美国人为什么喜欢喝冰茶？
For English, please scroll to the bottom.
看英文内容，请直接滑动到底部。
老桑说
美国人为什么喝这么多冰茶？
Why do Americans drink so much iced tea?
▾
「 朋友，你好，我是老桑。 」
虽然七月的气温不断上升，许多中国人仍然在泡热茶，而大多数美国人喝冰茶。鉴于我们不同的文化，这似乎并不奇怪。但即使在最寒冷的冬天，美国人仍然喝冰茶。事实上，在美国，80%的茶是冷的或冰的。
冰茶
这是一个独特的美国做法，自我小时候起就是如此。事实上，美国人会用brimming（装满）冰的玻璃杯来盛饮用水、苏打和许多含酒精的饮料（如蒸馏酒和混合鸡尾酒）。牛奶、果汁、运动饮料、啤酒和白葡萄酒都是凉的，但不是冰镇的。
一个有趣的不同点是咖啡。在美国被消费的咖啡有80%是热的。这在亚洲是不太真实的，因为更多的消费者喜欢喝冷的咖啡beverages（饮料）。尽管我多年来在美国提倡喝茶，美国人每年喝咖啡的数量仍然是他们喝茶的两倍多。请和我一起继续战斗…！
世界各地的品茶专家普遍认为，热茶是最好的，而且热茶比冷茶有更浓烈的aroma（香气）和味道。研究表明，热茶中的抗氧化剂可以降低心血管疾病的风险，促进骨骼健康，增强免疫系统，并降低某些癌症的风险。
佛罗里达7-11便利店冰茶
然而，尽管热茶有以上种种好处，美国冰茶的消费仍然流行。而在有着热茶消费史的中国，冰茶（或至少冷茶）的消费量也正在上升。
冰茶是十九世纪在美国被发明的，但直到1904年圣·路易斯世界博览会才开始流行。那时，商人理查（Richard Blechynden）在一个特别炎热的天气里用冰冻饮料招揽参观者。那时，采集冰（在冰冻的湖泊和池塘里贮冰）的新潮才刚刚开始。
没有人有明确的答案，但有很多理论试图解释这一点。
为了进一步了解美国人的冰茶饮用习惯，我参观了位于佛罗里达州萨拉索塔的仙丹茶屋（Elixir Tea House）。茶馆在美国并不常见。他们通常提供一系列的中国茶，但也出售来自其他地区（如印度和日本）的茶。不像中国的茶馆，他们经常提供咖啡、调味茶和英式下午茶。
仙丹茶屋（Elixir Tea House）
茶艺师埃里卡（Erika）来自匈牙利，她分享了自己对美国冰茶饮用习惯的看法。她证实饮用冰茶是美国（和加拿大）特有的现象，因为欧洲人喜欢热茶和咖啡。她还说，欧洲人更喜欢常温的饮料或稍冷的饮料，但从来没有像美国人那样装满冰块。
当埃里卡和我讨论这个问题时，我们对美国的饮茶偏好有了一些有趣的见解。
美国人从十九世纪初开始使用冰柜，其中由一大块冰块维持内部温度。20世纪30年代，美国人开始使用电冰箱。20世纪70年代的冰箱开始带自动制冰机和饮水机。如今，这些制冰机是美国冰箱的标准部件。现在，人们毫不费力就能把一个玻璃杯装满冰块。
这种早期采用的制冷技术为冷饮消费奠定了基础。还有冰淇淋。
带制冰器的冰箱
当20世纪20年代冷冻饮料兴起，禁酒时期随之而来，使酒精生产和消费在美国成为非法行为。由于啤酒经常被冷饮，许多人把冰茶作为substitute（替代品）。
此外，美国人在19世纪中期开始饮用自来水，于是减少了煮沸以杀死细菌和其他病原体的需要。1948年联邦水污染控制法案后来提升了供水的sanitary（卫生）基础设施。今天，喝水前煮沸处理是很少见的。
因为80%的茶以冰冻的方式被饮用，剩下20%的美国人更喜欢热茶。然而，大多数美国饮茶者认为冲泡优质散装茶需要太多的时间和专业知识。因此，袋装茶比散装茶更受欢迎。并且自制冰茶一般使用袋装茶，冲泡后就让它自然冷却。
但是自制冰茶在美国家庭并非常态。速溶茶在1948年被引入到今天的瓶装和罐装即饮（RTD）茶中，使得饮用冰茶变得非常方便。事实上，即饮茶占美国茶叶市场的近50%，预计未来五年的消费量会显著增长。
所有的茶（如绿茶或红茶）都可以被冲泡、冷却和冷饮。自制冰茶能完整地保留许多有益健康的营养成分，而茶被新鲜发酵时的味道往往更加优越。即使在用袋泡茶时，冲泡和冷却也需要时间，所以许多消费者更喜欢即饮（RTD）茶的便利性。
许多美国人认为，冷饮比热饮料更令人提神。在炎热的天气里，有些人认为冷饮会降低体温（如果只是暂时的话）。在冬天，冷饮似乎更令人满足，比热饮料更能解渴。
许多中国南方人出于健康原因喝草药凉茶或“凉茶”。尽管凉茶的字面意思是“凉茶”，但这些茶几乎总是热的。更好的翻译是“清热降火茶”，因为“清热降火”指的是草药对人体健康的影响，而不是实际的冲泡温度。
在仙丹茶屋，埃里卡解释说，在炎热的天气，她不认为冰茶比热茶更提神。她说，尽管萨拉索塔气候温暖，年平均气温达到23°C，但她全年都喝热茶。
她解释说，当你的身体习惯于全年喝热茶时，身体就会付出更少的努力来适应外界温度波动。当你经常改变你的饮茶习惯时，换季时你的身体可能需要更努力地适应新的饮料温度。
