Sweet tea. Nectar of the gods perhaps. It is a great contribution to society by the southern U.S. I’ve heard that the sweet tea gets sweeter the further south one goes but I don’t know if that’s really the case.
Recently we traveled to Johnson City, Tennessee where I was able to visit Pal’s, my favorite purveyor of sweet tea. The tea is served up with small ice bits (the kind that are great to chew on) in a 32 oz. cup. I have to admit that I don’t really care for Pal’s burgers but they serve these wonderful morsels of tastiness called cheddar rounds. They combine two of my favorite foods: tater tots and cheese — the cheddar rounds have bits of melted cheese throughout. Also cheddar rounds are fried which, as I’ve said before, makes everything taste better.
Our dear friends Todd and Emily gave me a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker and I use it daily. I suppose I cheat a little bit though as I make it decaffeinated and use Splenda® to sweeten it. I think if I did drink it “regular” I wouldn’t need to get calories from any other source and would become completely sleep-deprived. Is two quarts of tea a day per person too much?
Sweet tea has a comparatively short history compared to coffee but I think it’s here to stay. Starbucks may want to jump on the bandwagon. They already serve their own version of chai tea, so why not a staple for millions across the south? That would make me a much more loyal customer. Of course if folks realized they could get 32 oz. of a refreshing caffienated drink that retails for less than $1.50, they might resent spending over $3.50 for a 12 oz. latte. Just maybe.