Ied Tea - Is it as bad as I have hear?

[Sandi149]

I think that chocolate neutralizes any bad effects of refined sugar!:D

 

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

MAC

 

I had that cake every night. I would have had two at each sitting because my mouth and stomach kept saying more but my brain kept saying "Sandi, no more"......My brain won......LOL!!!!!!:D:D

[Knights on the Beach]

I grew up on my mom's sweet tea (she's from NC) and love it, but I just don't need those calories anymore. :( My husband's family is from "up north" and the first time I had tea at their house I almost gagged -- no sugar, no artificial sweetner, nothing! I can't drink it like that. Nowadays I order unsweetened tea and put Equal or Splenda in it. I actually think Carnival's iced tea is just fine. At home we make Crystal Light Peach Tea or Raspberry Tea -- lots of sweet flavor without the calories.

[Wennfred]

No problem with their Ice Tea during dinner time, alittle bit of splenda and it taste pretty good.

 

 

Fred

[Name game]

I had no idea there was such an uproar over iced tea. To the OP, I guess your husband will have to taste the iced tea to see if it's to his liking but I am guessing he won't like it. He might have to make his own brewed iced tea and pour in the sugar and then pour it over ice.

[Ehpride]

Personally, I thought it was pretty good and I'm really picky about my iced tea. No sweet tea for me though thanks!

[mountaingurl]

Probably some sort of "tea syrup", if there is such a thing.....LOL!!! :D The dining room tea was better. I didn't find the Lido too bad and since I add splenda and lots of lemon to it anyway, it was ok for the couple times I had it on the lido.

 

Yes, there is a sort of tea syrup you can use for the soda machines. It does taste like that to me. Yes, I am from the south and drink ice tea almost daily, though I have never preferred the two cup of sugar tea. I am a total tea lover. I like it hot with cream, cold with splenda or sugar. I love ANY kind of tea. The tea on the ship was okay, but if you are a brewed tea person (and I am) you might be disappointed. still, free is free. I am a cheapskate, at least when it comes to stuff like food and drinks. I will not buy the soda card. I'll spend my money on trinkets and pictures(spent $200 on pics our first cruise), so I'll survive.

[vacruizer]

Sandy - my mom is diabetic and uses Splenda in hers and swears it tastes like the stuff I gave the "recipe" for. I'm allergic to Splenda so I have no idea what the ratio is for making it that way. I pretty much order unsweetened these days and add equal to it when I drink tea since I limit the refined sugar, too.

 

Being in the "upper" South, most restaurants here serve both sweetened and unsweetened tea - you have to ask for which one you want. But I was on a business trip to east-central NC a few years ago and they looked at me like I was crazy when i ordered unsweetened - several places only had sweet!

[Sandi149]

Sandy - my mom is diabetic and uses Splenda in hers and swears it tastes like the stuff I gave the "recipe" for. I'm allergic to Splenda so I have no idea what the ratio is for making it that way. I pretty much order unsweetened these days and add equal to it when I drink tea since I limit the refined sugar, too.

 

Being in the "upper" South, most restaurants here serve both sweetened and unsweetened tea - you have to ask for which one you want. But I was on a business trip to east-central NC a few years ago and they looked at me like I was crazy when i ordered unsweetened - several places only had sweet!

 

Actually the pourable Splenda is just like measuring sugar so since I don't like mine as sweet, I would just use less of it.

[Stircrzy]

Thank you. :) Is that extremely sweet? I like mine a bit sweet but not overwhelming.

 

The beauty is that you can control the amount of sugar, and the strength of the tea!

 

Pour more syrup into your glass if you want it sweeter and stonger, or use less for less sugar and a lighter tea flavor.

 

You can use Splenda...just adjust it to your personal taste.

[pink roses]

I think the tea is fine. I also water it down, add some sweet and low and lemon.

[hana56]

One of the only things we didn't like on the Victory was the iced tea. When it came to the table, it was so dark we thought it was soda. Every night my husband had to add water to his to make it drinkable.

[richstan]

I am a yankee through and through--yet a southern co-worker taught me about sweet tea years ago. I still enjoy it as a treat!

On my last Carnival cruise I mixed 1/4 lemonade with 3/4 iced tea--not bad but not great---drinkable!

[knb0628]

I love that if you look at where people are from, the ones who like carnival tea are from the north, and those who think it is horrible are from the south. That being said, I have never been on carnival, but my roomate says the tea is horrible, and the tea on celebrity was pretty nasty.

[Wennfred]

I love that if you look at where people are from, the ones who like carnival tea are from the north, and those who think it is horrible are from the south. That being said, I have never been on carnival, but my roomate says the tea is horrible, and the tea on celebrity was pretty nasty.

