Do they serve sweet tea?

[LarryGadget]

Do they serve sweet tea on the cruises?

[TeamMom011]

I have heard of "sweet tea" for years but from what I gather it's a southern specialty. If we have it up here in the northwest, it goes by another name. :confused: Can you explain what it is exactly? Looking forward to finding out if they do have it on board so we might be able to try it.

[TnRobin]

No sweet tea onboard :( :(

Sweet Tea 101 - a Southern Delicacy. Southerns add the sugar to thier tea while is is still hot from brewing. This way the sugar melts. You get a smoother taste in the tea. If you add the sugar after the tea has chilled, you get a more "Kool-aid" effect with sugar floating to the bottom of the tea glass. It takes forever (and twice the sugar) to get the tea sweet with sugar The tea does not have a consistant taste. (It is sweeter at the bottom.) Plus after you FINALLY get it sweetened right some waitress comes by and refills your glass and you have to start all over again. :) ;)

Oh also for out northern neighbors, in the south, true tea must be served cold and over ice. If you want the other stuff, you must specify "Hot" tea.

Larry stop by Tennessee on your way to the port and I will fix you a jug for the trip. :) :) :)

[Anita Williams]

Sweet tea is iced tea with sugar. I don't recall seeing it on the ships. My sister in law had to put sweet n low in hers. Anita.

[akasleepingbeauty]

Not only do they not serve sweet tea, they don't even serve real brewed tea. It is "fountain" tea (basically made with some kind of tea concentrate) - not as bad as instant but not nearly as good as brewed tea. I verified this with our servers and even saw the dispensers during the galley tour. I managed for the week but I sure was glad to get back home to "real" tea :)

I should mention that I sailed last year so it could possibly have changed since then. If anyone can verify for sure that this is no longer the case, I would be thrilled to hear it!

[westjones]

I just bought some of those 'cold brew' tea bags today to take on the cruise with me. I figured I could fill up with ice water and pick up sweetner at the beverage cart on deck 9, and make my own ice tea!

I am going to bring a mug with me so that I have a nice one to use while I watch the kids in the Mickey Pool!
Debra

[ruvidu]

For those of you who are traveling from the Northern states and have never had a glass of Sothern Wine (Sweet Tea) may I suggest stopping at the first Cracker Barral resturant you see coming down and order a glass there. It is almost as good as what my wife makes here at home.
The tea served on board ship is not fit for flusing toilets in SC.

Russ

[lUVTOGO]

Along with the iced tea, they have the best breakfasts around, to bad the closest one is 2 hrs away.

[MarkRG]

Actually Cracker Barrels are getting further and further north. :teeth:

We frequent one quite regularly for breakfast, never had the sweet tea, will have to try it. :D

[SueEllen]

Plus after you FINALLY get it sweetened right some waitress comes by and refills your glass and you have to start all over again.

LMAO Robin! SO TRUE!!! I was having withdrawls on the ship for my sweet tea! I start my workdays off with a nice big glass of Hardees Sweet Tea.

The further south you go, if you order tea, they automatically assume that it is iced (is there any other :teeth:) and sweetened! My mother doesn't drink hers sweet (what--she can't be MY mother!) and almost choked one time in Georgia at a Cracker Barrell when she ordered tea and they brought it out sweet! I personally loved it. To me, that is the ONLY way to drink tea!

Now for the stuff on the cruise ship--YUCK! In the restaurants for dinner I think I remember them having real brewed iced tea, but yes, you had to sweeten it yourself--THE HORROR! I have found that using Equal to sweeten the tea works better than sugar since the sugar does exactly as Robin described, settles to the bottom and doesn't sweeten the whole glass.

Sue Ellen

[disneylover5]

We just got back from the Wonder and the Tea was awful. So, I ordered a glass of ice and a cup of Hot Tea. I sweetened the hot tea and then when the sugar was melted, I poured it over ice and it was wonderful.

I learned this at the Homestead ( a five star resot in southern VA). This is the only way they serve ice tea....they make it right in front of you.

[taswira]

Yep - Cracker Barrel is getting further and further up north! :teeth: Since I live about 60/40 in Idaho and FL, I suffer "sweet tea withdrawals" when I'm up north. Low and behold, it's been a couple of years now at least since they built a nice Cracker Barrel in Boise ID. So where do you think I go to get my "fix?" :jester: I, too, take Cold Brew bags when cruising. But I also brew hot tea in my big insulated mug and then add ice. I wish DCL would take a hint about the tea. Does anyone LIKE their dining room ("dispenser") iced tea?

