“Ice tea! Nothing is half so refreshing as a glass of black tea piled high with ice! More than a quencher of thirst, it is a tamer of tempers, a lifter of lethargy, and a brightener of smiles. It is a taste of Winter’s chill, magically trapped in midsummer’s glass.”
― Paul F. Kortepeter, Tea with Victoria Rose
What better way is there to describe this sweet, refreshing drink? There is nothing more satisfying than a big, cold, sugary glass of iced tea to accompany you through a hot, summer day. Bottled or freshly made, iced tea is always a perfect idea when you feel a little too warmish.
This tasty drink is often served with lemon or lime (In the South-West of the US). It is common for the iced tea to vary depending on the countries where it is made. For example, in America, they use black or fruit flavored tea. In Thailand – Ceylon tea is favored and Hojicha is more popular in China.
The recipe of how to prepare iced tea firstly appeared in cookbooks around 1876 and 1877, but this drink had already been known throughout the USA since the 1860s. At the beginning, this sweet, delicious tea was not very widely spread. This was the case up until it was featured on hotel and railroad station menus. During the 1904 World’s Fair, Richard Blechynden made it even more popular.