Happy National Iced Tea Day: BTS is celebrating with Adagio Teas' iced tea blends

Celebrating National Iced Tea Day with special blends from Adagio Teas

What better way to celebrate National Iced Tea Day than with some very special iced tea blends? Adagio Teas has a collection dedicated to this cold beverage and we're just getting started.

Iced tea is said to have been inspired by the quick thinking of tea merchant Richard Blechynden on very warm day in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair. Hot tea was not too appealing to fair attendees, so Blechynden added ice to make it more refreshing.  The cold version took off and over one hundred years later, it continues to be a summer favorite.

Little prep time, just add cold water and steep

However, some sources, including Bruce Richardson, tea guru and featured TeaTime Magazine writer, note that, though this story may be true, there's evidence of cold-brew tea recipes dating back to pre-Civil War America. (see TeaTime's article "June is National Iced Tea Month")

Wherever iced tea originated, there's no question it's become a go-to drink when the outdoor temperatures rise. And, Adagio adds "ice-ing to the cake" by providing a variety of easy to prepare iced tea blends from black teas to herbals.

Tea bag look and smell like potpourri

Today, we chose to serve up Adagio's Papaya Berry iced tea. It's an herbal blend made up of dried flowers and fruits, including hibiscus, apple, strawberries rose hips, and blueberries along with papaya and blackberry flavors. The tea bag looks and smells like a small pouch of potpourri and prep ratio is one bag for every quart of cold water. Recommended steeping time is overnight in the refrigerator, though, Adagio's website encourages experimenting to personal taste.

Once water is added to the tea bags, refrigerate overnight

We started our holiday celebrating late this afternoon, so, we haven't reached recommended steeping time just yet. A quick sample taste after a few hours, told us the tea definitely needs more time to let the flavors deepen and mature. In the meantime, it does brew up to a beautiful ruby hue and we're anxious to try its full potential tomorrow.

More good news! Although National Iced Tea Day is today, Iced Tea Month runs all through June. We'll be brewing and tasting more iced tea in the upcoming weeks.  Stay tuned and Happy Iced Tea Day to all!