According to the well-known story, Richard Blechynden, an enterprising English merchant, was put in charge of the tea pavilion at the 1904 World's Fair. Unfortunately, in planning for the Fair, he never considered the potential impact of weather. When Mother Nature produced a blistering summer day, cups of hot tea were not a popular item with the fairgoers. Exhausted and desperate to showcase his product, Blechynden tried serving the tea cold in glasses filled with ice. The scheme was an instant success, and iced tea was popularized!
Look how much we love it!
Iced tea is the most common form of the beverage in the United States; over 80% of all tea consumed here is iced tea. While instant, bottled, and bagged teas account for a significant portion of this volume, iced loose leaf tea is a true epicurean delight.
*Thanks to Upton Tea for info on Richard Blechynden, especially the spelling of his name. :)
Thank you for the info Kath, I love tea, of course and always enjoying reading your posts.
Posted by: Caroline Nash | June 01, 2009 at 12:49 AM
Caroline, I do enjoy sharing about tea! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I sure appreciate it!
Posted by: Kathleen at Set to a Tea | June 01, 2009 at 08:44 AM
Fascinating info., I always wandered how iced tea came about, and am surprised an Englishman introduced it, considering the Brits don't serve iced tea in England.
Posted by: Kimberly Shaw | June 04, 2009 at 02:23 AM
Oh! I never knew that the month of June. We always drink tea but we don't know how iced tea come about. Thanks for the information.
-krisha-
Posted by: buy lipton tea | June 16, 2009 at 03:12 AM