Spilling the Tea

Sep 12, 2023

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Sweet Southern sunshine

By Vona Weiss

Photography by Robert Clark

How do you take your tea? Try South Carolina's signature drink of Sweet Tea and Vodka, or the intoxicatingly powerful cocktail The No-Iced-Tea Long Island Iced Tea, which packs a punch. A third option would be The Arnold Palmer Classic, which is always a hole in one! Pamba Bay Melamine white platter courtesy of Kudzu Bakery & Market. Kim Seybert handmade fern placemat, tidbit tray dot citrus, Corrine tumbler, William Yeoward Jasmine footed highball, Orrefors Dizzy Diamond Iced Beverage glass and Viva Vietri napkins all courtesy of non(e)such.

Down here, we have lots of ways to guess whether or not you hail from the South. Accent, clothes, mannerisms — they all provide clues.

But the best way? We’ll just ask how y’all take your tea.

If you request tea anywhere in the South, it will be sweet iced tea, and it will most likely be poured from a designated "sweet tea only" pitcher that has been in the family for generations. If you request hot tea or an unsweetened variety, Southern hospitality dictates that we provide it, but it will probably be paired with a, "Well, bless your heart! You’re not from around here, are you, Sugar?"

And for readers who may indeed be "not from around here," the phrase "bless your heart" is not a compliment.

Here in the South, we take our tea — sweet and iced — very seriously. It's as Southern as sunshine, porch swings, and cornbread, and if you make a sweet tea faux pas, you’ll end up on the "bless your heart" side of Southern opinion faster than green grass goes through a goose.

It is so engrained into our culture that, in 1995, the South Carolina General Assembly adopted a bill making sweet tea the official state hospitality beverage. The Georgia State Legislature took legal matters one step further and in 2003 proposed a bill requiring all food service establishments currently serving iced tea to also provide a sweet tea option, made correctly, or be found "guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature." The House bill was an April Fool's Day joke, but many Southerners would be enthusiastic proponents of such a law.

Theories abound as to how sweet tea — or as Dolly Parton portraying Truvy in Steel Magnolias called it, the "house wine of the South" — became a Southern cultural icon. But most agree that the 1904 World's Fair, which ironically was held in St. Louis, Missouri, and "not from around here," was where iced tea's popularity spiked.

And spiked it was. Before the fair, iced tea was being served in limited locations, but usually in the form of a punch, with brewed tea as just one ingredient and a surprisingly high quantity of alcohol — Champagne, brandy, rum, or sometimes all three — making up the rest of the beverage. In 1839, Mrs. Lettice Bryan included a recipe for Tea Punch in her book, The Kentucky Housewife, which called for a pint and a half of brewed tea, 2½ cups of white sugar, and an entire bottle of either claret or Champagne.

The tea itself was brought to the United States in the 1700s by French explorer and botanist André Michaux, who planted it near Charleston, South Carolina. Tea punches were then served at various functions, all made strictly from green tea and all, with their abundance of alcohol, packing a powerful — yes — punch.

In 1879, Marion Cabell Tyree published the first known printed recipe of sweet iced tea, to be enjoyed as a nonalcoholic beverage, in Housekeeping in Old Virginia. Her advice was to brew the tea at breakfast, then let it stand until dinner. Ice would then be put in a glass, two teaspoons of sugar were added, and the tea poured in over the ice and sugar. She adds that "a squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency."

Of course, modern-day Southerners reading this recipe might well be shaking their heads and thinking that poor Miss Tyree must only have had one oar in the water. Down here, we know that the sugar for sweet tea should be added before brewing, not afterward. A drink that adds sugar after the tea is brewed is known as sweetened tea, not sweet tea, and is, well, "not from around here."

The iced tea available at the 1904 World's Fair wasn't served with sugar, but it did hit the sweet spot when it came to launching iced tea into public awareness. Richard Blechynden was selling hot tea that summer, but the weather was hotter than a goat's butt in a pepper patch and few visitors wanted to drink anything heated. Blechynden, fearing he might end up too poor to even pay attention, decided to serve his already brewed tea over ice, and just like that, sales skyrocketed and Blechynden was living high on the hog. People loved the drink so much that they took the idea of pouring tea over ice back to their homes. Because the weather is particularly sweltering in the South, iced tea suddenly became as popular down here as pimento cheese on bread.

