What's the difference between Iced Tea and Sweet Tea?

[MickeysMommy]

Can someone explain this to me? The Iced Tea I make is already presweetened and yummy. But what is sweet tea? Is it the same thing?

 

[Christine]

Iced tea is when you make a pitcher of tea, it cools, and you pour it over ice. It may or may not be sweetened depending on the preference of the cook.

Sweet tea is iced tea that has been pre-sweetened.

Where I live, we never use the term "sweet tea", we just brew iced tea and you have to ask whether it is "sweetened" or "unsweetened."

 

[MickeysMommy]

Ok, thanks. Where we live, I guess it's "Sweet Tea" but we go by "Iced" and we just pour the correct amount in a jug and add water, then refrigerate.

Same thing?

 

[jrydberg]

Iced tea = sugar buzz

Sweet tea = diabetes in a cup

 

[lovemygoofy]

No I'm betting that if you are still in NY you then have Iced Tea now Sweet Tea. Sweet Tea is made from brewing tea bags then pouring into a pitcher and adding more sugar. From my experiences traveling no where up north serves "Sweet Tea" unless it's some place trying to be southern.

 

[DVCLiz]

Iced tea = sugar buzz

Sweet tea = diabetes in a cup

 

[Disney Debbie]

NO, NO, NO!!! My southern soul is cringing!!

Iced Tea - any tea, sweetened, presweetened(as in instant) or non-sweetened, poured over ice.

Sweet Tea - BREWED TEA that has the SUGAR added right after brewing where it can melt, but before adding the rest of the water. It is then lovingly poured over ice cubes. It is not sweetened AFTER the water is added, it is not sweetened AFTER the tea is poured on ice and it DOES NOT have anything but SUGAR to sweeten it!

 

[remyandhollandsmommy]

NO, NO, NO!!! My southern soul is cringing!!

Iced Tea - any tea, sweetened, presweetened(as in instant) or non-sweetened, poured over ice.

Sweet Tea - BREWED TEA that has the SUGAR added right after brewing where it can melt, but before adding the rest of the water. It is then lovingly poured over ice cubes. It is not sweetened AFTER the water is added, it is not sweetened AFTER the tea is poured on ice and it DOES NOT have anything but SUGAR to sweeten it!

LOL, I had to get in on this. This is another Southern way to make it...
get pot of water, add teabags and sugar (I use 7 bags to a cup of sugar...my neighbor brings her pitcher over for me to make hers LOL), bring to boil/brew, pour ice cubes in your pitcher, add some water, THEN pour you tea into the pitcher (add more water as needed until pitcher is full). Being raised in the South then forced to come up here it makes me shudder when they try to pass off this nasty instant lemon flavored gross stuff as sweet tea! WTH? Since when would lemons make something sweet?! I have learned quickly NEVER to ask for sweet tea up here, cause they have no idea what they are doing.


BTW UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES USE SPLENDA...SUGAR ONLY!!

 

[MickeysMommy]

Thanks, Debbie

 

[vettechick99]

In the south, "Ice Tea" and "Sweet Tea" are interchangable terms because we only serve sweet down there. Well not true, you can ask specificially for Unsweet Tea. And when you do, we take you out back and throw bowls of grits at you.

 

[live4christp1]

In the south, "Ice Tea" and "Sweet Tea" are interchangable terms because we only serve sweet down there. Well not true, you can ask specificially for Unsweet Tea. And when you do, we take you out back and throw bowls of grits at you.

I was gonna say, it depends if your in the north or the south. I'm not a tea drinker, think it is But I learned this recently (since I've been waiting tables part time) that if someone says ice tea I better be sure and ask sweet or unsweet because to me ice tea was sweet tea, not so for everyone! Especially since the chain I work for serves lots and lots of travelers and we go through tons of tea.......really sweet tea, I think we add 6 cups per tea urn.....still don't like it though

 

[mickeyboat]

I am dying up here!

Can someone please send me a pitcher of sweet tea? I miss it so much! Sweet tea is what makes bearable the trips home to see my folks.

