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

[bakechef]

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.

 

You have it right! I am a transplanted yankee, but I have learned the art of sweet tea. Sweet tea should have a very pleasant taste you should taste the tea and not a glass full of sugar, but it should still be nice and sweet.

 

MAC

[kimscruisin]

I'm from the South, and the tea was awful. It tastes like canned tea or instant tea. It was better this year vs. last year on The Conquest.

[dc-snoopy]

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.

 

And for some of us (probably all northerners), adding sugar to the tea is pollution. It's such a waste. If that's what you are going to do, save yourself time and just buy soda. Good tea should be able to stand alone without the sugar.

 

As I read these recipes of a cup of sugar in a small amount of tea, I keep thinking, why bother with the tea? At that point, all you can taste is the sugar. You might as well, just boil water, add sugar and be done with it. If I drank more than 8 oz of these sweet tea recipes, I would end up with a reaction headache from the sugar.

[Corsair41]

I love my Iced Tea, and I have read that the tea on Carnival ships is terrible? :( I like the brewed tea, not the canned Nestea or Lipton. In fact water and tea are the only things my Husband will drink.

 

Does anyone know why their tea is bad? I mean if you can prepare lobster, what is so hard about brewing tea. If McDonald's can do it, why can't Carnival? :confused:

 

I can't say personally since my favorite iced tea is of the Long Island variety, but my DW has stated that she likes Carnival's brew quite a bit, it just takes a bit of say.... modification to make it the way she prefers.

 

Just like most things, opinions vary!:cool:

[bakechef]

And for some of us (probably all northerners), adding sugar to the tea is pollution. It's such a waste. If that's what you are going to do, save yourself time and just buy soda. Good tea should be able to stand alone without the sugar.

 

As I read these recipes of a cup of sugar in a small amount of tea, I keep thinking, why bother with the tea? At that point, all you can taste is the sugar. You might as well, just boil water, add sugar and be done with it. If I drank more than 8 oz of these sweet tea recipes, I would end up with a reaction headache from the sugar.

 

Just like saying why drink coffee w/sugar, just drink hot chocolate, not the same at all. Believe it or not I would bet that a majority of people really like their beverages sweetened in one way or another.

 

Lets just say northerners just don't drink tea like they do in the south, and as I said if the tea is done correctly, it will not taste like a cup full of sugar.

 

Have you ever had a soda, or fruit punch, or fruit juice cocktail, these all have just as much sugar, except it is high fructose corn syrup.

 

MAC

[itchin2cruz]

Lol, I have been reading these boards for a while and it took a post about sweet tea to finally give me the nerve to post. I am from the south and a sweet tea addict (and a very picky one)...have been for all my life. I am planning on bringing lipton cold brew. It is very good if done right and no flame is involved.

[dc-snoopy]

Lets just say northerners just don't drink tea like they do in the south, and as I said if the tea is done correctly, it will not taste like a cup full of sugar.

 

Have you ever had a soda, or fruit punch, or fruit juice cocktail, these all have just as much sugar, except it is high fructose corn syrup.

 

I've had "good" sweetea brewed by a Southerner whose family loves the stuff. Tasted like a cup of sugar to me.

 

I try to avoid most sweetened drinks. The way most drinks are sweetened, after about 8-10 oz, I start getting a sugar reaction headache and my jaws muscles start to clench. Ick. I stick to diet drinks (if I have to have something sweetened) or mostly unsweetened drinks.

[StarWarsGal]

And for some of us (probably all northerners), adding sugar to the tea is pollution. It's such a waste. If that's what you are going to do, save yourself time and just buy soda. Good tea should be able to stand alone without the sugar.

 

quote]

 

I find it so funny your comments about sugar. Yanks are the ones who put sugar in their oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc. We southerners prefer our grits with butter and salt! I can't tell you how many northerns come down here and want to put sugar in their grits. Yuk:eek:, no wonder ya'll don't like grits. When in Rome do as the Romans do.

 

It just goes to show that it is all in how you are raised. If your parents (or the restaurants around you) fix things a certain way, that is the way you think it should be fixed.

[Kellismom]

Well, I am a Northerner and I love Sweet Tea (compliments of being an air force brat) Dunkin Donuts just started serving brewed ice tea and I had some the other day and it was delicious! I don't mind the carnival ice tea but I like it mixed with lemonade.

[athena73]

As a southerner who has drank her share of sweet tea, the iced tea on board is not that bad. Oddly enough, it was better in the buffet than it was from room service or in the dining room. Weird, huh?

[bakechef]

I've had "good" sweetea brewed by a Southerner whose family loves the stuff. Tasted like a cup of sugar to me.

 

I try to avoid most sweetened drinks. The way most drinks are sweetened, after about 8-10 oz, I start getting a sugar reaction headache and my jaws muscles start to clench. Ick. I stick to diet drinks (if I have to have something sweetened) or mostly unsweetened drinks.

 

I can definitely see how someone who cannot tolerate much sugar would find some things too sweet, I guess it is all how we train our taste buds.:D

 

MAC

[CruiseGirlGage]

Although I prefer to boil my sweet tea, I've made sun tea a few times while camping. It's not AS good, but not too bad. I wonder if the ship would have a problem if all the southerners just brought a sun tea pitcher up to the pool with them to make tea while swimming...

