can someone educate this Northerner on Sweet Tea (restaurant, bbq, diet)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I get quite a chuckle when we go to dinner who the servers assume you want "sweet tea". Being from the north I am assuming this is what we up north call "iced tea"? If so, this is a summer drink for us Northerners? Why is sweet tea so popular and why is it the assumption it is what you want for your beverage
I don't know that it's so popular. It's just that the presumption when some orders iced tea that they want sweet tea unless they specify otherwise. There are very few restaurants where they do not offer both sweet and unsweetened tea. I'm one of those who prefers unsweetened tea!
It is just a staple to us southerners! We all drink sweet tea all year round! Our assumption at a restaurant is it is sweet unless you ask otherwise. Some people think sweet tea is too sweet, but it is a preferance thing.
When my brother in law and sister moved to new hampshire they missed "authentic sweet tea" and every time my brother in law and sister in law come here from arizona, they have to get sweet tea. I think if you grow up on it, then you are just used to it.
Think grandparents house, sitting on the front porch, fanning yourself and drinking sweet tea..........
Good sweet tea will put a diabetic into a coma just from walking past on the sidewalk.
I have a sweet tooth, and love the stuff. I only drink unsweetened tea when I can muster all my caloric discipline.
Sweet tea and good barbecue....
Oh, man!
I was fortunate to have been transplanted to the area when I was 12 so I pass as a Southerner to most people. "Iced tea" from the north only resembles "sweet tea" in the fact that they both start with water and a tea bag. "Sweet tea" is lighter on the tea side and much heavier on the sweet side. I sometimes make the mistake of ordering "iced tea" when I go up north, and I have to have it replaced with a "soda" (Coke or Pepsi for you Northerners). Since you are a Diet Pepsi gal, you'll have to order "unsweet tea" and add your artificial sweetner. There is nothing like a plate of BBQ (chopped/shredded pork) and a tall glass of "sweet tea". Welcome to "Gods Country".
This northern gal and her husband visited Savannah and Hilton Head last spring and I loved the sweet tea. I really enjoy iced tea but never order it in restaurants here up north because trying to get the sugar to dissolve in the cold, unsweetened tea they serve is impossible. I wish sweet tea would move here to Massachusetts, or better yet, I wish we'd move to the South where I could get all the sweet tea I'd like!
This northern gal and her husband visited Savannah and Hilton Head last spring and I loved the sweet tea. I really enjoy iced tea but never order it in restaurants here up north because trying to get the sugar to dissolve in the cold, unsweetened tea they serve is impossible. I wish sweet tea would move here to Massachusetts, or better yet, I wish we'd move to the South where I could get all the sweet tea I'd like!
I know what you mean about the sugar dissolving. Where I grew up, even though we were in the southern part of the US, we could never get sweet tea in restaurants. My mom made real sweet tea at home, and trying to duplicate it when we went out to eat was impossible. The best I could find was to use artificial sweetener instead of sugar because it dissolves a little better, albeit with a different "sweetness".
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovemyguys
Being from the north I am assuming this is what we up north call "iced tea"?
The main difference between "sweet tea" and "iced tea" is that sugar is added to sweet tea while the tea is still hot and steeping, thus allowing the sugar to dissolve and make it uniformly sweet! It is a year-round Southern staple. Yum!
I grew up in NC and VA and I cant stand sweet tea. TOOOOOO sweet. I like plain old sun tea. THe bad part is that in NC (not so much in Va) is that all drive thru restaurants will automatically give you the sweetened tea unless you SPECIFICALLY ask for unsweet. SOmetimes I forget and I can smell the sugar as soon as they hand me the drink. LOL. It's all good, though.
Why is sweet tea so popular and why is it the assumption it is what you want for your beverage
Because it tastes Goooood
I wouldn't call it a Southern tradition. My Grandmother in Purdin, Missouri served sweet tea all summer long. The well water on Grandpa's farm wasn't that great, so tea helped mask the flavor.
There are some places in Wake county, where the water doesn't taste that good so tea would be preferrable to water. Visiting the Durham public library, I invited my wife & son to have a cool, refreshing drink just to enjoy the odd looks on their faces. I should note that the water in my hometown of Davenport, Iowa wasn't the greatest either. Terribly overchlorinated. Our water came from the Mississipi river-- guess how many toilets in the US empty into the Mississippi... I have a carbon canister filter at my current house in Illinois, will probably do the same after we move.
Trivia:
A retired commercial realtor said the water taste in parts of NC was due to the Triassic clay.
...A bucket full of chicken and a big ol' jug of sweet tea........you know the rest of the song
Sweet tea for me too, at every meal!!!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Loving sweet tea up north!
