Iced Tea, one of the world's favorite summer drinks, is a form of tea served over ice. The tea may or may not be sweetened. It may be made from using tea bags or by actually steeping tea leaves. It may be steeped in the sun for hours or may be made in the microwave in a few minutes. It never contains any milk, but it may contain a number of different flavors. It may be made from black tea, green tea, white tea or oolong tea. Today, iced tea, especially flavored iced tea is also available as packaged drink. The most popular flavors of iced tea include lemon, peach, cherry, lime and raspberry.
Iced Tea is popular around the world. Let's look at some interesting facts about iced tea from around the world.
United States: Iced tea has long been popular in the United States. In fact, many people believe that iced tea was invented here. Iced tea is a very popular summer drink, especially in the Southern and South-western states where it is considerably hotter during the summer. In the South, the trend is towards sweetened iced tea, whereas in most places in the rest of the country, unsweetened iced tea is preferred. Freshly brewed iced tea is the norm in the South, where it is present in practically every eating establishment, but the rest of the country favors packaged iced tea in a large variety of flavors.
Canada: In Canada, Iced tea almost always refers to the sweetened variety of iced tea. Unsweetened varieties of iced tea are not popular here. The most popular way of making iced tea in Canada is with powder packets, which simply need to be dissolved in iced water, but is also available in cans and bottles. The most popular flavor of iced tea in Canada is lemon, although peach, raspberry and pomegranates are also becoming popular. Freshly brewed iced tea is also gaining rapid popularity.
United Kingdom: The English tea is world famous and so is the social ritual surrounding it. But, iced tea is also very popular in the UK, although it does exceed the popularity of the afternoon tea. Packages iced tea from companies like Lipton and Nestea are widely liked.
Switzerland: Switzerland has its own unique blend of iced tea. It is made with the basic ingredients like black tea, sugar, lemon juice and mint, but a variety of herbs are also added to the concoction. Swiss company Nestle also has a wide gamut of iced teas available in its home country. Apart from classic flavors like lemon and peach, exotic flavors like Hibicus and Ananas are also very popular.
China: The land where tea originated, the traditional society is yet to embrace the trend of drinking iced tea. Their 4000 year old tradition of drinking teas did not include the cold variety, but the current generation is happy to explore the varieties of this fantastic summer drink. Iced tea is mixed with cooling herbs to provide respite from the scorching heat in rural areas.
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Iced Tea, one of the world's favorite summer drinks, is a form of tea served over ice. The tea may or may not be sweetened. It may be made from using tea bags or by actually steeping tea leaves. It may be steeped in the sun for hours or may be made in the microwave in a few minutes. It never contains any milk, but it may contain a number of different flavors. It may be made from black tea, green tea, white tea or oolong tea. Today, iced tea, especially flavored iced tea is also available as packaged drink. The most popular flavors of iced tea include lemon, peach, cherry, lime and raspberry.
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