For most people in the world, even in an age where coffee is constantly ruling out, edging past use of other milk-based beverages, tea is the most loved habit. To some, it may not be wrong to quote, is an addiction. To most others, “it’s really that funny family regimen I haven’t been able to break out of.”
So intrinsic is the habit of consuming a tea, that those who are habitual to sipping some cannot simply begin their day and often do not step out their home, without it. But can they be blamed?
But if you were to think purely from the perspective of taste, then there is so much about the varieties and styles of tea that one life, truthfully speaking, may not be enough to come out of the habit. Or in fact, try out all styles of tea. That
And just when things were simpler and non-perplexing, all of us loving and being in awe of tea and that entire world of goodness, there came about iced tea. The sensational taste of what could be called, for a sheer dearth of a better phrase, the distant cousin of the warm cuppa tea changed the habit of tea consumption. Well, at least, in some parts of the world where weather conditions and climate often had a part to play in consumption of warm beverages.
And if you happened to have paid any attention to the burgeoning state of the “stills beverages” market in the world, you may have found that more and more iced tea brands emerged and changed the face of the industry. For sheer delightful taste, the iced tea made of freshest tea leaves, involving the usage of juicy lemons made for a different, tangy experience of having a beverage that so implicitly defined us and our consumption habits.
Iced tea- it was never hard to note- emerged as a welcoming melange for the oddball guy who didn’t like a beer and didn’t want to be seen as a dour consumer of mom’s recommended milk-based beverage. You can try it out, in any instance, in fact.
Try to be in midst of a busy party where noisy clatter of cutlery dominates discussions. Go on holding a glass of wine or beer and pour some iced tea into it. Stand there among others and raise a toast and say cheers- how many of the people around you would stop to know what you are drinking. It did become a cool drink, sort of a sweet “nobody cares” alcohol-based beverage that would make you fit in with the clan of drinkers. Blame it on the uncanny similarity with an alcohol-based drink.
Not that, passing off as a solid drinker was the original plan in mind. Soon, the iced tea would become a rage, nearly two or two and a half decades back.
Then, whether you were from the United States or the United Kingdom, or a part of vibrant South-East Asia or in some part of Europe- the Iced tea became a flavour, was everywhere and everyone was riding what seemed to be a juggernaut of sorts. Things, eventually would change and get a makeover of ‘discussion.’
In this age, now, where health discussions dominate personal lives just as much as mini-breaks during tiring office hours and where a Zumba workout is just as popular as a crisp munching of a healthy snack instead of a kingly breakfast, there emerged discussions regarding the real benefits of Iced tea.
Is it just about good taste? Could it be that there’s a flip side to the Iced tea that we just don’t seem bothered to note or observe in front of our penchant for consuming an exciting fresh beverage? Who knows. Well, it’s being believed that when one buys a bottle of iced tea, it may not actually be delivering all the health-benefits as promised on the packing label. “Antioxidants, being rich in antioxidants, offering plenty of minerals and vitamins that aid the body”, and what not!
Some brands, as seen in recent times, have gone as far as quoting that the iced tea may help you contain some heart conditions, suggesting that consumption of iced tea may result in improving heart health, and lowering the risk of conditions such as diabetes. Phew! Does that sound like a commercial that runs on mid-night hours that none watch?
To some, it may, to others, it may not. But truth certainly is, the University of Scranton’s Professor Joe Vinson, a PhD, shared, “In order to have these beneficial effects, the tea you’re drinking must be high in antioxidants, and there’s no way of knowing what you’re actually getting when you buy iced tea a bottle.”
This isn’t to suggest that the bottled iced tea concept was simply, rubbished aside. But a truth was shared in the regard of the iced tea consumption habit; that there probably never is a chance to know how much of a health benefit is being provided by the bottled iced tea brand. There’s also a sentiment echoed by health experts and nutritionists are of the view that traditionally, the iced tea bottle is at par with nutritional values of a soda.
Concerned? Even a tad bit, are you? What does this mean? No rocket science in understanding that most iced tea bottles may actually contain not only added sugars but artificial colours and flavours. Does that take away the fizz of excitement you had for having a non-fizzy drink? While it makes no sense in ridiculing the brands at immediate thought nor running behind health-campaigns debating or simply shunning bottled iced tea, maybe there is some sense in reading up a bit about the real nutritive values about iced tea and perhaps learning how to make some at home for our near and dear ones.
After all, it’s still a brilliant and fine-tasting beverage, isn’t it? Why can’t we think and dwell a little bit about what we consume in order to cast aside any worrying concerns?