American tea culture

In the U.S. south a regional favorite called sweet tea – which is brewed, sweetened, and chilled in advance of consumption – may be served at all meals and throughout the day as an alternate to other beverages.

[5][6][7] It was brewed from yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria), which is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

[8] True Asian tea (Camellia Sinensis) was first brought to North America by Dutch traders in the 17th century.

[9] In Salem, Massachusetts, tea leaves were boiled to create a bitter brew, then served as a vegetable side dish with butter.

[11] The view of tea in American culture began to shift when the British government introduced the Townshend Acts in 1767.

One article in the Boston Gazette on 15 August, 1768 stated: “Let us abjure the poisonous baneful plant and its odious infusion – poisonous and odious, I mean, not on account of its physical qualities but on account of the political diseases and death that are connected with every particle of it.”[9] Boycotts of tea by revolutionary patriots led to an increase in consumption of other beverages, such as coffee, yaupon tea, or herbal teas infused with peppermint, sage or dandelions.

One of the earliest recipes for American iced tea appeared in Housekeeping in Old Virginia, a cookbook from 1879.

It stated: “After scalding the teapot, put into it one quart of boiling water and two teaspoonfuls of green tea….

A squeeze of lemon will make this delicious and healthful, as it will correct the astringent tendency.”[9] Alcoholic iced tea punches with cream, sugar, and liquor also became popular in the 19th century, especially in southern towns like Charleston and Savannah.

The consumption of sweet tea with many meals leads to it sometimes called the "table wine of the South", and this trait is considered an important marker of the culture of the Southern United States.

While high fructose corn syrup is commonly used as a sweetener for commercially manufactured tea, more often consumers are unaware of this, and when made at home, refined sugar is used.

Iced tea can be purchased, like soda, in canned or bottled form at vending machines and convenience stores; usually, this pre-made tea is sweetened with corn syrup, and sometimes some other flavoring, such as lemon or raspberry, is added.

The reason for the pre-sweetening is that it may be difficult to dissolve sugar in iced tea, even with constant stirring.

Formal tea parties were traditionally hosted by women as a way to socialize and display their hospitality and refinement.

Since sun brewing occurs in a temperature range that can promote the development of bacteria, particularly Alcaligenes viscolactis, the Centers for Disease Control and the Tea Association of the U.S.A. Inc. suggest storing sun-brewed tea in the refrigerator and discarding it after 24 hours.

Be it known that we, Roberta C. Lawson and Mary McLaren, citizens of the united states, residing at Milwaukee, WI have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tea-Leaf Holders, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

Sullivan did not realize this until they all started to complain that the orders they received were not in the same small bags the samples had been in.

Silk was too expensive for everyday disposal; therefore, he invented tea bags made of gauze.

After the ban was lifted in 1971, these teas typical to China re-entered the American market for the first time since the first two decades of the 20th century.

[21] In the early 1980s, a mini-revival of demand for better quality teas from all origins occurred in the United States.

[citation needed] This is a departure from the more common Sri Lankan, Indonesian, Argentinian and other nations' orthodox rotorvane tea-making method which has limitations and can not produce whole leaf black tea.

The rotorvane method was adopted primarily to satisfy the demand for the smaller leaf sizes that fit into small (1-2 gram) tea bag blends worldwide starting in the early 20th century.}

Decaffeinated tea is widely available in the United States, for those who wish to reduce the physiological effects of caffeine.