Iced Tea

[Regan]

I'm from the South and love to drive iced tea with lunch and dinner. Do Italian Restaurants serve iced tea?

[Regan]

Oops! That is: I love to drink (not drive) ice tea. lol!!!! Thanks

[euro cruiser]

I've never seen it in Italy.

 

For that matter, ice isn't easy to come by either.

[paul929207]

I have not seen any either, but I have not looked far past the wine

[sandij]

Wine, some Coke products and water with or without gas and more wine.

[KirkNC]

Yes and ice is hard to come by without a doubt.

[cruiserfromalabama]

I am from the south too, but I did not miss my sweet iced tea at all on our trip to Italy last June! We drank bottled water(no fizzy/they will give you carbonated if you don't say no bubbles), wine, beer, and an occasional coke. Hot tea was available though. I just ate tons of gelato whenever I was hot and thirsty or drank bottled water. There are public drinking water fountains everywhere that are extremely cold and we just refilled our bottles.

[Girr]

On a trip to FCO a couple of years ago I was sharing a shuttle with three gals from Dallas. They were still grumbling over their bar tab the previous evening. After two weeks in Italy they really wanted ice tea -- and yes, ice tea not the alcohol ones. So they'd given the hotel staff instructions, and were oh so happy when the bar made them their ice tea. They each sucked down several. However, when the bill arrived at $12 for each glass, well lets just say upon reflection they'd wish they'd stuck to wine. ;)

[D4]

DH also misses ice tea when we are in Italy. Two years ago he ordered it in Rome. He got a few cubes of ice and the worst ice tea he ever had. And yes it was about $12 USD for one glass.

[LondonTowner]

In the majority of southern European countries you would drink wine or water with your meal. Never a soft drink like Coca Cola etc, unless you are a child.

[cruiserfromalabama]

Oh well, I guess I am a 57 year old child, because I might have faux pas and had a coke in Italy with my pizza for lunch! LOL! Nobody in their right mind would ever assume that I was European anyway once I opened my mouth and they heard my southern accent....

[lisiamc]

I have seen the bottled, flavoured tea drinks in Italian shops, and in the fridges in some bars. If that's an acceptable substitute, you may be okay.

 

Otherwise, any sort of brewed tea, hot or cold, is an uncertain prospect in Italy. IMO, they serve the best coffee in the world, and the worst tea! :p

[Keith1010]

I have not seen it served in Italy either.

 

Keith

[texancruzer]

While I am also a " GRITS " (Girl Raised In The South) and love my sweet tea..... I also like to drink Coke and have ordered it with lunch in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Spain and others and no one ever batted an eye.

 

But to get iced tea - probably a challenge. BUT - you can drink it till you pop on the ship :D

[Regan]

Thanks everyone for your response!

[slidergirl]

For what is worth, I saw bottles of Lipton flavored tea this week in Rome. I specifically remember a little store behind the Pantheon, across from the elephant and obelisk statue, that had the tea.

[Cruzer Two]

I'm from the South and love to drive iced tea with lunch and dinner. Do Italian Restaurants serve iced tea?

 

I too am from the South, so pardon me for a harsh-sounding reply, but why do you want to travel the world eating and drinking the same as home. When traveling, I enjoy experiencing the delightful things of the country I’m visiting.

 

I was on a tour bus in Paris and overheard a gentlemen from Oklahoma say that he had just experienced the worst hamburger of his life. I thought to myself, if you came to Paris and ordered a hamburger you got what you deserved.

 

Okay, fire away!

 

Ron

[D4]

I too am from the South, so pardon me for a harsh-sounding reply, but why do you want to travel the world eating and drinking the same as home. When traveling, I enjoy experiencing the delightful things of the country I’m visiting.

 

I was on a tour bus in Paris and overheard a gentlemen from Oklahoma say that he had just experienced the worst hamburger of his life. I thought to myself, if you came to Paris and ordered a hamburger you got what you deserved.

 

Okay, fire away!

 

Ron

 

I agree, but we spent 3 weeks in Rome and one day near the end of our stay, DH just wanted some iced tea. After paying $12 for yucky stuff, he said he learned his lesson and wouldn't try that again.

[cruisemom42]

As others have suggested, you can look for some iced and flavored iced teas in stores that sell bottled cold drinks.

 

You won't find iced tea available in restaurants for meals.

 

I agree Italy has the best coffee in the world. I used to not be much of a coffee drinker until I discovered espresso. Now I am on my third espresso machine at home but it still doesn't taste like it does in Rome....

[KirkNC]

As others have suggested, you can look for some iced and flavored iced teas in stores that sell bottled cold drinks.

 

You won't find iced tea available in restaurants for meals.

 

I agree Italy has the best coffee in the world. I used to not be much of a coffee drinker until I discovered espresso. Now I am on my third espresso machine at home but it still doesn't taste like it does in Rome....

 

Ah yes, but does anything?? :p

[MADflyer]

http://www.nestea.it/products.html

 

The bottled Nestea product is very common in all of southern Europe. It is commonly sweetened with Lemon or Peach flavor.

 

While not available in all restaurants, it is typical in shops and cafes.

[texancruzer]

I too am from the South, so pardon me for a harsh-sounding reply, but why do you want to travel the world eating and drinking the same as home. When traveling, I enjoy experiencing the delightful things of the country I’m visiting.

 

I was on a tour bus in Paris and overheard a gentlemen from Oklahoma say that he had just experienced the worst hamburger of his life. I thought to myself, if you came to Paris and ordered a hamburger you got what you deserved.

 

Okay, fire away!

 

Ron

 

While I pretty much agree with this..... there are times when water or wine just won't do.

 

I discovered Proseco (yum) on our first trip to Rome.....but if I drank a glass at lunch I would be worthless for the afternoon ;) I am one of those that has to keep their alcohol intake to the evening/dinner hours. So - I drink Coke or something else with lunch.

 

As a side note: some people can't drink at all for various reasons. So don't be too quick to jump on the "do it how they do it " soapbox. Just sayin'

[lisiamc]

http://www.nestea.it/products.html

 

The bottled Nestea product is very common in all of southern Europe. It is commonly sweetened with Lemon or Peach flavor.

 

While not available in all restaurants, it is typical in shops and cafes.

 

This is the one I've seen. It's pretty frequent in shops, as you say. I'd have to add that is doesn't taste much like American iced tea. It might fill the gap for someone who was pining, though.

[griffy116]

Also from the South, where we enjoy our sweet tea. We had the ability to brew a cup of tea in our hotel room and sweetener. Ice seems to be as difficult to get as tea. Anni..a restaurant just around the corner from Piazza Navarona provided us with large glasses of ice once night to go with our water. It's the only place in Rome where we got ICE. We had our dinner with wine, and had a wonderful glass of iced water following dinner. The "Lite" coke also had a yucky taste so we were "forced" to depend on the best wine we ever tasted for the entire trip...:)

[cruisemom42]

Ah yes, but does anything?? :p

 

You have a very good point there. :D