National Iced Tea Day is on Thursday, June 10, 2027, and it falls on June 10 every year. It celebrates the cold, refreshing drink that fills pitchers across the country all summer. Sweet or unsweetened, with lemon or mint, it’s a classic.
When Is National Iced Tea Day?
It’s always June 10. It’s an unofficial food day, and restaurants sometimes mark it with specials.
Who Started National Iced Tea Day?
No founder or start year has been documented.
Background: who invented iced tea?
No one person did. Cold tea punches, often spiked with liquor, appear in English and American cookbooks from the early 1800s, What’s Cooking America notes. An 1839 book, The Kentucky Housewife, included a tea punch that could be served cold.
A popular story credits Richard Blechynden with inventing iced tea at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Historians say that’s a myth. Iced tea was already on fair menus; the fair helped popularize it during a hot summer.
The oldest sweet tea recipe
The oldest sweet tea recipe in print comes from Housekeeping in Old Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree, published in 1879, GPB reports. It used green tea, with two teaspoons of sugar in each glass before the tea was poured over ice.
Why Celebrate Iced Tea?
It’s a summertime staple and, in the South, a symbol of hospitality. Sweet tea is the Southern norm, while much of the country drinks it unsweetened.
Its ingredients changed with history. Early recipes used green tea. During World War II, green tea supplies were cut off, and Americans came out of the war drinking nearly 99% black tea.
How to Celebrate National Iced Tea Day
- Cold brew it: steep tea bags in cold water in the fridge overnight for a smooth, less bitter pitcher.
- Make Southern sweet tea: dissolve sugar in hot tea before chilling, so it blends evenly.
- Try green tea: go back to the 1879 original with a green tea pitcher.
- Add fresh flavor: float lemon slices, mint sprigs or crushed peaches in the pitcher.
- Make an Arnold Palmer: mix half iced tea and half lemonade.
- Freeze tea cubes: they keep your glass cold without watering it down.
- Use simple syrup: it sweetens cold tea without leaving sugar at the bottom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does iced tea turn cloudy?
Cloudiness happens when hot tea is chilled too quickly or brewed very strong. Cold brewing usually gives clearer tea. It’s harmless either way.
Was sweet tea ever made the law in Georgia?
No. A 2003 Georgia bill requiring restaurants to serve sweet tea was an April Fools’ joke, GPB notes, and never became law.
How long does homemade iced tea last?
Keep it in the fridge and drink it within a day or two for the best flavor.