National Iced Tea Month

June 08, 2012

Iced tea is as American as apple pie. It all started in 1904 at the St. Louis Exposition. A tea exhibitor couldn’t get a soul to drink a steaming cup of tea because it was extremely hot outside. He came up with an idea to borrow ice from the man at the ice cream stand. Hence, iced tea was born.

I grew up with an extreme love of iced tea. Even as a small child, my grandmother would let me have a glass of her sweet southern tea with our meal. I remember looking at the glass with tea so dark, you couldn’t even see through it. And it was sweet, sweet, sweet. As I’ve gotten older, my personal preference has changed. Normally a coffee drinker, as the weather gets warmer, I start drinking iced tea on a regular basis. I drink mine dark brew with no sugar. Another favorite is to add fresh mint leaves to the brew. If I’m out of those, I’ll add one bag of herbal mint tea with the other bags. Very refreshing in the summer months!

June is National Iced Tea Month, and June 10th was National Iced Tea Day. Experiment and try your own unique brew! There are also lots of iced tea recipes on the Internet.

Southern Sweet Iced Tea
Ingredients 
- 6 regular tea bags
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda (makes tea less bitter)
- 2 cups boiling water            
- 1 1/2-2 cups sugar
- 6 cups cold water

Directions
1. In a large glass measuring cup, place the tea bags and add the baking soda.
2. Pour the boiling water over the tea bags.
3. Cover and steep for 15 minutes.
4. Take out the tea bags and do not squeeze them.
5. Pour the tea mixture into a 2-quart pitcher; add the sugar.
6. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
7. Add in the cold water.
8. Let cool; chill in the refrigerator and serve over ice.

Jolene D.
Blue Springs North Branch