Iced tea

Iced tea is a cold drink.

It is made from tea leaves. You can add sweet sugar. Some people add lemon too.

You can make sun tea. You leave tea in the sun for hours. This makes the taste very smooth. Some people mix tea with lemonade. This drink is called an Arnold Palmer. It is a tasty treat!

Iced tea is a cold drink made from tea leaves.

Most tea comes from a plant called Camellia sinensis. You can drink it plain or add sugar. Many people add lemon or peach syrup for flavor.

There are many ways to make it. You can make sun tea. This means you leave tea in the sun for hours. It has a smooth taste. However, sun tea can sometimes grow bad germs. You can make tea in a fridge instead. This keeps it safe and cold.

Different places have special ways to drink it. In the southern United States, people love sweet tea. In New England, they often add mint. Some people mix tea with lemonade. They call this an Arnold Palmer. In Brazil, people drink mate tea iced. It is called Tereré in Paraguay. In Vietnam, strong iced tea is a big part of street life. Iced tea is a fun drink for hot summer days!

Iced tea is a refreshing way to enjoy tea while it is cold.

Most iced tea comes from leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. You can drink it plain or add sweet things like sugar or syrup. Many bottled drinks use fruit flavors like peach or lemon. Some people even use herbal teas to make cold drinks. In hot summers, people in China use cooling herbs like chrysanthemum. This helps them feel better when the weather is very hot.

There are a few different ways to make this drink. One way is called sun tea. You put tea leaves in a glass of water and leave it in the sun for one hour. This can make the tea taste very smooth. However, the sun might not get hot enough to kill bad germs. Because of this, some people prefer refrigerator tea. You brew the tea in the fridge overnight instead. This keeps the tea cold and safe to drink without needing extra ice.

People have been enjoying cold tea for a long time. A woman named Marguerite wrote about sipping iced tea in Naples in 1823. The first printed recipes appeared in cookbooks during the 1870s. One famous recipe was in the Buckeye Cookbook from 1876. In the United States, iced tea became very popular after 1904. This happened after Richard Blechynden shared it at the World's Fair in St. Louis. It went from being a new novelty to a drink found in hotels and train stations.

Different countries have their own special tea traditions.

In the United States, iced tea is 85% of all tea consumed. In the south, people love a very sweet version called sweet tea. In Brazil, people drink mate tea iced, and it is called Tereré in Paraguay. In Vietnam, strong iced tea is a big part of street culture. In Switzerland, two workers helped make bottled iced tea famous in 1983. They worked for the Bischofszell Food company.

Iced tea also mixes with other tasty drinks. One popular mix is called an Arnold Palmer. This is a blend of iced tea and lemonade. It became famous in the 1960s after a golfer named Arnold Palmer ordered it. Some people like to add mint, which is common in New England. In Canada, many people enjoy tea with lemon juice. Whether it is a bottled drink or made at home, iced tea is a way for people to share a cool moment together.

Iced tea is a refreshing category of beverage served cold. While many people serve it in a glass with ice, the term refers to any tea that has been chilled. Most iced teas derive their flavor from the leaves of the *Camellia sinensis* plant. However, herbal teas are also frequently served cold under this same name.

A drinker may choose to enjoy the tea unsweetened. Many others prefer to add sugar or syrup for sweetness. In many commercial versions, fruit-flavored syrups like lemon or peach are added to the mix.

There are several specific methods used to prepare this drink. One traditional method is called sun tea. To make this, a person places tea leaves or bags into a large glass container of water. The container is then left in the sun for approximately one hour. This long steeping at a lower temperature can result in a smoother flavor. This method saves energy because it does not require electricity or fuel. However, the sun may not reach a high enough temperature to kill all bacteria.

If the tea looks thick or contains rope-like strands, it should be discarded.

Because of the bacterial risks with sun tea, some people use refrigerator tea. This method involves brewing the tea in a refrigerator overnight. This provides the dual advantage of preventing harmful bacteria from growing. It also ensures the tea is already cold without needing extra ice. Another way to serve the drink is through fountain dispensers. These machines are often found in restaurants to serve fresh-brewed tea. In 1996, health officials in Cincinnati found high levels of coliform bacteria in some of these dispensers. This discovery led many companies to switch to using tea concentrates instead of fresh brewing.

Iced tea has a long and documented history. As early as 1823, Marguerite, the Countess of Blessington, wrote about sipping iced tea in Naples. The first printed recipes for the drink appeared in cookbooks during the 1870s. For example, the *Buckeye Cookbook* by Estelle Woods Wilcox was published in 1876. Another early source was *Housekeeping in Old Virginia* in 1878. In the United States, iced tea began appearing in the 1860s. It was initially seen as a novelty, but it became widespread during the 1870s. Its popularity grew rapidly after Richard Blechynden introduced it at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

Different regions have developed unique ways to enjoy iced tea. In the United States, iced tea accounts for about 85% of all tea consumed. Southern states often serve a heavily sweetened version known as sweet tea. In New England, the tea is usually more moderately sweetened and often includes mint.

In Vietnam, strong iced tea is an integral part of street culture. In South America, the mate tea is usually served hot in Argentina and Uruguay. However, in the center-west and southeast of Brazil, it is often consumed iced. In Paraguay, this iced version is called Tereré.

Industrial production changed how the world accesses the drink. In 1983, Bischofszell Food Ltd. became the first company to produce bottled iced tea on an industrial scale. This happened after two employees, Ruedi Bärlocher and Martin Sprenger, suggested the idea. In China, the availability of iced tea grew alongside refrigeration. In 1977, only 7% of urban families owned a refrigerator. By 2009, that number rose to 95%. This made it much easier for families to store and drink chilled tea. In South Africa, brands like BOS use locally sourced rooibos from the Western Cape.

Finally, iced tea is often mixed with other beverages to create new flavors. A famous example is the "half-and-half" drink. This is a mixture of iced tea and lemonade. It became popular in the United States during the late 1960s. The drink is often called an "Arnold Palmer." This name comes from the golfer who ordered the mixture in Palm Beach, Florida. Palmer preferred a ratio of two parts iced tea to one part lemonade. Today, many companies market this specific blend to fans of the classic drink.