Of course, every Southern hostess knows that proper glassware is a requisite to fine dining and entertaining, and, since iced tea requires taller glasses than hot tea, glass companies profited from the sudden iced tea mania. Sales of "iced tea glasses" boomed, as did the profits for the makers of long stirring spoons and those cute-as-a-button little lemon-spearing forks.

The next boost to iced tea's popularity happened 16 years later during Prohibition. Unable to serve alcohol in bar or clubs, bartenders started serving iced tea as an alternative. And Southern hostesses, faced with the quandary of what to do with their complete set of iced tea glasses, stirring spoons, and forks, removed the alcohol from the tea punches, replaced it with sugar, and then, sure as the day is long, sweet tea and the South were two peas in a pod, living happily ever after.

Sweet tea did eventually make its way to other United States’ regions, and many businesses capitalized on its popularity. Snapple introduced its lemon iced tea flavor in 1987, and when, in 2006, McDonald's added "Mickey D's Sweet Tea," profits rose high as all get out. Sweet tea was suddenly available at Chick-Fil-A and at Cracker Barrel. McAllister's Deli currently hosts Free Tea Day, treating all customers to a day of complimentary 32 ounces of iced tea each July. Other merchants introduced other similar tea selling strategies, although those are typically held on June 10, which is National Iced Tea Day.

Iced tea is delightful on its own, but plenty of iced tea cocktails and combinations are as fine as a frog's hair split four ways. The most famous is perhaps the Arnold Palmer. Named after the legendary golfer, this iced tea drink is now almost as well known as the esteemed slicer for whom it was named. Jimmy Fallon scored a hole in one with audiences when, in 2011, he joked, "Happy Birthday to Arnold Palmer, who turned 82. That's 41 years iced tea and 41 years lemonade."

Arnold Palmer has since passed, but his beverage namesake lives on. When interviewed in an ESPN 1999 documentary, Palmer said the drink happened when he jokingly asked his wife, Winnie, to put a little lemonade in his iced tea, just to "mix things up." She put in more than a little — it was half lemonade, half unsweetened iced tea — but he liked it so much that it became his drink of choice. Other golfers began drinking the "Arnold Palmer," and soon it was enjoyed outside of the clubhouse and in restaurants and bars all over the country.

While the Arnold Palmer is delicious, it might still garner a few "bless your heart" reactions because, Sugar? There's no sugar. The Winnie Palmer, however, named after Arnold's lovely bride, is as Southern as gravy on biscuits. Made with sweet tea and lemonade, it's sweeter than stolen honey and it will make you happier than a boarding house pup.

Another drink that is often mixed in when discussing iced tea based beverages is the Long Island Iced Tea, which does not actually contain any tea — sweet or unsweet. It is however the spittin’ image of iced tea, which was precisely the point when it was first invented.

Created during Prohibition in a Tennessee community known as Long Island, it was originally called an Old Man Bishop. Made with five different types of alcohol, the goal was to fool people into thinking that the person drinking this stronger-than-Samson concoction was just enjoying a glass of sweet iced tea.

Today, the Long Island Iced Tea is still made with five different spirits — gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, and vodka — with just a splash of cola to give it the perfect "iced tea" color. There is a reason the saying "Drink a Long Island Iced Tea when you aren't afraid to go to jail" became popular, so enjoy this cocktail responsibly because, Honey, it’ll make you drunk as a skunk faster than a prairie fire with a tail wind.

Iced tea, sweet tea, iced tea cocktails … all are perfect summer sippers no matter where you call home. But if you want to brew tea that will make your mama proud and won't have your neighbors asking if you were raised in a barn, make the tea stronger than you would a cup of hot tea, add the sugar before you brew, and, once brewed, store it in the refrigerator until it is ready to be served over ice.

The following is a recipe for the perfect Southern sweet iced tea, as well as several iced tea based cocktails that will have you grinnin’ like a possum — even if you’re "not from around here!"

