Ice Tea – A brief history

American’s swear by their iced tea. The drink varies depending on where you are in the States. In the South ice tea is drank all year long and is much sweeter than its northern counterpart.

Early British and American recipes have had cold tea beverages from the early 19th century. These recipes contained alcohol and were known as “punches”. America adopted the custom of these cold tea punches and examples include the “Chatham Artillery Punch” that was thought to originate in Savannah, Georgia.

The 1904 St Louis world Fair was held in a particularly hot summer. Visitors to the fair wanted cold drinks and found that iced tea was being sold. It was at this fair that iced tea started to become popular and changed the perception of tea as a solely hot beverage.

The prohibition in America from 1920 – 1933 did much to increase consumption of iced tea as people looked to substitute their usual tipple with non-alcoholic drinks.

A typical iced tea is served in a tall “ice tea” glass, chilled over ice. It may be served with a slice of lemon, orange and sprig of mint. The tea is usually made quite strong as it the ice dilutes it.

Though it tastes completely different and is non-alcoholic, a typical iced-tea can look similar to the English summer drink of Pimm’s which may also contains a slice of orange and a sprig of mint over ice.

Many American’s buy iced tea in a dry mix that simply requires the addition of water. If you would like the American Gopher to ship some to you for the long hot summers simply make a request.

Learn about Earl Grey tea

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