Tea Time at Joel's

July 14, 2004

Personal Narrations

Joel Akin

Calgary, Alberta

Go back a few years, okay, more then a few years to the kinder and gentler times of the 1960's. I lived in a quiet little town in Upper Michigan just a few miles from K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. Back then our little church was filled with folks from all over the place including quite a few who were raised in the Southern States. Most were stationed at the AFB and happened to discover our little church and they brought with them their gifts, talents and culture. Now there was one great family, the Driggers, and among that family was one exceptional lady. Among her great specialties Sister Driggers introduced me to were her Southern Fried Chicken and Rice with gravy and biscuits.. To wash it down was surely the most perfect drink ever created in the last 150 years. Sweetened Southern Iced Tea.

 Southern Iced Tea is perhaps one of the simplest of drinks yet often the hardest to recreate. I've tried to perfect that sweet taste more then once over the years and I've never quite been able to. Instead I settled for regular iced tea with a taste of honey.

When I lived in Tennessee for 5 years I survived on iced tea. But I went through a long stretch when I moved to Canada because here the concept of true Southern Iced tea did not exist. And in fact my first experience with North of the border, Canadian iced tea left me somewhat shook up.

 You will find iced tea here but it is the mix you find from Lipton's with sugar and lemon flavour. The first time I tried it I had to send it back from culture and taste bud shock, and immediately ordered some real stuff. The waitress looked at me as if I were ordering Walrus Soup. She had no clue what real iced tea was. I had to explain to her how to make it. I still remember as she confusedly set before me separate glasses. One topped with hot water, another filled with ice and a tea bag.

When I learned that Red Lobster in Calgary made real iced tea I became a regular attender sometimes traveling for hours from the dusty town of Brooks. Sure I love sea food but the iced tea was the kicker. It was real, fairly good, and the waitresses made as much for me as I could drink and I usually left content. The strangest thing happened which ended my love affair with this restaurant. The manager got wind of this eccentric guy who wandered in to have real brewed iced tea with his meal and sent out the following memo.

 "Due to the dangers of heating hot water and mixing ice, brewed iced tea will no longer be served here."

Of course they were pointing their finger at me. This American transplant who loved the taste of tea leaves mixed with hot water and ice. What a strange one. I do know every culture has its own eccentric thinking. Ask for a Hawaiian pizza in Canada and everyone knows what you want. Ask for one in Hawaii and they look at you as if you should be on the slow boat to Kauai.

 There are times like today when the sky is blue, the sun is hot, and flesh is melting slowly into the sidewalk that I daydream about Southern Iced Tea. If I could only visit Mrs. Driggers, who lives now in South Carolina, just to taste that sweet drink. Who could imagine that more then 35 years have passed and yet I can still see that amber colored tea, cubes of ice floating and melting, condensation running down the sides, sweet, sugary ichor swirling chaotically and my mouth begins to water.

In the 1920's, during the days of Prohibition, when beer and liquor were outlawed, iced tea took off as the drink of choice in the United States. I can just see it now on countless porches, the sounds of crickets singing and folks pulling off hats and cooling their brow with a beaded, moisture laden glass of iced tea. Its still happening across America, but especially in one little corner of Canada. I've tried to recreate those memories with my own private little party. Every few days I put water on to boil, put the tea bags and honey in the pot and pour that hot water in and let it steep. Sometimes I get impatient and pour an entire tray of ice into the glass and drink the tea, as weak as it sometimes is. Iced tea for me is something I enjoy drinking and I yet I think its something more. It is memories and dreams of long summer days and of people I think of with love and fondness. It is a realization that in my own small way I can try to recreate the taste of Childhood even if that childhood is long ago and far away.

If you have never tried iced tea here is a link to several recipe's. God bless to all.

This is dedicated to iced tea lovers everywhere you might be.