National Iced Tea Month

Considering the fact that 85% of the tea that people drink in the United States is served over ice, it makes sense that the celebration of National Iced Tea Month is an important event. With a whole month of hot summer days to enjoy celebrating, it’s a great time to spend time paying honor to this classic American beverage! 

History of National Iced Tea Month

The concept of drinking tea over ice is a foreign one for people in most of the world, but in the United States, it’s a super common beverage. Though it was around before this time, iced tea seems to have grown in popularity in the early 20th century, specifically at the 1904 World’s Fair that was held in St. Louis, Missouri.

Iced tea is a refreshing, cold drink which can be enjoyed all year round, but many people like to drink it to cool down during the hot summer weather. In addition to being enjoyed either sweet or unsweetened, it can also be made in a number of flavors, including lemon or peach. Iced tea is often served with ice cubes and sliced fruit (mostly a lemon wedge), making it the perfect drink to cool down with.

This National Iced Tea Month why not chill out and relax with a glass?

How to Celebrate National Iced Tea Month

It’s fun to celebrate National Iced Tea Month with some of these ideas:

Drink a Glass of Iced Tea

For those who have never tried iced tea before, National Iced Tea Month is the perfect time to do so! Most fast food and sit down restaurants throughout the nation will offer freshly brewed iced tea on their menu, either all throughout the year or at least during the warmer months. Those in the southern states will likely find their iced tea sweet, while more northern states will typically serve it unsweetened. Iced tea can also be bought from the soft drink aisle at the grocery store or convenience stores.

Make Iced Tea at Home

Many people don’t realize how completely simple it can be to make a pitcher of iced tea in the kitchen at home. Plus, it’s also a very affordable summer beverage. It’s better if there is a little bit of lead time for the tea to get very cold in the refrigerator, but if it needs to be made at the last minute, it can just be brewed a bit stronger and then made with lots of ice.

Another option that many people might enjoy for celebrating National Iced Tea Month would be to make up a container of sun tea. This is tea that, instead of being brewed with boiling water hot on the stove, the tea bags can be placed into a glass container with water and placed in the sunshine. Cold brewing iced tea by letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight is another way to try out making it.

For folks who don’t feel confident making their own iced tea, it might be possible to buy powdered iced tea that you simply mix with water and enjoy, but for an iced tea purist, this would definitely be considered a cheat!

Share Iced Tea with a Friend

While people often mention that they are going to get together for a cup of coffee, why not invite someone over for a tall glass of iced tea instead? Since National Iced Tea Month falls during the beginning of the warm summer days, it just makes sense to honor this celebration together with a friend, family member or coworker!

Certainly it’s possible to invite someone out to a restaurant to share some iced tea. And in many American restaurants, many times they offer a bottomless glass with free refills of either sweetened or unsweetened tea. Another great option for celebrating might be to brew up a pitcher of tea at home and invite a friend over to sit on the front porch or the back patio to enjoy it!