Growing up in the South, learning to make sweet tea is a rite of passage. I’ve lived in Georgia and Alabama, traveled through towns in Mississippi and Louisiana, and now call Charleston, South Carolina, home. Every state puts its own spin on the Southern elixir, but South Carolina has a long, rich history of brewing sweet tea.
The “house wine of the South” is present at every meeting, lunch, and gathering, the connector of conversations and relationships. It’s commonplace to gather on a veranda, sit in a rocking chair, sip sweet tea, and hash out the latest tea. Paired with a pimento cheese sandwich, it’s the centerpiece of our culture.
The Origin of Sweet Tea in South Carolina
In 1799, French botanist André Michaux planted the first tea plant in the United States, Camellia Sinensis, at Middleton Place, near Charleston. Later, after the Civil War, Dr. Charles Shepard built Pinehurst Tea Plantation, the first commercially viable tea farm in the country.
His tea leaves won first place at the 1904 World’s Fair! The lineage of Shepard’s original plants carries on at the Charleston Tea Garden on Wadmalaw Island, now owned by Bigelow. Here, the company produces American Classic Tea—the official tea of the White House.
The South Carolina Way To Drink Sweet Tea
History aside, the way we drink sweet tea sets South Carolina apart. The classic preparation is brewed strong, with sugar dissolved while the tea is still scalding hot, then poured over ice, and garnished with a sprig of mint from the garden and a slice of lemon. Skip boiling the water, and you’ll end up with a pile of undissolved sugar at the bottom of your glass…