[Jeanny]

Well, I am a Northerner and I love Sweet Tea (compliments of being an air force brat) Dunkin Donuts just started serving brewed ice tea and I had some the other day and it was delicious! I don't mind the carnival ice tea but I like it mixed with lemonade.

 

 

UMMM,, isn't that new DD tea delicious??? I can definitely tell it's brewed... but I'll still drink the Crystal Light On the Go ice tea.

[picklebongo]

I'm from Louisiana and I love my tea also, it's like the state drink with Dr. Pepper and Coke running a close second and third. The tea onboard Carnival is a disgrace, they should be embarrassed to serve it.

[lizardhowson]

I love my Iced Tea, and I have read that the tea on Carnival ships is terrible? :( I like the brewed tea, not the canned Nestea or Lipton. In fact water and tea are the only things my Husband will drink.

 

Does anyone know why their tea is bad? I mean if you can prepare lobster, what is so hard about brewing tea. If McDonald's can do it, why can't Carnival? :confused:

 

It's terrible as others have stated

 

It taste the same in the dining room as on the Lido.

 

The iced tea in the dining room is brewed tea, not the same stuff you get out of the machine. I can't see how you say they taste the same. There is a world of difference.

[skiorcruise]

I'm not a tea drinker, but DW is. She was raised in Arizona and Oklahoma.

 

She is very picky about her iced tea. It must be fresh brewed, "no Nestea or anything else out of a Coke machine". When we eat out, the first priority on which restraunt to pick is what kind of tea they serve. She frequently sends the tea back and gets a coke instead.

 

All of that said, she thinks the iced tea on Carnival is terrible.

[suzy1212]

The iced tea in the dining room is brewed tea, not the same stuff you get out of the machine. I can't see how you say they taste the same. There is a world of difference.

Yes, the iced tea in the dining room is very good. The tea from the Lido deck is drinkable if you add a generous shot of lemonade.

[cls624]

I thought the Iced Tea was fine! My dh and I drank almost every day.:)

We just put a couple of Equal in, and squeeze a lemon in, and you're good to go. Love Iced Tea in the summer. We didn't have anything bad to say about it. :rolleyes:

[vlwalker]

I love my Iced Tea, and I have read that the tea on Carnival ships is terrible? :( I like the brewed tea, not the canned Nestea or Lipton. In fact water and tea are the only things my Husband will drink.

 

Does anyone know why their tea is bad? I mean if you can prepare lobster, what is so hard about brewing tea. If McDonald's can do it, why can't Carnival? :confused:

 

I really don't remember how Carnival's Iced Tea tasted, it's been two years since I've cruised. One thing I do know is that I love McDonald's Sweet Tea with lemon (iced). I can't seem to get enough of it.:)

[JerseyHorseLover]

That being said, you can ALWAYS get tea bags and hot water on the Lido Deck. Make it strong, add some ice, and you're all set. I've done this a few times.

 

Great idea !!!! Thanks. I have been on 4 cruises and never thought of that...awesome!

[poptart]

Just bring Lipton Cold Brew tea bags. They come in two sizes, either by the glass or the pitcher. Pour cold water over them, brew a little longer than you have to do for hot water, and viola - fresh brewed iced tea! Only problem is that it doesn't come in decaf....

 

 

That is exactly what I do :D I bring a 32 oz cup add some water and 1 family size Lipton cold brew tea bag let sit a while and then I add splenda-(-but you could add sugar or what ever) then add the ice and your ready to go!!

 

Nothing big to pack or anything

[globe9]

I'm also from the South, but for some reason New Orleanians, such as myself, don't seem to have the same taste for sweet tea as the rest of the South. I can't stand that stuff, but then again, I don't really have a sweet tooth. I like my tea very strong and straight up-no sugar(or very LITTLE) and no lemon.

As far as the tea on the Fantasy & the Conquest(the 2 Carnival ships I've been on), it was HORRIBLE. It definitely wasn't brewed and it didn't even taste as good as Lipton Instant tea. It had a really weird flavor, like when a liquid begins taking on the taste of the container it is in(if ya know what I mean?) I just get the soda card or make iced coffees on the lido deck, which were suprisingly good.

[ews]

Sometimes I add something else like lemonade to it and it is not that bad.

[PINEVIEW01]

It only midly resembles tea - it's strange stuff.

 

That being said, you can ALWAYS get tea bags and hot water on the Lido Deck. Make it strong, add some ice, and you're all set. I've done this a few times.

That is what I do! I have hot tea sent to my room in the am. Make the pot and add it to ice from the bucket for great ice tea. I make more in the liddo all day long. I even have them bring hot tea in the dinning room and ask for a glass of ice and make mine own. By the end of the week they usually have everything for me when I get there.

 

I hate lemon in my tea so, that isn't an opption for me.

[wannacruisemore]

Ok...here's what you do.........go to the lido deck, they have tea bags. Make your own.....very easy hot water, tea bags. cup and saucer ( use saucer to cover cup..... Enjoy!!!!!