 

Good point as Im from the North and I like their Tea. I will have to taste southern tea one day to see whats everyone is talking about. To me Tea is Tea :D

 

 

Fred

[Ehpride]

Actually, I've had sweet tea and I took one sip and couldn't drink anymore. Personally, my favorite is sun tea. Some constant comment, a bag of peppermint tea and a few hours in the warm sun and I'm happy!

[e150club]

I don't drink iced tea too often but I enjoyed reading the recipies. Heres one people seem to like:Long Island Iced Tea #1. Ingredients:. 1/2 oz Vodka; 1/2 oz Tequila; 1/2 oz Light rum; 1/2 oz Gin; 1 dash Coca-Cola; Twist of Lemon peel (or lime]

[flyingb]

That is what I was trying to say without ruffling any feathers. We southerns really know our tea. Just like the people from Maine know great Lobster.

I have come to the conclusion that I will bring a box of Luzziane and my tea maker and just make mine in the room. Tea sounds like a trivial part of your life until you can't have it for 7 days!

 

That is like going without chocolate for a month! (which just ain't going to happen!)

 

I agree with most of the OPs. As you can see from my sig I am from the South also. The tea is terrible! :eek: But Luzziane? :p We're a Lipton family, no other will do. I don't drink tea on cruises unless I brew it with tea bags on Lido and drink it hot! The lemonade is not bad at all, in fact, it's quite tasty.

Luv's Crusin'

[bacm]

I think the tea is awful! I have no idea what they use to make that concoction but whatever it is I think it is way too strong. I cut the tea with about 50% water/ice and it seems to make it at least drinkable to me. Good luck. :rolleyes:

[Lv2Camp&Cruise]

Proper ratio for "sweetea" is 1 cup sugar to 2 quarts tea:eek: . As taught to me by the family elders. :D

 

Always sweeten when hot or you'll never get that much sugar to dissolve. I grew up on this but haven't made it in years - we always brewed it on the stovetop in a saucepan with 4 teabags, brought it to a boil and then let it sit (or "set" depending on how far south you are:p ) for 20 minutes - pour over the 1 cup sugar into the pitcher, stir, and top off with cold water to make the 2 quarts.

 

Yummy!!!

 

 

I live in Tennessee now but grew up in South Carolina. Your recipe is correct for the ultimate "sweet tea"! We buy it by the gallon weekly at McDonald's and it usually is pretty close to perfect. I just had a vision of all the southern bred cruisers pulled over to the side with security searching our carry on bags looking for booze only to find plastic jugs of McDonald's sweet tea. :D

[Lew123]

Yes, it it pretty bad. Tea in the dining rooms is better though. Not sure why, but I swear it is.

On the Freedom, they get the iced tea in the dining room from the machine on the Lido, so it's the same iced tea.

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

I usually fill my cup with ice, pour unsweetened iced tea over ice until half full, than fill up the rest of the way with lemonade, or OJ (in the AM), or even the pass-o-guava. Very refreshing, and not too sweet. Love it!

[Janespup]

I won't drink the iced tea mixes. Too sweet, etc! I LOVED the iced tea on the Fascination. It tasted like fresh brewed to me!

[memphislonghorn]

From a lifelong Memphis boy......my recipe for sweetea. Boil a saucepan full of water. Turn it off, put in 4 family-size Lipton tea bags. Let it cool, but while it is still warm, add one whole cup of sugar. Pour into a gallon pitcher, and add ice and fill with cold water. Perfect!:D The only thing close to my tea that I have found is at Crackerbarrel. But my local joints know how to make it.:cool:

[Bookish Angel]

I like it very strong with no sugar and no lemon; lemon in tea gags me. I never drink tea away from home as it is always WAY too sweet and WAY too weak.

 

I brew a variety of loose teas in an infusion ball (some tea bags alter the taste of the tea depending on what the bag material was bleached with) and use only steam-distlled water. Peppermint, black and green teas are great together.

[SC Sweet Pea]

Good point as Im from the North and I like their Tea. I will have to taste southern tea one day to see whats everyone is talking about. To me Tea is Tea :D

 

 

Fred

 

Oh no! Tea is not just tea. It has to be brewed fresh daily, it has to be sweet and it has to be cold. Nothing beats a nice tall glass of iced cold tea when the weather is hot! Powders won't do, cannned tea won't do, and syrup out of a machine won't do! They are like comparing Spam to Steak!

 

You really haven't had tea until a true native multi-generation southerner has fixed you tea. ( I am a 6th generaltion southerner) It is practicaly an art form. So many of my son's friends claim they don't like tea and don't want to even try it. A few months hanging out at my house and they want me to tell their mothers how to make it.