Iced Tea

Being born and raised in Texas, I am as familiar with drinking iced tea as my friend Joe is with ugly women. He says those ugly ones need love too.

While I suppose that most Americans have a glass of iced tea from time to time during the summer, we Texans couldn't survive without the brew on a daily basis 12 months of the year. We drink it whenever and wherever food is served, morning, noon, and night, and we drink it anytime just to be drinking it. We drink it at casual cookouts and formal dinners. And we drink as much of it in fancy restaurants as we do at barbecue joints. I sometimes drink it for breakfast. You will almost always be able to find iced tea in my house, morning, noon or night. Visit my house and don’t be surprised to hear me say, "Hey, how 'bout a glass of ice' tea?"

Iced tea is the sacred beverage of Texans and has been ever since ice became readily available some years ago.


The varieties are endless.

Plain old "ice' tea." But there's also sugar tea (highly sweetened), mint tea (with bruised fresh mint leaves), lemon tea, and sun tea (a gallon container of cold water and tea placed in the hot sun for three or four hours to develop ultimate flavor). I also like a squeeze of lemon or lime in my iced tea, but some wouldn't dream of destroying the flavor of their everyday brew with sugar or lemon or anything else.


So ingrained has iced tea become in our lives here in Texas, we too enjoy some satisfying and even legendary alcoholic libations based all around iced tea. Anyone for some Jack Daniel’s whiskey tea? How about a Long Island Iced Tea? Ever had tea punch?


We Texans love our iced tea. We are not fanatics about it, mainly because we pretty much take for granted being able to get a good glass of iced tea, properly served, 365 days at year at most any restaurant. And yes, we like it year round, not just when the summer days are searing. Iced tea – What a fabulous beverage! Your summer will go a lot better if you keep your place stocked with that delicious iced tea!


Wishing you the best. Ric