National Iced Tea Day is observed annually on June 10th. This day is set aside to celebrate one of summer’s favorite drinks. Whether it is sweetened or unsweetened, with or without lemon, it is loved by many and enjoyed by the glass full all summer long.
Iced tea can be found in many flavors including lemon, peach, raspberry, lime, passions fruit, strawberry and cherry.
An alternative to carbonated soft drinks and quite popular in the United States, iced tea makes up about 85% of all tea consumed. It can be readily found in restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, grocery stores and self-serve soda fountains.
- Recipes for iced tea have been found dating back to the 1870s. The Buckeye Cookbook, published in 1876 and Housekeeping in Old Virginia, published in 1877 both contain iced tea recipes. It is believed, however, that iced tea started to appear in the United States in the 1860′s and became widespread in the 1870s where it was found offered on hotel menus and was on sale at railroad stations.
- The popularity of refreshing iced tea drink grew rapidly after it was introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
- Tea was, however, used as an ingredient in alcoholic punches as far back as the early 1700s, and appears in historic punch recipes like Regent’s Punch, which dates to 1815 and includes green tea and the South Asian liquor arrack as well as citrus juice, sugar, champagne, brandy and rum.
- New York City tea importer Thomas Sullivan became annoyed at the high cost of the tin boxes he used to send tea samples to customers. So in 1904 he switched to small cloth bags. One of the recipients brewed a pot of tea by simply pouring hot water over the bag — and the rest is history.
- Tea is a hydrating alternative to sugary beverages like soda and might help boost weight loss efforts, along with a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.
- Recent studies on green tea shows that “routine tea consumption of an average of about two cups a day is associated with a lower percentage of body fat and weight control” than non-tea drinkers.
- In 2003 Georgia state representative John Noel tried to pass a house bill making it mandatory for all restaurants to serve sweet tea.
- The teaspoon was developed to easily add sugar to tall glasses full of iced tea.
- Iced tea’s popularity was soaring in the early part of the 20th century, but tea vendors weren’t the only beneficiaries. To aid in serving, consumers began buying tall glasses in such quantity they were known as “iced tea glasses.” They also bought long stirring spoons and tiny forks meant to spear lemons.
- PROHIBITION HELPED IT ALONG. When America went dry—legally, at least—in the 1920s, iced tea found new advocates in bars and clubs, which needed to quench the thirst of patrons without breaking the law.
- Approximately 84 percent of the tea served in the United States today is iced tea.
- According to the Tea Association of the USA, Americans consume well over 55 billion servings of tea (over 2.50 billion gallons) a year.
- The famous long island iced tea drink doesn’t contain any tea.
- A cup of black tea has half as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.
- Drinking milk may mean stronger bones, but the same goes for a cup of tea!
- In one day, an experienced tea picker can collect around 70 pounds of tea! That’s enough tea to make 14000 cups! Talk about filling a quota.
- A large amount of caffeine is released from tea after the first 30 seconds of brewing. Dumping this content out and pouring new hot water is a neat trick for caffeine conscience tea drinkers.
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