Just wanted to point out that it’s correctly called iced tea, not ice tea. You can’t make tea from ice. Try it – take some ice and steep it in boiling water and see what happens.
I know, I know, we all say ice tea even though on the menu it’s correctly listed as “Iced Tea.” It bothers me. We should all be saying this correctly. Yeah, we never will, but can we at least acknowledge that it’s wrong?
Just a side note, “Ice-T” is the stage name of a rapper, actor, songwriter, and producer who is two years older than me and has nothing to do with this post. Not to be confused with “Ice Cube” or “Vanilla Ice” who are also rappers. At this time their iced tea drinking habits are not clearly documented on Wikipedia.
Thinking about it more, bottled iced tea is a bit wrong too. It’s good and a quick way to get a cold iced drink at home, but it if it’s sold at room temperature, I promise you, there is no ice in it – you have to add that. It’s just tea, room temperature tea. Unless you keep it in the door of your fridge, then it’s colder. More correctly it should be called, “a temperature neutral tea beverage.” I say tea beverage, because I am not 100 percent sure that there is actual tea in those bottles. It does taste like tea, but is that because they used real tea or because the manufacturer is just good at chemistry?
You know, like the folks who make energy drinks – nobody really knows what goes in those.
You know what else is wrong? Sugar in iced tea. There I said it, and now all those souther sweet tea drinkers are going to come after me. Iced tea doesn’t need sugar. Its main function is to be cold and supply a very small amount of caffeine. Maybe microscopic amount, but it’s there.
Unless you bought decaf tea. But, why would you do that? It’s like buying a cup of decaf coffee. Isn’t the whole point of coffee to get a decent amount of caffeine in your bloodstream quickly so you can be alert enough to realize you should have stayed in bed? On its own coffee is a bitter drink that likely is destroying two layers of your stomach lining before it wakes you up. Why take out the one chemical that makes the whole messy process of making a cup of coffee worth it?
Now we do add milk and sugar to coffee to take away that bitter, “why the heck am I drinking this” taste. Sugar in coffee also adds to the wake me up effect by rising your heart rate. With enough sugar and caffeine you can raise your heart rate to around 120 beats a minute for a good half hour. Add a sugar glazed donut or two and you have a full one hour aerobic exercise for your heart without having to break a sweat or even leave your living room recliner.
About milk, you can have milk in tea, but only hot black teas. Milk in herb tea, green tea or Earl Gray is just wrong as is adding milk to tea that has been iced. Believe me, I tried it, not good. True tea drinkers will know that you can add lemon to Earl Gray and sometimes adding a bit of lemon-aid in iced tea is nice.
On the coffee side, milk can be added as a flavor or to convert your coffee into a posh drink like a latte or cappuccino. And coffee being what it is, you can add ice to any version of coffee to make an iced coffee or iced latte. I haven’t tried an iced cappuccino, but that sounds wrong too. There is such a thing as cold brewed coffee which I don’t understand at any level.
That’s an iced coffee, not ice coffee. You can’t make coffee from ice …
Andrew's View of the Week 
This is thoroughly enjoyable💜
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🙂
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I made iced tea just last night! And I would certainly know better than to attempt to add milk to it. Hot black teas only is correct. I’ve got that down. When to use lemon is still problematic for me. Generally honey is my friend.
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You are very wise. and so you’ll know, lemon goes with Earl Grey tea. Milk with black tea, lemon with Earl Grey.
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Since I’m not an earl grey fan, I guess I’ll not need the lemon.
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Lemon can be used in iced tea …
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Ah, yes. Good call. I’ll do that. Thanks, Andrew.
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Nothing better than a tall glass of iced tea, with a slice of lemon and and a sprig of mint. The best! Absolutely no need for sugar.
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Nothing better!
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Some things can get your goat, like “irregardless” – not a word!
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There’s a whole post in that word!
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On my first trip to Japan in July 1979, we stayed at a ryokan in the heart of Tokyo. After making our way through the city in the summer heat, we finally found the place. Our host brought us tall glasses of what I thought was iced tea. I took a giant chug of the drink only to have my taste buds scream, “Coffee!!!”
