ương )

China

Although it is not a traditional way to serve tea, iced tea gained widespread popularity during the late 1980s, even in rural areas. Many varieties of tea, including green tea, are available canned or bottled and are sold in stores. Many families make iced tea either by putting a large amount of ice in a small amount of strong hot tea or by putting hot tea in a fridge for some time. Common types of iced tea are black, green, and oolong ( trà Ô Long ), as well as many herbal varieties. Iced herbal teas are especially popular in the hot summers, where "yin" ( âm ) or cooling herbs are used to make tea such as chrysanthemum and kuding tea ( trà khổ đinh ). Cooled (but still warm) tea was popular throughout ancient times. Refrigerated tea waspreviouslyonly available to those politically connected to theCommunist Party.The introduction oflimited capitalism and free-market reformsstarting in 1978 made refrigeration available to the general population for the first time. China's refrigerator-ownership increased from just 7% of urban families in 1977 to 95% in 2009.

South Africa

Iced tea has become increasingly popular in South Africa and is now widely available in cafes and retail outlets countrywide.Nestea,Lipton,Manhattan andFuze Teaare the most popular brands, in addition to the South African brandBOS,which usesrooibossourced locally from theWestern Cape.

Switzerland

Ruedi Bärlocher and Martin Sprenger, two employees of the Swiss Bischofszell beverage company, had tried the famous American iced tea and first suggested to produce ready-made iced tea in bottles. In 1983 Bischofszell Food Ltd. became the first producer in the world of bottled ice tea on an industrial scale.

Turkey

In a traditionally tea-drinking country such as Turkey, with its ownteaandtea culture,iced tea became popular when Lipton introduced it in the 2000s. Iced teas are a popular alternative to soft drinks. Lipton and Nestea were the two major brands until 2012 when the contract betweenCoca-Cola İçecek A.Ş.andNesteaexpired. Coca-Cola replaced Nestea with itsFuze Beveragebrand, but due to the wordfüzemeaning "missile" inTurkish,the name used for the Turkish market is Fuse Tea.The national tea companyÇaykuris in the market with its iced tea brand 'Didi'.

United Kingdom

Although iced tea is not as widely consumed in the United Kingdom as in other European countries, the drink became more popular in the 2000s.In the 1990s Lipton sold a carbonated iced tea, similar to the one sold in Belgium. In recent years, Lipton has returned to the general sale of non-carbonated tea, quickly followed by Nestea andTwinings.

United States

In the United States, iced tea makes up about 85% of all tea consumed.A heavily sweetened variety known assweet teais popular in southern states. In New England states, it is usually more moderately sweetened, and often includes mint.

South America

Mate tea,which is traditionally consumed hot in Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil and Paraguay, is usually consumed iced in the center-west and southeast of Brazil. Iced mate is especially popular in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro and the northern part of Paraná.

History

As early as 1823, Marguerite Countess of Blessington wrote of sipping iced tea inNaples.

The oldest printed recipes for iced tea date back to the 1870s. In her 1871 cook book, Amelie Goldthorp and Megan Breiner wrote of iced tea:...it should be well iced.Two of the earliest cookbooks with iced tea recipes are theBuckeye Cookbookby Estelle Woods Wilcox, first published in 1876, andHousekeeping in Old Virginiaby Marion Cabell Tyree, copyright 1878.

Iced tea started to appear in the United States during the 1860s. Seen as a novelty at first, during the 1870s it became quite widespread.Recipes appeared in print, iced tea was offered on hotel menus, and it was on sale at railroad stations.Its popularity rapidly increased afterRichard Blechyndenintroduced it at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

Varieties

Sun and refrigerator tea

Main article:Cold brew tea

"Sun tea" redirects here. For the episode of30 Rock,seeSun Tea (30 Rock).

Iced tea can be brewed by placing tea (bags or loose-leaf) in a large glass container with water and leaving the container in the sun for hours. This often results in a smoother flavor. An advantage is that sun tea does not require using electricity or burning fuel, thus saving energy. Sun tea is sometimes served with syrup or lemon.

The temperature of the tea brewed in this manner is never heated high enough to kill any bacteria, leaving the water potentially unsafe to drink. The tea should be discarded if it appears thick, syrupy, or has rope-like strands in it, though it may be hazardous even without such indicators.

Because of this danger an alternative called "refrigerator tea" has been suggested where the tea is brewed in the refrigerator overnight. This has the dual advantage of preventing the growth of harmful bacteria and the tea already being cold without the addition of ice.

Fountain iced tea

In 1996, the City of Cincinnati's Health Department discovered high levels ofcoliformbacteria (due to inadequate daily cleansing) in the spigots of dispensers filled by automatic fresh brewed iced tea machines in several area restaurants.Approximately the same time, theCoca-ColaandPepsi Colacompanies began aggressive targeted marketing campaigns aimed at replacing fresh brewed iced tea in foodservice establishments with the cola companies' tea concentrate that is dispensed using the same method asfountain drinks,pumped from abag-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.

Half-and-half

Main article:Arnold Palmer (drink)

There has been a growing popularity in the United States of a mixed drink called "half-and-half" since the late 1960s when golf greatArnold Palmerordered one in Palm Beach, Florida.Half-and-half is a mix of iced tea and lemonade, giving the drink a much sweeter taste. Often called an "Arnold Palmer"(although Palmer himself preferred a ratio of two parts iced tea to one part lemonade), the drink was eventually marketed by Snapple,Nantucket Nectars,andAriZona Iced Tea;AriZona has licensed Arnold Palmer's name and image for its versions. In 2012 anESPNshort documentary was produced on the drink, featuring Palmer, beverage experts, a group of PGA golfers and comedianWill Arnettdiscussing the drink's history and popularity.

See also

• Lipton Iced Tea
• Long Island Iced Tea
• Sweet tea