[tlt]

We thought the tea was awful also. Up by the pools, at the drink station, they have a wooden container with lots of different kinds of tea bags to choose from. We always made our own iced tea from those tea bags. We took our own insulated cups onboard (we got them at Walmart) and made tea from those tea bags and filled it with ice...it was great iced tea. You could take those to dinner and ask for a cup of hot water and a glass of ice and make your own...or order hot tea and a glass of ice. We thought the coffee was decent, but the tea is horrible.

[pjpoohbear]

I had a really hard time on the Wonder, this past May. We only get sweet tea when we order iced tea in Toronto. Asking for iced tea and getting a bitter glass of brown stuff was not a happy moment for me.:(

I make my own sweet tea at home and use a sugar syrup, (melt a cup of sugar in a cup of hot water and you have simple syrup great for adding sweetness to any drink) to sweeten it when it is still hot, so heading south is great for me.

When will those northerns get the whole iced tea thing right!:p

[ennazus]

I like mine fresh-brewed, unsweetened.... so I can sweeten it myself with just a little sugar in the cold tea (I like the crystally effect of the tea not quite melting. LOL)

I HATE THE FOUNTAIN TEAS!! THEY ARE A DISGRACE TO TEA LOVERS EVERYWHERE! LOL!!

I also hate it when I go to a restaurant & they say that they have no iced tea. What do they mean they have no iced tea? Do they have tea bags & hot water? Do they have ice? Then they could have iced tea! DUH! LOL

*just a little nerve was hit, here! LOL*

Guess I'll be making my own tea on the Magic.

[Tluvs2talk]

I am a sweet tea connoisseur and admit I like my tea sweet but can drink it with equal too. The only tea I despise is weak tea, and canned tea.( Sorry Lipton the canned tea is not the same stuff.) The tea on the cruise is actually pretty good, or has been on our last 3 cruises.

[LarryGadget]

So did we come to the conclusion that they DO serve brewed to on the ships, but it is not sweet tea? Is that right? (I hope, I hope, I hope). I can handle putting equal in some good brewed tea - but if it is canned or from a fountain I am really bummed.

If not, I guess I'll just have to drink the spirits more than I planned. ;)

[ruvidu]

My favorite place to get sweet tea at home is a deli called McCallisters. They only have one size and and it is huge, like 20 oz. They make the tea fresh, strong and sweet, every 4 hours pouring out the old when they make new. They have straws you could slide a pencil into. There is a poster in the dinning room explaining that the large straw helps areate the tea and enhances the flavor. Works for me. They will give you enough lemon wedges to get you though a meal. All of this and a club sandwich made with honey mustard and potato salad.

Anybody want to discuss "shrimp and grits"? I get excited about that too.

Russ

[SweetSpot]

I have to ask. Last year when we drove to WDW from NJ we were amazed at the number of Cracker Barrel restaurants along 95. I'd never heard of the restaurant before that trip. We never stopped at one but I have to admit I am really curious, other than their sweet tea is the place worth eating at? Cracker Barrel has finally come to New Jersey is it worth the trip?

[ruvidu]

We really like the food there. It is a basic meat and 3 veggie for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is served all day with biscuits and sawmill gravy being the staple on most plates. My wife and eat there most Thursday mornings and we usually share a breakfast of a meat, 3 eggs, grits, hashbrown cassarole, fried apples, buiscuits and gravy. For lunch or dinner try the country style steak or roast beef with mashed potatoes. Their hamburger is about a half pound and you can get it on a toasted sour dough bun with real chedder cheese.

I would like to know if they are offering the grits in their Northern locations.

Oh yeah, there is also a very nice shopping area where you can purchase country themed articles and some old timey toys and music,

If you travel a good deal you may want to check out their audio books. You purchase the book on CD or tape and then return it at any Cracker Barral location for a refund minus $3.50 I think it is.

[tltjet]

To all southern tea drinkers. Tell me if this is right or wrong, but I had someone tell me that Real Southern Sweet Tea is not made with sugar but with molasses. Is this true?

[SC Minnie]

I love the GRITS merchandise that Cracker Barrel carries- for those not familiar it is Girls Raised In The South.:p


Larry Gadget you are just a few miles from us! I understand your frustration with the lack of REAL sweet tea that is why I normally just order water not too many places can screw that up. I would rather have a glass of plain water than a glass of fake tea!:jester:

I have NEVER heard of tea made with molasses- YUCK- and I have never lived outside the state of SC. Molasses are not that sweet- somebody it pulling a joke on you.

[ruvidu]

Maybe someone told you about my grandmother's sweet tea. It was so strong and thick it looked like molasses.
Amen Minnie on the water versus bad tea.

