National Iced Tea Day, celebrated JUNE 10

Date When Celebrated : Always June 10th With the official start of summer just a few days away, the timing is perfect for National Iced Tea Day.

Chances are, it is already hot in your area. Today may serve as a good reminder to make and enjoy your first (of many) Iced Tea drink of the season. Have it plain, add a little lemon, or sweeten it with sugar. Iced Tea is certainly a favorite summer cooler of millions of Americans. And best of all, tea is good for your health!

It takes no imagination to decide how to enjoy this great day: Grab an Iced Tea and head out to the hammock strung under a shady tree.

Medicinal value:
Since ancient times, people have believed that tea has a wide range of medicinal uses. Modern research has given credibility to many of these beliefs and identified more In some cases research is not conclusive. Regardless of the final determination as to it’s value over time, drink and enjoy because there is no research to suggest that it can hurt you and it just tastes good.

Here are some of the known or suspected medicinal applications:

• Avoidance of heart disease
• Cancer and tumors
• Stomach ailments
• Sore throats and colds(often flavored with honey)
• Soothing, relaxing

The Origin of Iced Tea:

In 1904, English tea plantation owner Richard Blechynden set up a booth to sell hot tea at the St. Louis World Fair. It was a sizzler of a day, and fair visitors didn’t want anything hot. Rather, they needed something to quench their thirst… something cold. He dumped some of his hot tea into ice and served it cold. It was an immediate hit. This was the first known use of iced tea.

Iced tea (or ice tea) is a form of cold tea. Though usually served in a glass with ice, it can also refer to a tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may or may not be sweetened. Iced tea is also a popular packaged drink. It can be mixed with flavored syrup, with common flavors including lemon, raspberry, lime, passion fruit, peach, orange, strawberry, and cherry.

While most iced teas get their flavor from tea leaves (Camellia sinensis), herbal teas are also sometimes served cold and referred to as iced tea. Iced tea is sometimes made by a particularly long steeping of tea leaves at lower temperature (one hour in the sun versus 5 minutes at 180-210 °F / 80-100 °C). Some people call this “sun tea“.

In addition, sometimes it is also left to stand overnight in the refrigerator.