Perfect Southern Sweet Tea

This refreshing iced tea beverage is as Southern as fried okra and easy as pie to make. Just a dash of baking soda is added to keep the tea from developing a bitter taste if stored several days or more, but if you or your guests are going to guzzle it down in one afternoon, the baking soda can be omitted.

4 cups boiling water1½ to 2 cups white sugarDash of baking soda (about ¼ teaspoon)12 regular or 3 family-sized black tea bagsCold water to top off a gallon pitcher (approximately 10 to 12 cups)Lemon wedges and mint leaves for garnish

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat, add the sugar and baking soda (if using), and stir until dissolved. Add the tea bags, cover, and let steep for an hour or so. Remove the tea bags, pour into a gallon pitcher, then top off with cold water (about 10 to 12 cups), and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, then serve over ice, garnishing with a wedge of lemon and mint leaves. Keeps for about a week if refrigerated.

Variation: Sweet tea and vodka is South Carolina's signature drink, so if you are feeling patriotic and are over the age of 21, fill a highball glass with ice, pour in 2 ounces of vodka, top with Perfect Southern Sweet Tea, stir, and garnish with lemon wedges and mint leaves.

The Arnold Palmer Classic

Part iced tea, part lemonade, and 100 percent delicious. This recipe has more tea than lemonade, which keeps the tea taste forward with the tang of the lemonade as a delicious afterthought. A favorite at the 19th hole and beyond, this nonalcoholic beverage will keep you on the course and swinging straight.

Tea6 cups boiling water6 regular black tea bags

Lemonade½ cup water½ cup granulated sugar½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juiceAdditional 2 cups cold waterIceFresh mintLemon wedges

To make the tea, bring 6 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat, add the tea bags and steep for approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Cool to room temperature. For the lemonade, combine ½ cup water and the sugar in a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature, then stir in the lemon juice and an additional 2 cups of cold water. Combine the lemonade and tea in a 2½ quart pitcher, stir, pour over ice garnish with lemon wedges and mint leaves, and enjoy! Makes approximately 12 drinks and it's a hole in one!

Variation: The Winnie Palmer uses sweet tea, rather than iced tea. Make the sweet tea from the Perfect Southern Sweet Tea recipe above, add 6 cups to the lemonade made here, and serve over ice with lemon wedges and mint leaves.

Variation: To make your Arnold Palmer less putt-putt and more 18 holes, fill glasses with ice, add 2 ounces of vodka to each glass, pour in the Arnold Palmer, garnish, and enjoy responsibly.

South Carolina Peach Tea Cocktail

While sweet tea and vodka might be South Carolina's signature drink, this sparkling whiskey-based cocktail with iced tea and ginger ale is very much at home in the South. If you are feeling particularly peachy, use peach-flavored whiskey rather than Canadian whiskey.

1 ounce Canadian whiskey1 ounce peach liqueur3 ounces unsweetened iced tea, chilled2 ounces ginger ale1 lemon wedgeFresh mint and peach slices for garnish

Fill a highball glass with ice and pour in the whiskey and peach liqueur. Add the iced tea, stir, then top with ginger ale. Squeeze the lemon wedge into the glass, then drop it in, garnish with mint and peach slices. Enjoy responsibly!

The No-Iced-Tea Long Island Iced Tea

While absolutely no tea is added to this intoxicatingly powerful cocktail, it still gets first prize in the best-of-costume category. Originally designed to mirror specifically a glass of innocent iced tea, it packs a punch stronger than a tea punch ever could. This drink is so potent that you’ll have gracious plenty and be left without the good sense God gave a billy goat before you know it, so sip slowly, my friend. Without caution, you could be three sheets to the wind and looking for bail money faster than any small-town gossip, so drink responsibly!

½ ounce vodka½ ounce gin½ ounce white rum½ ounce tequila½ ounce triple sec1½ tablespoons lemon juice1½ tablespoons simple syrup¼ cup cola (or until color resembles iced tea)1 ounce lemon sliceLemon slices and mint leaves for garnish

Put ice into a cocktail shaker, pour in vodka, gin, rum, tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, and simple syrup; cover and shake. Strain into an ice-filled Collins or hurricane glass, add cola until color resembles iced tea, and then garnish with lemon slices and mint.

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