I bet most of these posters have never had a biscuit dragged through a mixture of molasses and butter. Man, I am getting hungry.

[Mic]

My kids have sweet tea withdrawal when we go to WDW. I have heard there are restaurants in Orlando that serve sweet tea, but we have yet to find one. Besides, other than a grocery stop on the way in, we usually don't leave the property(captives of the mouse;) ) Since we drink about a gallon a day at home between 6 of us(and more when we have company), I once took a small pitcher of it with us to WDW in the cooler. It was gone before we arrived! So I did what any good mother would do for her kids...I convinced my husband that purchasing DVC would assure us of having a kitchen to make tea and keep us on-site. Best decision I ever made! Even in the studio, I can make tea in the microwave. For those of you who have never had sweet tea, I doubt you would like it...it seems to be an acquired taste, like grits! When DH and I cruised on the Wonder, I did not even try the tea. I ordered coke with meals, and we took a 6-pack of Dr. Pepper to keep in the ice box in the room. We ended up drinking only 1 Dr. Pepper(DH purchased a beer mug) betwwen the 2 of us on a 4-day cruise. We are taking the kids in Oct., and I doubt I will bring any tea with me. My kids will just have to survive on coke and (horor of horrors) water.

[Denine]

You southerners are sure serious about your sweet tea. I only like brewed, strong tea, hot or iced. I add honey to my hot tea and the pink stuff to my iced tea. I'd use sugar except for the calories and it doesn't dissolve.
By the way, I love grits and fresh hot biscuits too!

[SC Minnie]

ruvidu-

You reminded me of my Grandmother fixing us a piece of cornbread with melted butter inside topped with molasses. When we were kids we thought we that was next to heaven!

[SweetSpot]

ruvidu:

You're right, never had a buscuit dragged through a mixture of molasses and butter, grits or sweet tea for that matter. I beginning to feel as if I'm realy missing something! I have to stop somewhere on our way down and try what I am missing. But then, how many of you have ever had scrapple? We need to find a way to do a food swap.

[SueEllen]

Sweetspot wrote:
I have to ask. Last year when we drove to WDW from NJ we were amazed at the number of Cracker Barrel restaurants along 95. I'd never heard of the restaurant before that trip. We never stopped at one but I have to admit I am really curious, other than their sweet tea is the place worth eating at? Cracker Barrel has finally come to New Jersey is it worth the trip?

Oh my is it worth it!!! They have the best country cooking you have ever tasted. We generally plan our "pit stops" when driving around Cracker Barrell locations. It's funny, but we pretty much know the exits that the Cracker Barrell locations are from VA down to FL!

They have an awesome breakfast menu that is served all day long. For lunch and dinner they have everything from soup and sandwich, to burgers, to steaks (which I haven't had there) and seafood. The Country Fried Steak is very good. Basically their meals come with 2 veggies, some with 3. The veggies are some of the best you will find in a restaurant. Oh, and that sweet tea!

As for sweet tea, yes if the tea is NOT brewed, I drink water! I'm a tea or water kind of person! I think I may be making my own tea on the cruise again this October!

PLEASE DCL--Hear our plea! GET REAL BREWED ICED TEA FOR THE SHIPS!! :p

Sue Ellen (true southerner--even the name says it all!)

[Tluvs2talk]

LarryGadget,
The tea we had on our last 3 cruises tasted like fresh brewed tea, I can't say if that has changed since we sailed in January 2002.

tltjet, I have never heard of putting molasses in tea, we use sugar.

SweetSport, Yes Cracker Barrel is well worth a try. They have real good southern food. Chicken fried steak, dumplings, fried okra, sawmill gravy, and grits at breakfast. The food is not as good as my Mom makes, but it's still real good.

[ruvidu]

We at one time had a German resturant here in town that served Scrapple. I tried it and liked it. Of course I was raised on pork brains and eggs so I at one time would eat anything. I have got somewhat above my raising.
Now, if you are coming down this way and want to try some grits, here is a rule. DO NOT PUT SUGAR ON THEM. A little salt, some real butter and sawmill gravy if you got it. If they offer cheese to put on the grits, go for it. If you get watery or lumpy grits, send em back.

