Back in the day, when offered tea anywhere south of the Mason/Dixon line, you knew exactly what to expect. It was syrupy sweet and cold enough to make your teeth ache pleasantly. Perhaps it came with a juicy lemon slice perched jauntily on the lip or maybe a sprig of fresh mint plucked from the garden.
Sweet tea was a staple drink when summer called people to sit a spell on the porch swing, equipped with a paper fan and tall glass of steeped amber nectar with fat drops of condensation sliding down its sides. It’s a tradition that’s stood the test of generations. Every family’s tea recipe was sacred. Some swore by Tetly, others by LuziAnne, while debating at length whether sun tea in a glass jar was superior in taste and method to the more familiar brew made with boiling water.
Great-grandmother would be scandalized, but traditional sweet tea is becoming the latest icon to fall to the winds of modernization. The definition of a perfect glass of iced tea is evolving. Now the iterations are endless: Decaf or regular? Sweet or unsweetened? Even green or black?
Innovations abound, with basic teas first infused with peach, passionfruit and raspberry, then escalating to chai spices, herbs and veggies. In my own home, instead of the formerly ubiquitous Lipton black tea bags, I now stock an assortment of boxes for the fickle tastes of guests and family. A fun tea infuser lives here, too, a tiny, tea leaf-stuffed guy who lounges his latex body in boiling water like it’s a hot tub. If that image doesn’t put you off, I’ll offer you a choice: Do you prefer organic? Got it. Herbal? Got that, too. A total of 14 different varieties are found in the pantry, including a gift from a dear friend visiting from India, Tata Tea’s loose leaf Teaveda — its ayurvedic goodness contains Brahmi and Tulsi extracts.
The point is that it’s a new day and a new world, and even in the tradition-bound South we’ve become more adventurous. To join this trend, upgrade your tried-and-true beverage with some small changes at first. Freeze mint leaves or muddled fruit in ice cubes to add a surprise flavor to your glass. Replacing half the amount of sweet tea with sparkling water reduces calories and makes for a refreshing treat.
Try this recipe for a tea beverage that’s memorably different but still evokes a Southern summer day. Grammy would have approved.
WATERMELON GREEN ICED TEA
Serves 8
Ingredients:
4 cups seedless, cubed watermelon, pureéd
2 cups water•
2 green tea bags
1 lime
Sugar, agave, or other sweetener to taste
Directions:
Add tea bags to boiling water. While they steep, pureé watermelon cubes. After ten minutes, remove tea bags and add watermelon pureé, the juice of one lime and sweeten to taste. Chill before serving. Garnish with a slice of lime or wedge of watermelon and enjoy. As a bonus health benefit, watermelon’s vitamins and minerals nourish the body as well as please the palate.