Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: Pooh's Notes of Love:
While this sweet tea is simply delicious you can make different varations
Adjustments and varations:
Less sweetness - add 1 cup of sugar
Citrus flavor - add 2 tablespoons lemon extract and 1 lemon, wedged
Berry delicious - add 2 tablespoons strawberry extract and 7 fresh strawberries, halved (can use frozen strawberries as well)
Oh so peachy - add 2 tablespoons peach extract and 1 peach, sliced (can use can peaches as well)
Pooh's Fun Facts:
I grew up on lemonade and kool-aid, my first mother-in-law taught me how to make tea in 1998; and I have liked it ever since. She is the inspiration for the name. In 2000 I lived in Virginia and I always saw tea steeping on people's porches, and I traveled through the middle of the United States from Virginia to back to California stopping in southern states and I saw tea steeping in all types of ways. It's a beautiful sight to see.
Pooh's History Lesson:
Most recipes call for a relatively quick steep, anywhere from a few swishes of the tea bags through the hot water to a full five-minute dunk. However, some Southerners like a nice long steep to make a stronger sweet tea.
Amount of sugar has you shaking your head, well sweet is the southern way! 2 Cups of sugar makes for a very sweet, rich tea, typical of many southern restaurants.
Sweet tea is not a glass of iced tea with a spoonful of sugar stirred in. Rather, it’s steeped in large batches, sweetened while hot, and then kept chilled in the fridge. That way it’s always ready for an afternoon visitor or an easy cool-down on a hot
summer day.
Early history-
Late 1700s- French botanist Andre Michaux first introduced tea plants to the United States in South Carolina, but large-scale cultivation didn't begin until later.
1880s- The U.S. government established an experimental tea farm, and Dr. Charles Shepard founded the Pinehurst Tea Plantation, which helped establish tea growing in the region.
The rise of iced tea
19th and early 20th centuries- Initially, iced tea was a northern luxury, but the south began to embrace it as ice became more accessible through trade and later, mechanical refrigeration.
Prohibition (1920s-1930s)- The ban on alcohol made iced tea, particularly the sweetened version, a popular alternative to alcoholic beverages in the South. Early recipes even used sweet tea to replace alcohol in punches.
1904 World's Fair- Iced tea's popularity was further boosted at this event, solidifying its place as a mainstream drink.
1879- The first known recipe for a drink similar to modern sweet tea appeared in a cookbook called Housekeeping in Old Virginia.
Modern day:
Sweet tea has become a symbol of Southern culture and hospitality.
It is a staple in many southern homes and restaurants, with some restaurants even making it a requirement to serve sweet tea.
Summerville, South Carolina, continues to celebrate its heritage as the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea".
|
This recipe for Grandma W's Sweet Tea is from