Celebrate with a cold and refreshing cup of your favorite brew.
The first version of iced tea as we know it today, was made with green tea leaves, and printed in 1879. Housekeeping in Old Virginia published a recipe by Marion Cabell Tyree. The recipe called for green tea to be boiled and steeped throughout the day, fill goblets with ice, put two teaspoonfuls granulated sugar in each, and pour the tea over the ice and sugar.
In 1884, the head of the Boston Cooking School, Mrs. D. A. (Mary) Lincoln, printed her recipe for sweetened iced tea. The recipe called for cold black tea to be poured over cracked ice, lemon, and two sugar cubes. Mrs. Lincoln's recipe is still used today in iced tea proving that sweet tea is not just a southern tradition.
In 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, Richard Blechynden, the commissioner of Indian tea, set up shop in the India Pavilion to promote the black teas of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). One extremely hot summer day, when very few passersby's were interested in a cup of hot tea, a desperate Richard Blechynden reportedly decided to pour his tea over ice. And in a flash, the story goes, an iconic American beverage was born. By the First World War, Americans were buying tall glasses of iced tea and during the time of prohibition from 1920 to 1933, the popularity of iced tea grew more as Americans looked for alternatives to drinking wine, beer, and hard liquor, which were all illegal during this period.
Most loose leaf tea can be iced. Our iced tea is made with a Nilgiri tea base and a convenient, quick, and easy to make iced tea. Herbal & Wellness blends are refreshing and non-caffeinated. Fruit tisane teas are a natural fruity alternative to sugary sweet drinks on hot summer days. And iced chai is the perfect alternative to iced coffee. It has a wonderful coffee like flavor with less caffeine.
Tea is a low-caffeine drink, so the diuretic effect is minimal and gives your body much more water than it causes your body to lose. So drinking hot tea or iced tea helps to hydrate your body overall.
Iced tea is a healthy choice, without added sugars, sodium and artificial flavors. Brewed loose leaf tea over ice has a lot of health benefits that make it a good substitute for water for some of your hydration needs.
Loose leaf teas are also a great alternative to soda or sweet drinks because they don't make you sluggish. Refresh, energize, and cool down with a glass of iced tea.
Enjoy your time with tea!