中国有着悠久的饮用热饮料历史。许多中国人认为喝温的或热的饮料对健康有好处，比如说，它有助于养胃。
从中医的角度看，热水可以暖胃、促进血液循环。喝热水在中国有几千年历史，公园前5世纪，《黄帝内经》就有“病至而治之汤液”的记载；《孟子》中也有“冬日则饮汤”的表述；《说文解字》说“汤，热火也”，这里的“汤”说的就是热水。
尽管有这样的历史，中国的趋势表明越来越多的人开始喝冷饮料。在便利店里，冰箱里有好几排瓶装冰茶。在国内航班上，冰会和饮料一起被提供。茶饮料，如珍珠奶茶，都是凉的。许多餐馆都提供冷的和室温的啤酒和水。
佛罗里达7-11便利店热茶小站
然而，当人们感到恶心或不适时，许多中国人仍然更喜欢温热饮料。
中药和阿育吠陀医学都考虑到食物和饮料的热或冷元素。对于西医来说，这是一个不太关心的问题。大多数美国人只选择最舒服的饮料。
中国酒店的房间都装有热水壶。美国酒店房间有滴水咖啡壶，只将水加热到89°C，而不是完全煮沸100°C。美国酒店也有一台冰机在每层。如果你呆在一个靠近冰机的美国旅馆房间，你会经常听到客人舀冰块！
我的朋友，希望你能喜欢这次穿越冷饮茶文化世界的漫步。美国人可能会因为早期的冷藏设备发明所带来的便利、提神、和文化的益处而喝更多的冰茶。但是，它可能仅仅被归结为集体个人偏好。在我看来，享你所爱，让健康和味蕾成为你选择的理由。
谢谢收看《老桑说》。
给你启发，激励你上进，陪伴你坚持。
敬请期待下一集。
英文版
English
﹀
﹀
﹀
Why do Americans drink iced tea?
▾
「 Hello, my friend！
I'm John Smagula. 」
Sarasota McClellan Park
As the temperatures rise this July, many Chinese continue to brew hot tea, and most Americans drink iced tea. This may not seem strange given our different cultures, but even in the coldest depths of the winter, Americans still drink iced tea. In fact, in the United States, 80% of tea consumed is served cold or iced.
This is a uniquely American practice, one that I grew up with. In fact, Americans drink water, soda, and many alcoholic drinks (like distilled spirits and mixed cocktails) in glasses brimming with ice. Milk, fruit juice, sports drinks, beer, and white wine are served cold, not iced.
An interesting outlier is coffee. 80% of coffee consumed in the United States is served hot. This is less true in Asia, where more consumers enjoy coffee beverages cold. Despite my years of tea advocacy in the United States, Americans still drink more than twice as much coffee per year than they do tea. Please join me in keeping up the fight…!
Tea connoisseurs the world over generally agree that tea is best served hot, saying that hot tea has a stronger aroma and flavor than cold. Research has shown that the antioxidants in hot tea can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, promote good bone health, support the immune system, and lower the risk of certain cancers.
