When I lived in Florida, iced tea was as easy to find as water.
Usually it was served sweetened by default; if you wanted it
unsweetened, you had to ask for it that way.
Florida weather is a special combination of heat and humidity
that we rarely experience in California, but we do have our heat
waves when a frosty glass of something is just the ticket.
When I lived in Florida, iced tea was as easy to find as water. Usually it was served sweetened by default; if you wanted it unsweetened, you had to ask for it that way.
Florida weather is a special combination of heat and humidity that we rarely experience in California, but we do have our heat waves when a frosty glass of something is just the ticket.
I was curious about the origin of iced tea, so I did some poking around on the Web. Most sources agree on the following story:
“By 1904, the United States was ready for the world to see her development at the St. Louis World’s Fair. Trade exhibitors from around the world brought their products to America’s first World’s Fair.
One such merchant was Richard Blechynden, a tea plantation owner. Originally, he had planned to give away free samples of hot tea to fair visitors. But when a heat wave hit, no one was interested.
To save his investment of time and travel, he dumped a load of ice into the brewed tea and served the first ‘iced tea.’ It was (along with the Egyptian fan dancer) the hit of the Fair.”
Now iced tea is available in bottles and cans, flavored with juices and fruit flavors of all descriptions. But the real thing is wonderfully easy to make at home.
Here is a reliable method:
Iced Tea
Makes 1 quart
5 tea bags
boiling water
sugar (optional)
cold water
Lemon wedges
Step 1: Use a glass or ceramic pitcher with slightly more than 1-quart capacity.
Step 2: Place tea bags in pitcher. I like to tie the strings to a knife or chopstick and lay this over the top of the pitcher to prevent the strings from falling in and make the bags easier to remove.
Step 3: Pour freshly boiled water over the bags .
Step 4: Allow tea to steep for five minutes. Remove tea bags, squeezing slightly, and discard. If you want the tea sweetened, add sugar now. Start with 1/4 cup and increase to taste.
Step 5: Fill the pitcher with cold water.
Step 6: Fill a glass with ice and pour the tea over the ice. Serve with lemon wedges.
If you want people to be able to sweeten their own tea to taste, it’s handy to have simple syrup on hand because there’s no waiting for the sugar to dissolve.
Simple Syrup
(adapted from The Joy of Cooking)
Makes about 1 cup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Step 1: Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture is hot to the touch and most of the sugar is dissolved.
Step 2: Do not stir again or the mixture may crystallize.
Step 3: Brush down the insides of the pan with a wet pastry brush; bring mixture to a simmer.
Step 4: Cover and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Let cool uncovered before using. The syrup may be kept in a covered jar for three weeks at room temperature or up to six months refrigerated.
Another use for simple syrup is to prepare homemade lemonade just as sweet or tart as you like it:
Lemonade
Fresh lemon juice
Simple syrup
Water
Try one part lemon juice, two parts syrup and three parts water to start. Serve over ice. Proportions may be varied according to taste.
Once you’ve got lemonade, you can make a refreshing variation on plain iced tea with sugar and lemon wedges, the “Arnold Palmer”: a mixture of half iced tea and half lemonade.
Ginger root makes a good hot tea on its own and is good for settling a queasy stomach. Here is an iced variation using green tea and mint:
Iced Green Tea with Ginger and Mint
(adapted from a Lipton recipe in the Chicago Sun-Times)
Serves 6
3 ounces ginger root, unpeeled and sliced
6 cups water
1 cup fresh mint leaves
6 bags green tea
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbs. lemon juice
additional mint leaves for garnish
Step 1: Combine ginger and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
Step 2: Remove from heat and add the mint leaves and tea bags. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes.
Step 3: Strain the liquid in to a large heat-resistant pitcher.
Step 4: Add the honey and lemon juice and stir. Chill.
Step 5: Serve over ice, garnished with mint leaves if desired.
Finally, to munch with your icy tea, here is a recipe for Madeleines, a half-cake, half-cookie treat traditionally served at old-fashioned tea parties. Not too sweet, but rich and tender, Madeleines are also a perfect foil for the tang of chilled tea.
Madeleines are traditionally baked in scallop-shaped madeleine molds, but you can also use miniature muffin tins or small tartlet pans in any shape.
Madeleines
1 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbs. unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks) cut into
small pieces
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Step 1: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Have all ingredients at room temperature.
Step 2: Using melted butter, generously grease 24 madeleine or other molds.
Step 3: Sift together, and return to the sifter the flour, baking powder and salt.
Step 4: In a medium bowl, mash and beat the butter with a wooden spoon or firm spatula until smooth and creamy. You can warm the bowl by dipping it in hot water if necessary to hasten the softening of the butter.
Step 5: In a large bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale yellow, about two minutes.
Step 6: Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula. Fold a dollop of this mixture into the butter, then scrape the butter back into the remaining egg mixture and fold together. Let rest for at least 30 minutes.
Step 7: Fill the molds 3/4 full; set any remaining batter aside. Bake until the cakes are golden on top and golden brown around the edges, eight to 10 minutes.
Step 8: Immediately loosen each cake with the tip of a knife and unmold onto a rack to cool.
Step 9: If necessary, wipe the molds clean, let cool, rebutter them and fill with remaining batter.
