It was at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis that iced tea was popularized and commercialized (not invented). Due to the hot summer of 1904, people ignored any hot drinks and went in search of cold drinks (including iced tea). Because of this, it changed the way the rest of Americans thought of tea (thus popularizing iced tea).
Richard Blechynden, India Tea Commissioner and Director of the East Indian Pavilion at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis was offering free hot tea to everyone. Blechynden and his team took the brewed India tea, filled several large bottles, and placed them on stands upside down (thus allowing the tea to flow through iced lead pipes). This free iced tea was very much welcomed by the thirsty fair goers.
“Iced tea is now coming into use in the hot summer months; but this is an eccentric innovation, not likely very soon to become a common custom.” (“Herald of Health, “New York, 1869)
A French explorer and botanist, Andre Michaux (1746-1802), imported it as well as other beautiful and showy varieties of camellias, gardenias, and azaleas to suit the desires of wealthy Charleston planters. He planted tea near Charleston at Middleton Barony.
“Imagine a delicious glass of summer iced tea. Take a long cool sip. Listen to the ice crackle and clink. Is the glass part full or part empty? Take another sip, and now?” (Vera Nazarian, author of The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration)
English and American cookbooks show us that tea has been served cold at least since the early nineteenth century. Cold green tea punches were popular as they were heavily spiked with liquor.
Iced teas popularity parallels to the development of refrigeration: The ice house, the icebox (refrigerator), and the commercial manufacture of pure ice were in place by the middle of the nineteenth century. The term refrigerator was used for the first patented ice box in 1803 and was common in the mid nineteenth century in the United States.
“Iced tea is too pure and natural a creation not to have been invented as soon as tea, ice, and hot weather crossed paths.” (John Egerton)
After water consumption, tea is the second most popular beverage in the world today. More than half of the American population drinks tea. Eighty-five percent of that tea is served on ice. Unsweetened iced tea is a fantastic wholesome drink. Whether black, green, white, or oolong, all teas do a body good with its first-class ingredients. Here are four ways in which unsweetened tea should be your beverage of choice.
1. Low in Sugar and Calories: An eight ounce serving of packaged sweet iced tea contains eighty-nine calories and twenty-two grams of sugar, while an equivalent portion of brewed, unsweetened black iced tea contains just two calories (less than a gram of carbohydrates and no added sugar).
Switching from sweet tea to unsweetened iced tea makes it easier to stay under your recommended added sugar limit (twenty-four grams daily for women and thirty-six grams for men).
A twelve-ounce can of regular Coke contains thirty-nine grams of sugar. This is about nine and a half teaspoons of sugar and one hundred and forty calories. Twelve ounces of unsweetened iced tea has zero teaspoons of sugar and two calories.
“The Russians cool all their drinks with ice – iced beverages of various descriptions are commonly sold in the streets throughout the summer – and, not satisfied with their iced water, iced wine, and iced beer, they even drink iced tea, substituting for a lump of sugar a similar portion of ice.” (Johann Georg Kohl, quoted in 1842)
2. Good Source of Manganese: Each eight ounce serving of brewed black iced tea offers five hundred and twenty micrograms of manganese, which is thirty-five percent of the recommended daily intake for women and twenty-three percent for men.
Because of its manganese content, unsweetened iced tea promotes healthy wound healing, helps maintain the strength of your bones, supports your metabolism, and prevents tissue damage.
3. Boosts Antioxidants: An antioxidant is a plant compound that fights cell-damage in the body. Tea has about eight to ten times the antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables.
Antioxidants work to prevent the body’s version of rust, and help to promote youth and protect from pollution damage. Natural unsweetened tea is loaded with antioxidants, which slow the aging process and keep your skin looking younger.
4. Tea May Reduce the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke: There is a nearly twenty percent reduction in the risk of heart attack and a thirty-five percent reduced risk of stroke among those who drank one to three cups of green tea a day. Those who drank four or more cups of green tea daily had a thirty-two percent reduction in the risk of having a heart attack and lower levels of bad cholesterol.
Tea has so many more uses than just as a beverage. Below are a few of the benefits a single tea bag has:
1. Be added to compost or potted plants
2. Helps boil eggs
3. Cleans carpets, antique rugs, mirrors, windows, floors, furniture, and fireplaces
4. Cures acne and the common cold
5. De-stink fridges, feet, and cat litter
6. Drain boils, dries a weepy poison ivy rash, and heals warts
7. Dye fabrics and hair
8. Feed your ferns, fertilize your roses, and helps houseplants
9. Get rid of fishy smells
10. Improve breath and skin
11. Make a potpourri sachet and a car air freshener
12. Make mouthwash and soap
13. Prevents fleas and dizziness
14. Relieve both baby injection pains and tired eyes
15. Remove toilet stains
16. Saves a broken fingernail
17. Soothes sunburn, blisters, bleeding gums, canker sores, pinkeye, and razor burn
18. Used to tenderize meat
“I think everything in life is art. What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone…How you talk [with] your smile and your personality. What you believe in and all your dreams. [How] you drink your tea. How you decorate your home or party. Your grocery list [and] the food you make. How your writing looks…The way you feel. Life is art.” (Helena Bonham Carter) [i]
[i] Sources adapted from:
· “7 Creative Uses for Tea besides Drinking It!” (www.heavenlytealeaves.com)
· “49 Uses for Tea” by Steve Graham
· “22 Ways to Use Tea to Benefit Your Beauty, Home and Garden” by Trisha Barber
· “William Ewart Gladstone” Wikipedia
· “Health Benefits of Unsweetened Iced Tea” by Sylvie Tremblay
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· “8 Health Benefits of Iced Tea” by Melissa Breyer
· “How a Daily Cup of Tea May Improve Your Health” by Linda Carroll
· “The Pros and Cons That Drinking Iced Tea Can Have for Your Health” (boredomtherapy.com)
· “Iced Tea History – Sweet Tea History” (whatscookingamerica.net)
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