I was raised in Middle TN, and in our house, my mom made iced tea and put it in a big plastic pitcher in the fridge. It usually lasted a few days or so. My best friend’s family, on the other hand, made a smaller glass pitcher before the meal, and if there was any left, it was thrown away. Tea was never kept, and certainly never in the fridge. Now, her mother was more Southern than mine (mine was German, for goodness’ sake), so maybe her way is the more traditional way. What say y’all? Do you keep tea or not?
I am from Louisiana and my mother always kept and made sun tea. It was unsweetened with real lemon though. I got on a kick a while ago where I kept some all the time but it was also unsweetened.
I’ve always thought one of the benefits of tea was that it *could * be ‘kept’. It’s not like coffee or milk or juice, that invariably go bad.
I’m not a southerner, though, if that means anything.
I do. I’ve been going through about two pitchers a week lately.
Yep. My family always had a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge, and I do as well.
Growing up, I drank a LOT of tea. What we didn’t drink for dinner would usually end up gone over the next day or so. After the third day, it got gross and was poured out (although it rarely made it that long).
A pitcher of tea lasts about 3 days at my mum’s house.
I keep tea. It’s what I have in the daylight hours instead of soft drinks. Iced tea is what I missed most in Europe.
I usually always have a gallon or three in the frig at any given time. It’s my daily beverage. Left out at room temperature it may mold but in the refrigerator it keeps just fine for a few days.
As as side note, I think that Southern iced tea drinking has become established nationally or at least in the northeast. When I moved to the north, people at home told me they wouldn’t have any iced tea readily available up here. Most homes won’t but virtually all restaurants do. It is unsweetned but that is the kind that I liked anyway. My wife and I drink unlimited refills up here whenever we go out to a random place just like in New Orleans or Memphis.
I guess they make it to keep as well and somebody else must be ordering it. Is it national now?
My dad is firmly in the fresh tea camp. Sometimes I think his tolerance could be measured in the minutes. My oldest sister is on the opposite end of the spectrum. She’ll make a pot of tea and leave it for days. My mom and I are happily in the middle. I’ll drink tea from the day before, but beyond that it begins to get icky.
-Lil
Mississippi here. We made sweet tea and kept it in the fridge in a plastic pitcher.
Louisiana here. We kept it in the fridge if there was any left, which, since most people in my family drink a lot, wasn’t always guaranteed.
Anyone have any good iced tea recipes to share, then? I want to get into the habit of drinking tea (I hear it’s very healthy), but I don’t like hot beverages, so iced is the way to go! We have a metal teakettle at home, so I boiled two cups of water, put four bags of Tazo Awake black tea in it for five minutes (I timed it), and poured that into a plastic pitcher with four cups of cold water, and left it in the fridge overnight before I had any. It wasn’t bad, but a little bland for my taste. (Being a Floridian, I’m used to really SWEET tea, but I’m trying to drink iced tea instead of sugary sodas, so adding sugar will ruin it.) Could I add Splenda or honey to the pitcher, or lemon (or bottled lemon juice?), or use a different kind of tea, or let it steep longer before refrigerating, or what?
If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area you can choose from many varieties of pre-made unsweetened tea. I really like the orange bergamot green tea.
Lou, for you, I’d recommend Sun-Tea. Very simple. You don’t have to have a
Sun tea jar/dispenser, but it makes life easier. These are usually availible in Supermarkets for under 10 dollars. I’m betting in Florida they will not be hard to find. Take said jar, ur something similar, fill with cold water, 5-6 bags of whatever tea you like and set in a sunny place for a while. The longer it sets the stronger it gets. The up-side of this system, I find is that the tea comes out very smooth. The
tannens in black tea seem much less stryngent. You remove the tea bags and then add whatever you like. Very simple, Good tea.
I ALWAYS have a pitcher of tea in the refrigerator. I drink it constantly, do not sweeten and mix green and black teas. I think the idea of not keeping tea may reach back to the days when refrigeration was not as avaiable. Sweet tea will sour very quickly if left out in the heat.
So I’m getting the distinct impression that sweet tea is unpopular? My friends from the northern parts of the U.S. find the very idea unthinkable!
northerner. alway ice tea in the fridge. rarely lasts more than a day before a new batch is made.
I wouldn’t say sweet tea was unpopular, Lou. I don’t drink it at home for reasons similar to yours. I drink so much, it would seem a very bad idea to consume that much sugar. I will drink sweet tea away from home. Some of the older folks in my family make their tea as sweet as syrup and restaurants here ask the customer if she prefers sweet or unsweetened tea. When I have traveled to other parts of the country, I have found that frequently, if you can get iced tea at all, is is very weak and it comes unsweetened only.