"Three’s a Trend", right? So after never once in 20 years seeing iced tea in France, nor anywhere in Europe for that matter, I encountered it three times this week. Il est arrivé!
But as usual, the French have put their own spin on a Southern Classic. And I have to say we southerners are a bit fussy about our iced tea, which has been called “the house wine of the South". So you French folks, while you know your wine way better than we ever will, you might need a bit of education on iced tea (just as the Brits have had to educate me about making the perfect cup of hot tea: see Tea with a Twist.).
But then, the American market has messed with our iced tea as well. I remember the first time I saw a bottle of ice tea for sale. What?! I was incredulous that anyone would pay for this. If there’s anything easier to make then iced tea, I don’t know what it is. And it’s best homemade, served up fresh as a summer daisy and icy cold.
My first encounter with French iced tea this week, which they call thé glacé, was at a PHARMACY of all places. To understand how strange this is, you should know that French pharmacies are not like CVS or Rite-Aid; they only sell health and personal care products. What was on their summer-special display were big pouches of iced tea to wake you up, put you to sleep, cool you off, improve your health, and other such “flavors”. I assume there were tea bags inside of the pouches.
I saw some bags again in another shop. Translation of the flavors: "Caressing Coconut", "For the Love of Organic Strawberries", and "The Wellpring of Maoris". Hmm.
Then the third time, on the menu of a nice restaurant where we were lunching: Special drink of the day, Thé Glacé, 4 euros!
Of course I had to order it. Quel surpris: This was NOT southern iced tea. No one asked me, “sweet or unsweet?”. And it arrived in a tiny glass. And it was almost clear! Plus it had flowers in it. It wasn’t particularly cold. I asked the waiter what sort of tea it was: “Green tea, Madame”, he said. A strange choice, in my book. See photo of my thé glacé at top.
So as an experiment, I later ordered a thé glacé at our local café. It was market day and it was an unseasonably hot 98 degrees, so I was looking forward to something large and icy.
It came in a very small bottle (peach flavored) with a small glass with exactly one tiny ice cube in it.
So, for the French, here is a primer on how to make Southern Iced Tea:
Southern Sweet Tea (or unsweetened, if you must) is made not by the glass but in a big pitcher and kept in the fridge, ice cold. It will keep for about a week.
The absolute laziest way:
Fill a pitcher with water, drop 3 Lipton family sized tea bags in it, and leave it overnight to steep. Remove tea bags and you’re done.
Sun tea:
As above, but put the pitcher in the sun for about three hours. It should be in a clear glass container.
The above methods are best for unsweetened tea. If you want to add sugar, you’ll want to use the method below, nearly as easy, also faster.
The Classic Way: Sweet-tea is sort of one word in Southern, and this is my method for it. Boil a large pot of water. up to a cup of sugar per gallon for sweet tea, but I put just 2 tablespoons for a large pitcher, for lightly sweet. You’ll need to experiment a bit here to see how you like it.
Use 3 family sized black tea bags per gallon (or a dozen small ones), brand of your choice. Nothing fancy, Lipton or Tetley will do. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, add the tea bags and let steep for a while. Five minutes is the minimum, but I leave it 20 minutes or more then dilute it. Remove tea bags and stir in the sugar. Cool and pour into a large glass pitcher. Add more water to taste, stir, and chill.
If you have a household with tea drinkers of various tastes, make two pitchers, one fully sweet and one not, and folks can combine them as they pour their own glass.
To serve:
Pour into a glass over lots of ice. A slice of lemon or lime or a sprig of mint is not really optional.
What do you think? How do you make your iced tea, and have you encountered iced tea in France?
Favorite TV: I like to watch European shows, bien sûr, and our favorite one lately is one our kids told us about called Signora Volpe. Watch it for the beautiful Italian scenery!
