For those who missed the article in the newsletter . . .

Sweet Tea Fun Facts

Sweet tea sipping and front porch sitting go hand in hand in the South. I did a considerable amount of research for my upcoming release, and I thought I’d share some fun facts I learned about sweet tea with you today.

• Sweet tea is the norm in the south, but in other parts of the country, it is usually served unsweetened, although many argue this point.
• June is National Iced Tea Month.
• June 10th is National Iced Tea Day.
• Tea was first grown in the US in South Carolina, the only state to have commercially produced it.
• The oldest recipes for cold tea were called punches. They used green tea and were spiked with liquor. American versions of these punches were known as Charleston’s St. Cecilia Punch and Chatham Artillery Punch.
• Nonalcoholic tea wasn’t widely consumed on ice until ice became available in the south around the turn of the nineteenth century.
• At the World’s Fair in 1904 in St. Louis, iced tea was popularized and commercialized.
• Also in 1904, New York City tea importer Thomas Sullivan introduced the small cloth bags that are used to brew tea today.
• In the early 1900’s, teaspoons and tall glasses were developed specifically for iced tea drinking.
• During prohibition, Americans searched for alternatives to illegal alcoholic beverages leading to an increase in the popularity of iced tea.
• There is no tea in the popular alcoholic beverage Long Island Iced Tea.
• With flavonoids reputed to resist cancer and other health ailments, tea has a reputation for being healthy. Just don’t drink a gallon a day.
• While iced tea is popular around the world, the tastes vary by country. In some parts of Europe, ice tea is sold carbonated, and you can find unsweetened green tea in vending machines in Japan. Indian iced tea (Chai) features Indian spices but the Thai version is sweetened with sugar and condensed milk and served over ice with evaporated milk and coconut milk.

Thanks to the websites listed below for providing me with such valuable information. Visit their sites for more fun facts.

•  Bombay Outdoors
• What’s Cooking America
• Food Network

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