Satisfying my craving for sweet tea.

[countryguy]

$2.25 for iced tea...is that any worse than $5-6 for a bottle of beer at a bar?

 

[jamman_98]

Sweet Tea

One of the 5 basic food groups in the South including, Lard, Hush Puppies, BBQ and fried chicken.  

 

btw for our friends in the North, BBQ in the South is a noun and in the North BBQ is a verb.

 

 

Joe

jamman_98

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>It is brewed. They have the seperate containers of the tea. No carbonated tea for them.</blockquote> Well, to clarify, the fountain tea is a syrup concoction mixed with water in the fountain spout at the point of dispensing but of course the water is not carbonated like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Pibb Xtra, Dr Pepper, etc.

 

[perc-o-prince]

mixed with water in the fountain spout

All the McD's I've seen have the two teas (one sweet and the other unsweetened) next to the fountain machine in free-standing gravity feed containers one on top of the other. It's pre-mixed and you just open the tap to release it... kind of like the water at a water cooler. I believe it arrives at the location ready-to-serve with no syrups or dilution needed. Low-res internet pic below.

Some have it behind the counter, but it's still in the free-standing containers with no fountain involved. If I have to get it from them, it's 2 lemons, half and half sweet/unsweet, and light ice.

And, at $1 for something like a quart, it's a bargain!

Chuck

 

[countryford]

I wasn't sure how McDonalds made their tea. I just knew it was it's own seperate container that wasn't hooked up to the soda fountain, as some places are.

 

[circlew]

Another thing I have discovered, is that restaurant tea stored/dispensed using stainless steel containers usually tastes a lot better than that which is in plastic. McAlister's uses SS. The City Barbecue used to keep theirs in SS, but switched to plastic dispensers which aireate the tea, just like places use for lemonade. The tea quality went downhill because of that. Plastic is porous and more difficult to keep clean.

 

[mrb627]

City BBQ

As I recall, is pretty yummy!

Wish they would expand further South!

Malcolm

 

[cornutt]

Restaurant tea is often "soapy" / "oily" tasting, or just plain bitter, because they leave it out at room temperature all afternoon, and they're using dispensing urns that haven't been cleaned since about 1958.

I don't like mine as sweet as some people. In a 3-quart container, I use a 1/8 cup scoop a little less than full, which I'm guessing is about 3 tablespoons (I should check, huh). I use a Mr. Coffee machine. I just got a new one this week -- brewed my first batch with it yesterday. The one I had was over 15 years old and it was on its last legs; the one-way valve was sticking, the switch was dodgy, and the outlet valve on the brew basket broke a couple of months ago. And it was so old it was impossible to get clean; I was on my 4th or 5th pair of replacement pitchers and was about due for new ones. Those polycarbonate pitchers look nice when they're new, but ice cubes scratch them and after a while they just don't come clean anymore. The new machine uses pitchers made from a different plastic (translucent, more flexible), which I hope will be easier to keep clean.

 

[joelippard]

I don't keep Tea around the house but I used to all the time.  I may have all of you beat for sugar content.  I've been known to make it 3 cups to the gallon.  Most of the time two though which is what Grandma did and Mom still does.

Do I love sugar?  H@ll yeah!

 

I'm right there with ya'll  I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs.  But you better believe I'm going to eat what I want when I darn well want it!

 

[frigilux]

On day-old iced tea: I used to make iced tea with a Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Pot, which did a bang-up job and made up to 3 quarts. However...I found that I didn't like tea that had been refrigerated more than a few hours. This is part of the reason I enjoy it so often with the Keurig: A fresh-brewed glass every time.

If you haven't tried it: Celestial's Mandarin Orange Spice (bag, loose, or K-Cup) makes excellent iced tea. Add sugar or splash of peach or raspberry syrup if you're so inclined. Very flavorful; caffeine-free.[this post was last edited: 3/15/2015-12:35]