Grandma Jo pours boiling water into a pitcher that contains seven Lipton’s tea bags. After allowing ten minutes to infuse, he fishes them with a wooden spoon and squeezes out every drop of flavor. He reaches for the sugar bowl from the kitchen shelf and pours a cup or two into the hot water heater. For several minutes before the sugar dissolves completely and then dilute the mixture with cold.
Chill the beer for an hour. Grandma Jo removes the pitcher from the fridge and transfers the contents into an elegant glass jar, a family heirloom that prevails in the Civil War. He sets two tall glasses opposite and, after filling them with plenty of ice, adds an orange-red drink to each. Condensation collects in a puddle around the base of the pitcher as Grandma Jo smiles at her granddaughter’s first sip of sweet tea.
In Steel Magnolias the character Truvy Jones calls sweet tea “the house wine of the South.” In almost every meal, drink is treated more like a southern summer; It is a venerable year-round staple, served alongside fried catfish and mouthfuls with honey.
Iced tea has become a common thirst-quencher in America, so different in variety and taste. sweetened, unsweetened, green tea, black tea, flavored tea, organic tea, and hard tea are just a few choices – that appeals to almost everyone. It wasn’t until the 19th century, however, that tea underwent its dramatic transformation from a hot to an iced drink. now we know how to delight and enjoy.
The beginning of sweet tea
In 1795, Andre Michaux, a French explorer and botanist, introduced various plants to the fields of South Carolina, among gardeners. azaleas, camellias and green tea, hoping that the exotic flora would attract wealthy farmers. In Charleston, S.C. he grew the first tea crop in the United.
In the early 19th century, recipes for cold parties were popular in both Britain and America. These brews, called punches, are commonly made from green tea alcohol.
Patented in 1830, the first refrigeration units, commonly called iceboxes, played a major role in the growing trend to serve iced tea. pure ice production commercial distribution.
Complete cookbook Kentucky Housewife, published in 1983, recipe for “iron tea” first recipe for iced tea that appeared on United States. The oldest recipe for sweet tea was published forty years later in the community of the life of a bed Dwelling in old West Virginia.
Centuries with its appearance in Southern crops, iced tea became known throughout the country from 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. When Richard Blechyndeni tea recently summer heat Unable to sell because of the heavy summer heat, he recently decided to infuse his own tea. lead pipes were banned, providing a tasty option for thirsty drinkers and forever changing the way Americans thought about their tea.
Yellow Simplicity
There are many theories as to why sweet tea became a Southern classic. At the end of the Civil War, many Southerners experienced poverty. Sweet tea – requiring only water, tea leaves and sugar – not only cheap, but also available as the majority. the canes of the south grew crops.
Sweet tea, paradoxically, is also historically considered a luxury. Cold water was thought to be a delicacy, for until the icebox became a common item, only the rich could afford ice. Tea was also the drink of the upper class. The fusion of ice and tea then signified wealth and extravagance.
Historians have a third opinion. The conservative branch of Christianity that dominated the South was wine, beer, and liquor. Sweet tea then became a common substitute for alcoholic beverages, and its consumption spread rapidly during the Prohibition era.
Sweet Tea in Modern Times
The southern tradition of sweet tea is undergoing a transformation. It increases the health consciousness across the country promising these tea companies to their consumers added benefits of vitamins and minerals. In addition, companies are also reducing the use of natural and artificial sweeteners.
Does this foreshadow the sweet end of a tragic drink? Hardly. Today’s teas can be found in the storeroom of every grocery store and even behind the counters of fast food restaurants< /a>. In 2006, McDonald’s introduced the sweet tea drink to its menu in 3,000 locations across the South.
Perhaps in the not-so-distant future, the Yankees will also be savoring their lips together while dining inside the greased bowls as footmen with spiky hair will fill infinitely large glasses of ice with the beloved Southern delicacy known as sweet tea.