Denae

 

[JohnNJ]

It's good that you southeners have a handle on the whole iced tea vs. sweet tea thing.

I was in the "south" and asked for skim milk. The waitress said, in her sweetest southern accent, that they didn't have skim milk but she'd be happy to pour some water in the regular milk for me. After all, skim milk is just watered down regular milk.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I like sweetener in my iced tea (Splenda if available), and any time I have mistakenly tasted 'sweet tea', it tasted like syrup to me, LOL.

 

[Daxx]

Just back from WDW. Asked for "Sweetened Iced Tea" at the Liberty Tree Tavern and thought I was going to die when I tasted it!!!! What is that Sweet Tea stuff?! I swear to all that is good and holy that my spoon could stand upright in the glass all on its own! Thankfully, I got to change my drink order!! You can keep that sweet tea. Yuck!!!

BTW -- how do you Southerners make Long Island Iced Teas (the stuff w/vodka in it)? You sure can't use that sweet tea ... and plain tea isn't the right stuff to use, either!!! Maybe you just don't drink those?!

My aunt, who lives in Ocala, asks her family to mail her Lipton's sweetened iced tea mix b/c she can't stand the sweet tea either.

 

[budly]

The distinction arises because people have moved in or visited and are trying to get clarification of the obvious. "Tea" is tea that is brewed with sugar and served over ice and cold. This, of course, is in contrast to "hot tea" which is served in a coffee cup. As people were introduced to tea, they felt the need to explain that it was "iced tea", not withstanding the fact that "tea" is cold. Also, people began to desire to explain that they wanted sugar in their tea, as if it would be served any other way, and began to request "sweet tea" versus "unsweet tea". In the end, any southerner should know what "tea" is, but alas as the area grows, I catch even myself ordering "sweet tea" lest I am served something else by a newcomer.

Budly

 

[Disney Debbie]

In the south, "Ice Tea" and "Sweet Tea" are interchangable terms because we only serve sweet down there. Well not true, you can ask specificially for Unsweet Tea. And when you do, we take you out back and throw bowls of grits at you.

Very true!!

 

[Disney Debbie]

Just back from WDW. Asked for "Sweetened Iced Tea" at the Liberty Tree Tavern and thought I was going to die when I tasted it!!!! What is that Sweet Tea stuff?! I swear to all that is good and holy that my spoon could stand upright in the glass all on its own! Thankfully, I got to change my drink order!! You can keep that sweet tea. Yuck!!!

I can't remember if LTT does it the way it SHOULD be done - but I can tell you that when it comes to tea - WDW is NOT in the south! Most of Florida - except North Florida and the panhandle - really aren't southern and usually don't have proper sweet tea. They either use a mix or they have unsweet and tell you to add your own sugar. Oh the shame of it all!

 

[Jockaroo]

As a kid growing up in the South I could never understand why I hated tea. My mom is a great cook, but her tea was gross. But the tea at church cookouts, my relatives, etc. was awesome. My Southern reared mother turned away from her heritage and used that nasty powder to make tea. GROSS! And she didn't like sugar in hers either. Nasty and bitter.

To make real Southern sweet tea you must boil water and use tea bags. Add the sugar while hot/warm so it will disolve. Let it cool before serving over ice -- trust me on this one folks! If you don't like sugar in the tea, it still should involve boiling water and a tea bag! True Southerners (and yes, my mother now hangs her head in shame) don't do instant!

Abandon the powder, embrace the wonders of the tea bag!

 

[hiwaygal]

BTW -- how do you Southerners make Long Island Iced Teas (the stuff w/vodka in it)? You sure can't use that sweet tea ... and plain tea isn't the right stuff to use, either!!! Maybe you just don't drink those?!

Sorry...I couldn't get this out of my mind...

What does the sweetness (or lack thereof) of tea have to do with a Long Island Iced Tea?? I've never known there to be any tea in it at all.

Here's the best recipe I've ever seen for it:
1 part Vodka
1 part Tequila
1 part Rum
1 part Gin
1 part Triple sec
1 1/2 part Sour mix
1 splash Coca-Cola

No tea....

Again, sorry for the interruption...but I just had to ask.