2009.07.15
Sweet tea: Now data's refreshing!
Here's a chance to contribute to crucial research into a deeply important issue of American life.
In connection with Roanoke Times food writer Lindsey Nair's column today on sweetened iced tea, we're conducting a poll to help us determine where the oft-debated "sweet tea" line is. That is, where's the latitude north of which folks generally don't sugar their tea, and south of which, they like it tooth-rotting sweet?
It's a six question poll that'll take just a few seconds to fill out. No, it ain't what you'd call scientific research, but it does get at the geography of sweet tea, and because we also ask your age and where the tea maker in your family was from, it might also give us a glimpse into generational differences.
And those differences are bound to be there. It's hard to imagine the mass marketing of tea hasn't blurred the sweet tea line. In my house in Roanoke growing up, it was sweet stuff or not at all. Mom made it a couple of gallons at a time in the summer. Other than at the K&W cafeteria, home was the only place I got sweet tea.
Then comes fast food restaurants, the "Nestea plunge" (remember those commercials for instant tea?), and Snapple. Followed by Arizona and a bunch of other tea makers, and lately, sweet tea flavored vodka.
What has all that done to American tea drinking habits? Well, that's where you come in.
Check out the poll, add your spoonful of experience to the batch, and sweeten up this data.
After a couple of weeks, we'll produce maps or charts or graphics to show off the results.
While on vacation in Canada, my husband got perverse pleasure out of asking for sweet tea at every restaurant, getting furrowed brows and packets of Sweet and Low. That was until he met a transplanted Southerner who busted out laughing!
Comment by Sheelin — July 15, 2009 @ 11:49 am
I know we all think of sweet tea as a southern thing but when my friends and I were in Texas it was hard to find.
Comment by Betty L — July 15, 2009 @ 7:37 pm
Poll completed. What does where mother's formative years have to do with it? My formative years now that is relative.
Comment by Valerie — July 15, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
With the formative years question, we're trying to get uncloak regional tea bias that's been obscured by a family move. For example, you might have grown up in Maine, but if your mother was the one who made the tea in your house when you were young, and she was from Alabama, well, you might get sweet tea because that's what she grew up with, and not because that's the regional preference in Maine. Does that make sense, Valerie?
Comment by Matt Chittum — July 16, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Matt, I see my family is from PA but we moved to NC where I grew up. So we had to either conform to Southern "sweet tea" or suffer humiliation and rejection. Yes, the memories are vivid - flashbacks of "teaboarding" in the "sweet tea" police poky - oh, the inhumanity.
Comment by Valerie — July 16, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
I grew up in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. We always had ice tea, but my grandmother was diabetic. From infancy I had it with saccarhine (sorry about the spelling) instead of sugar. Very early I decided that unsweetened was better than artificially sweetened and I've had it that way ever since.
Comment by Carla — July 18, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
I grew up all through the South and sweet tea was the beverage of choice in our family. Since then I have traveled all over the US and finding sweet tea was always one of the first things I would do in any new location. We could tell you what exit on I-81 (Woodstock) after which there was no sweet tea. Now with McDonalds, Cracker Barrel and others offering sweet tea at all there locations you are never too far from a piece of home. Keep in mind when traveling out West say like CO when you order tea its a hot cup of water and tea packets--what are they thinking?
Comment by Mike — July 20, 2009 @ 10:21 am
When I was in college at UVA (1999-2003), I discovered Charlottesville is THE borderline for sweet tea. Honestly, about half the places had sweet tea and the other half didn't. As a frequent visitor still to C-ville, it remains much the same (though possibly going a LITTLE more towards sweet). It was always a gamble whether or not the restaurant would sweeten it (and you better believe I knew which ones did!). Additionally, most of my Northern Virginia friends never drank sweet tea (with the exception of my roommate whose dad was from SC)!
Comment by Ashley — July 20, 2009 @ 9:34 pm
I was born in upstate New York, I only spent three years in NY, until my parents moved to Roanoke. I love the Yankees, I think that the Union army got it right. I do, however, love sweet tea, if I have to use the pink stuff I will. My mother after 36 years in Roanoke still likes unsweetened ice tea. I guess my southern legacy is Sweet Tea.
Comment by jimbo — July 21, 2009 @ 5:50 pm
I'm a transplanted Yankee. Grew up in the Midwest and moved to Roanoke 2 years ago. I'm a tea drinker but find Sweet Tea pretty disgusting. No one needs that much sugar in their daily diet and many of the waistlines I see around here only prove that. Oh, and have you seen the teeth in some of the life long sweet tea drinkers... dang. Give me good old Lipton brewed in the sun with just a slice of lemon please.
Comment by Di — August 28, 2009 @ 9:54 am
would love to know the results of the poll, where can I find them?
Comment by Amy — October 22, 2009 @ 1:20 am
Amy, we never published the full results, I don't believe. The primary use of the results was for a column by our food writer, Lindsey Nair. You can read that column here:
http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/nair/wb/217387
Comment by Matt Chittum — October 22, 2009 @ 11:42 am