iced tea diatribe

Comments made during a recent day trip, after looking for brewed iced tea, yet finding only sweetened and flavored bottled varieties:

"This demonstrates everything that is wrong with America! We can't just have plain iced tea. We have to have peach! lemon! berry! flavor. And heaven forbid it be unsweetened. No, even the diet version is sweet. Here is what it's supposed to be: Tea. Water. Maybe a slice of lemon for some excitement."

[he chuckled, so I adopted a Crabby Old Person voice and continued]

"And furthermore!
     "These coffee drinks with all the flavors! They're milkshakes! If you want a milkshake, order a goddamned milkshake, but DON'T CALL IT COFFEE!"

(I did end up finding and purchasing this tea, which, although it does include a bit of sweetener, was actually pretty good.)

Comments

[Gretel Enck]

Two things, cause I'm so right there with you: 1. Honest Tea makes one flavor (that I know of), I think it's mint, that is sweetened with honey, not sugar; and 2. One more thing to love about my desert home in California--everybody had brewed-daily unsweetened iced tea, from the Subway sandwich shop to the skate-punk deli to the touristy bread company with the lunch cafe. We take our hydration seriously; oh and 3. Lipton actually makes a decent unsweetened tea, albeit with a bit much citric bite, but good in a pinch from the gas station fridge (but maybe only available in the Cali desert).