[taswira]

Originally posted by ruvidu
I would like to know if they are offering the grits in their Northern locations.
Is Idaho far enough north? :jester: They DO have the grits here, along with the great sweet tea! That breakfast you described sounds like my fave - the "Uncle Herschell's Favorite." But I usually skip the gravy. ;)

[TnRobin]

You guys are making me hungry. In all this talk about Cracker Barrel, I have not seen one mention of the best two things on the menu 1) Chicken and Dumplins and 2) Hashbrown Casserole. Add a side of green beans and sour dough bread with a glass of sweet tea. I am in heaven. :) :)

[poohntigger]

It was very interesting to read all of these posts about sweet tea. All I have ever known was sweet tea. I am a true southern girl! Also truth be known that Cracker Barrel does have some of the best. I am pregnant so I haven't had any in about 3 months not even decaf ( mostly water and juice). Even if I taste it, it doesn't taste good. Hopefully I will have a taste for it after the baby comes. I was addicted to it before. Have you ever noticed that the BBQ places here in the south always seem to have the sweetest tea?

Another southern delicacy is grits. You mention it anywhere up north and they have no idea what you are talking about. I add cheese to mine. Yummy! It is little like Cream of Wheat I guess but the texture is more coarse. It is a favorite at breakfast and with some cajun dishes. This is for those who don't know what they are.

I do enjoy a northern dish though, cornmeal mush. My mother introduced me to it. I think she had it as a child. She slices it, coats it with flour, and then frys it. We then pour syrup on it and eat it like small pancakes. Yum!

Enjoy!
:crazy:

[tlt]

We were on the May 18 MAGIC Eastern Caribbean cruise and the tea then was the syrup/concentrate tea (we asked the waiter)...NOT fresh brewed. We did not like it at all. Another couple at our table thought is was great though.

[SweetSpot]

I've got to stop reading this thread. I'm on my cruise diet and I don't think one thing mentioned in this thread is allowed. You all are making me so hungry!

[ruvidu]

Chicken and Dumplings and Hashbrown Cassarole. Wonder how many fat grams are in that combo? I also like the turnip greens cooked with country ham.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

My parents are both Midwesterners, and I lived in the Midwest until the age of 11. Midwesterners are known for drinking their coffee black.

So, when we moved to the South, we learned to love good, brewed iced tea. But I prefer "un-sweet". In Boston if you order coffee at Dunkin Donuts, you have to specify that you want your coffee without cream or sugar... otherwise they'll give it to you with cream and sugar already mixed in. In the South, you have to specify that you want "UN-sweet". All restaurants brew both "Sweet" and "UN-sweet" because of the folks who prefer to use Sweet-N-Low instead of sugar. But if you just ask for "tea", you'll get Sweet Tea.

Our funniest encounter with sweet tea was in Calabash, NC. Calabash is on the Atlantic coast, just north of the SC border. Lots of commercial fishermen are based out of Calabash and there are a lot of great seafood restaurants there. Folks drive up from Myrtle Beach to eat there. Anyway... we ordered UN-sweet but our waitress brought out sweet tea. We pointed out the error and asked her to bring us back some UN-sweet. She took the glasses, poured them half-way out, and then filled the glasses the rest of the way with water. So instead of UN-sweet tea, we had WEAK Sweet Tea. Great service!

Cracker Barrel (<a href="http://www.crackerbarrel.com/"><font color=blue>www.crackerbarrel.com</font></a>) is great, but you may have to wait awhile to be seated if you go there at 6pm on a Saturday night. Fortunately you can spend your time browsing in their gift shop or enjoying their rocking chairs outdoors.

For those driving to the port, they have a search engine (<a href="http://maps.where2getit.com/cracker3/along1.html"><font color=blue>link</font></a>) that will list all locations within 5 miles of your route. There are 14 locations between here and the port.

[lUVTOGO]

Originally posted by SweetSpot
I have to ask. Last year when we drove to WDW from NJ we were amazed at the number of Cracker Barrel restaurants along 95. I'd never heard of the restaurant before that trip. We never stopped at one but I have to admit I am really curious, other than their sweet tea is the place worth eating at? Cracker Barrel has finally come to New Jersey is it worth the trip? Where in Jersey is this Cracker Barrel at SweetSpot? I would surely make a trip just for the hashbrown casserole and I want to buy one of their rockers for sale!!

[ruvidu]

Click on the web site in Dave's reply below. The site will list all the Cracker Barrels in each state. The rockers are extremly nice. We have one.

taswira - Thanks for the reply. Now I know.

Russ

[FantasticDisFamily]

Thanks goodness Dave, I was beginning to think I was the only one on the boards who prefers "Un-sweet" tea. Blame the English in my ancestry maybe?;)

Anyway, I endorse the cold brew tea bags. I took them on a camping trip this summer where I was the only one in our group that needed a morning caffeine fix (ok, most of them were 12 years old!) and they made a really decent iced tea!

Deb

[Tluvs2talk]

Dave,
I agree the rockers are great. We have 3 of them on our front porch.