Ice Tea

Ice tea, otherwise known as iced tea is a form of cold tea. This tea is usually drunk with chilled or with ice cubes. The tea may or may not be sweetened. It is a very popular drink all around the world, so popular in fact that many companies have start packaging this wonderful beverage. It is a drink that can be enjoyed anything and with any meal. Ice tea is mostly flavoured with fruit syurp, with common flavors such as lemon, peach, lime, cherry and orange.

Ice tea has become very much apart of the Singaporean lifestyle, as any common mini mart to big super markets such as NTUC all carry Ice tea products.

History of Ice Tea

The history of Iced Tea begins in America, with found recipes of Iced Tea dating back to the 1800s.

In the beginning, iced tea was not the same as we know it today. As most of its important ingredients are any thing but tea leaves. Iced Tea was first seen as more of a punch, thus many different recipes such as adding alcohol, fruits etc to the tea. Compared to our current time where the tea is the main focus of it all.

The earliest record of a Iced Tea beverage recipe dates back to 1879. However, most historians believed that the recipe could have been traveling via word of mouth even earlier than that.

By the early 1900s, black tea began to replace green tea as a staple in iced tea. For a time, a mix of green tea and black tea was used for making iced tea. However, by the end of the 1920s, black tea is the norm.

The popularity of iced tea fluctuated throughout the 20th century. It peaked during the first part of the century and through World War I and dipped to its lowest point in the mid-1930s and late 1950s.

With the availability of canned, bottled, and powdered iced tea, iced tea has continued to maintain its popularity into the 21st century.

Recipes

Lemon Almond Ice Tea

Ingredients:

• 4 cups boiling water
• 10 tea bags, black
• 2 lemons, sliced thinly
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbs almond extract
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 2-litre bottle of lemon carbonated drink

Preparation:

Brew tea in a saucepan, and steep for 10 minutes. Put lemon slices into a large pitcher, giving them each a squeeze as you go. Add sugar into pitcher. Mix in tea. Add flavourings and pop right before serving. If you are not going to serve immediately, hold off on the extracts and lemon soda until then.

Peach Ice Tea

Ingredients:

• 3 12-oz cans of peach juice
• 2 quarts tea
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Preparation:
• Combine everything and chill. Serve over ice.
• Raspeberry Honey Ice Tea
• Ingredients:
• 2 cups tea
• 2 cups raspberry juice
• 1/4 cup honey

Preparation:

Mix raspberry juice, tea and honey. Whisk until honey is dissolved. Serve cold over ice. You can substitute cranberry juice, instead of raspberry for a different taste.

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