National Iced Tea Day is June 10th, and June is national Iced Tea Month, celebrating one of summer’s favorite drinks . While tea has been enjoyed for thousands of years, iced tea is a relative newcomer to the U.S. beverage world.
Recipes for iced tea have been found dating back to the 1870s. The Buckeye Cookbook, published in 1876, and Housekeeping in Old Virginia, published in 1877, both contain iced tea recipes. It is believed, however, that iced tea started to appear in the United States in the 1860s and became widespread in the 1870s. During that time, hotels offered iced tea on their menus and railroad stations offered the beverage as well.
But it wasn’t until the early 1900’s, after making a splash at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis due to the hot summer weather, that iced tea’s popularity began to explode. And it wasn’t until Prohibition that iced tea truly secured a spot in the American beverage market. Clubs and hotels needed a substitute for the hard liquor they could no longer serve, so they turned toward strong iced teas—a delicious, flavorful and legal beverage. In fact, according to a 1921 book, The Spice Mill, Prohibition increased tea consumption in 1920 to 1,496,236 pounds more than the previous year!
Since the 1920s, iced tea has remained a popular refreshing drink. Today, approximately 75-80% of tea consumed in the United States is iced. Restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, grocery stores and self-serve soda fountains make finding iced tea easy and convenient. Whether you prefer sweetened or unsweetened, with or without lemon, many love and enjoy iced tea by the glass full all summer long. Creating your custom iced tea is as easy as adding a hint of flavor. Whether you add a squeeze of lemon or the juice of raspberries, lime, passion fruit, strawberry, or cherry, make your iced tea your way.
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