June is National Iced Tea Month

Iced tea, or more specifically SWEET tea, has been called "The House Wine of the South."

And it is rightly so that there is a month designated to celebrate it. Join me in raising a big ol' glass in salute, this eighth anniversary of National Iced Tea Month.

(Yes, I'm going to share a sweet tea recipe with you, just hang on a minute!)

First, I need to clarify a few things. In the South, when somebody offers you tea, as in "would you like some tea?," here is what they're offering you: an iced tea beverage that has been sweetened with sugar. If the tea is for some reason unsweetened, then the offeror will let you know that fact beforehand and will offer you some sort of sweetener. A good Southern host will have some Sweet Tea already made, though, if he or she is expecting guests and plans to offer them tea to drink. If the offeror is offering hot tea or herb tea, then the offeror will say so.

In a Southern restaurant, if you order "iced tea" to drink, you'll most likely receive sweet tea. You need to specify that you want UNsweet tea. You also need to specify if you want hot tea or herb tea. If you just say "ICED TEA," then expect to receive sweet iced tea.

At least, that's the way it used to be.

Now with The Great Influx of "Halfbackers," - that is, people who have migrated South (initially all the way down to Florida and then halfway back to Tennessee) - true Southerners are becoming a dying breed.

If you go into a Southern restaurant these days and order "Iced Tea," there's a distinct possibility that you might just receive unsweet tea (that is, if the server can understand your True Southern Accent *grumble*). So, better insure yourself and order "Sweet Tea."

At least some people down here still know how to make it. (Yes, I promise I'm including a recipe. Just indulge me a little longer.)

Up North, however... they have no clue. Let me relate a true story to you about sweet tea. This really happened to me.

Several years ago, I had the (dis)pleasure of taking a bidness (that's Southern for "business," for the Yankees among us) trip up North. I went to a restaurant in Wisconsin and ordered sweet tea. The waitress looked at me funny and said, "There's sugar on the table."

Do what?

A real Southerner knows that sweet tea is pre-sweetened. One does not sweeten his sweet tea himself. To attempt to put sugar into unsweet tea is an exercise in futility. The sugar merely sinks to the bottom, no matter how furiously one stirs the tea. (Artificial sweeteners are a different matter entirely and one that I shall not address here.) One ends up with unsweetened tea at the top and a mess of syrup at the bottom. In other words, it ain't really sweet tea as we in the South know it.

It was at that point that I realized that Northerners do not know the subtle nuances and delights of real Sweet Tea. I knew that if I ever wanted tea in the North, I'd have to order "iced dea" and sweeten it myself... or just settle for that other magic Southern elixir, Co-Cola.

Anyway, let me share with you my Top-Secret Classified Recipe for Sweet Tea:

3 Family-size tea bags (Lipton or Luzianne)
1 quart water
2 2/3 cups sugar

Put tea bags and water into a saucepan and heat to almost boiling. DO NOT BOIL THE TEA.
Put sugar into a gallon jug or pitcher.
Pour hot tea into the sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Add cold water to make one gallon.
Serve in glasses filled with ice.

Happy Iced Tea Month, y'all! May your tea be sweet and may you never run out of ice!

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