I detest coffee, but I drank it all anyway out of politeness and thirst. Thankfully, it was diluted enough–to the point where the color resembled tea–that I was able to get it down.
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That would be a shock, expecting tea and getting coffee.
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One word – yep!
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🙂
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Follow-up topic for you to take on next: the difference between decaffeinated tea and uncaffeinated tea, and the different methods for decaffeination (which will clear up the idea that one should ever decaffeinate tea).
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Good point, not many people know that. I’ll get started on that post …
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“Ice tea” is a good example of lazy English. I think Americans are too hurried to make the pause necessary to say “iced”, so we dropped the “d”. I’m sure there’s a whole post worth of examples of lazy English; every one of them drawing the ire of the Brits. Over there I’m sure they still say “iced”… er, assuming they ice their tea. Might be too much meddling with their precious drink.
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The Brits don’t ice their drinks. When I’m visiting family in England, it’s difficult to get ice, even at a pub. If you ask for ice you’ll get one or two cubes, maybe three if you use your American accent. As far as iced tea – no proper Brit would ice a perfectly good cup of tea …
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No, No, Iced tea and iced coffee are both a delight. Only lemon tea though, I don’t like the peach variety. Very popular here thanks.
Hugs
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You must be one of those enlighten, forward thinking, willing to embrace the best things in the world kind of Brit. 😉 And I did noticed the last time I was over an increase in the number of cold drinks on offer.
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I was with you until the ‘sweet tea’. I love my tea sweet–with the pink stuff, not the blue.
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I usually avoid sweeteners on the theory that I’m sweet enough … 😉
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Well, there is that.
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What an education Andrew, thank you. Clear one thing up for me from your monologue which is not drink related. ‘all those souther sweet tea drinkers’, is this just a typing glitch or is that how you refer to your friends from the South? If true, is it the same with reverse polarity, are you their Norther friend?
Hugs
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David, just trying to educate the world. Sadly my editor failed me yesterday. I meant southerner. Although if someone called me a norther, I’d get it. 😉
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There is so much here! I loved this post. “Isn’t the whole point of coffee to get a decent amount of caffeine in your bloodstream quickly so you can be alert enough to realize you should have stayed in bed?”I was in stitches over this. I truly believe that the same coffee grounds have different purposes on different days. Monday to Friday that is the EXACT purpose of my morning coffee, whereas on Saturday and Sunday the purpose of my coffee is to get me awake enough to start preparing for my nap 😆 “There is such a thing as cold brewed coffee which I don’t understand at any level” it is simply coffee made with colder water. Normal coffee grounds use hot water to steep them (like tea), but in a cold brew they take stronger grounds and make it with colder water so that you can have colder coffee, say on hot days when you don’t want iced coffee so that the ice doesn’t melt and water it down. And in both of your cases regarding tea and coffee, you can make either, put them into an ice cube tray (not the rapper on a tray) and freeze it. Then you have an ice tea or an ice coffee 🙃
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humm … iced tea ice cubes … interesting thought. 🙂
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Sometimes even I get interesting ideas, Admittedly, not particularly often, but it’s been known to happen 😊
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So much to think about on a Sunday night!! My British friend who now lives in Germany never heard of “Iced Tea” :O I am serious. I had to explain it to him. Then last year for my birthday, he sent me a canister of Nestea Iced Tea Mix through Amazon. He must like me because he thinks cold (or ‘iced’) tea is just plain wrong. We have a date after all this mess is over to go to Paris and sit in front of a little cafe in the street and I will introduce him to his first iced tea. (Oh – the dreams we have while in lockdown!) Do you think that they drink iced tea in Paris? Now I wonder . . . 😉
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Well, those brits have funny ideas about tea. I have to say that when I was in Paris I never asked for an iced tea so can’t help you there. 😉
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Mom made Iced tea without sugar. That’s what I grew up drinking.
When you say Iced tea too fast, it sounds like Ice’t ea If don’t, won’t, and can’t are considered words, the Ice’t ea can be a contraction, too. 😅
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It does sound like that doesn’t it. 😉
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Interesting, as always. It’s good to finally learn that my donut addiction is actually good for me. Thanks, Doc 👍🍩🍩
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I’m here for you Ray. I know lots of stuff like this.
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