Yet despite the benefits of hot tea, iced tea consumption in the United States remains stubbornly strong. And China, with a storied history of hot tea consumption, is seeing a rise in iced (or at least cold) tea consumption.
Iced tea was invented in the United States in the 19th century but did not become popular until served at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The story goes that merchant Richard Blechynden enticed fairgoers with the chilled beverage during a particularly hot stretch of weather. At the time, the novelty of ice harvesting (preserving ice from frozen lakes and ponds) had just begun.
Nobody has a definitive answer, but there are a number of theories.
To learn more about Americans’ iced tea drinking habits, I visited the Elixir Tea House in Sarasota, Florida. Tea houses are not common in the United States. They generally offer a range of Chinese teas, but also sell teas from other regions (such as India and Japan). And unlike Chinese tea houses, they often offer coffee, flavored teas, and British-style afternoon tea.
Elixir Tea House
The barista, Erika, hails from Hungary and shared her thoughts on American iced tea drinking habits. She confirmed that iced tea is an American (and Canadian) phenomenon, as Europeans prefer hot tea and coffee. She also said that Europeans prefer other beverages at room temperature or slightly chilled, but never filled to the brim with ice the way Americans do.
As Erika and I talked it through, we came up with some interesting insights into the American tea-drinking psyche.
1
Refrigeration came
early to the United States
Americans started using iceboxes in the early 19th century, in which a large block of ice kept the contents cold. In the 1930s, Americans started using electric refrigerators. In the 1970s, refrigerators started to include in-the-door ice and water dispensers. Today, these ice makers are standard parts of Americans refrigerators. It now takes no effort to fill up a glass with ice.
This early adoption of refrigeration technology set the stage for cold drink consumption. And ice cream, too.
As chilled beverages were taking root in the 1920s, the Prohibition occurred, making alcohol production and consumption illegal in the United States. As beer was often consumed cold, many people switched to iced tea as a substitute.
Also, Americans started drinking tap water in the mid-1800s, reducing the need to boil water to kill bacteria and other pathogens. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 later enhanced the sanitary infrastructure of the water supply. Today, it is rare to boil water in order to consume it.
2
Convenience
As 80% of tea is consumed iced, the remaining 20% of Americans prefer hot tea. However, most American tea drinkers believe that brewing premium loose tea takes too much time and expertise. For this reason, bagged tea is much more popular than loose tea. And those who make homemade iced tea generally used bagged tea, letting it cool once brewed.
But homebrewed iced tea is not the norm in American households. The introduction of instant tea in 1948 to today's bottled and canned ready-to-drink (RTD) teas have made iced tea very convenient to consume. In fact, RTD teas comprise nearly 50% of the American tea market and are expected to grow significantly over the next five years.
All tea (such as green or black) can be brewed, chilled, and served cold. Many health benefits remain intact, and the taste of homemade iced tea is often superior when the tea is freshly brewed. Even when using tea bags, though, brewing and chilling can take time, so many consumers prefer the convenience of RTD teas.
3
Refreshment
Many Americans report that cold beverages are more refreshing than hot beverages. On a hot day, some may perceive that cold drinks reduce the body temperature (if only temporarily). In the winter, cold drinks may seem more satiating, quenching thirst better than hot beverages.
At the Elixir Tea House, Erika explained that on a hot day, she doesn’t think iced tea is any more refreshing than hot tea. She says she drinks hot tea year-round, despite Sarasota’s warm climate and average 73°F (23°C) degree annual temperature.
She reasoned that when your body is accustomed to drinking hot tea all year, it will use less effort to make adjustments to outside temperature fluctuations. When you regularly change your tea drinking habits, she said your body may have to work harder to adjust to new beverage temperatures during the changing seasons.
4
Culture
China has a long history of drinking hot beverages. Many Chinese believe that drinking warm or hot beverages is better for your health, saying, for example, that it helps to strengthen the stomach.
According to Chinese medicine, hot water can strengthen the stomach and promote blood circulation. The practice of drinking hot water in China has thousands of years of history, with recorded health benefits in Huangdi's Classic on Medicine, Mencius, and The First Chinese Dictionary.
Despite this history, trends in China show that more people are drinking cold beverages. In a convenience store, there are several rows of bottled iced tea in the refrigerator cases. On a domestic flight, you will be offered ice with your beverage. Tea drinks, such as bubble tea, are served cold. Many restaurants offer both cold and room-temperature beer and water.
hot tea station
However, when feeling sick or out of sorts, many Chinese will still prefer warm beverages.
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine both take into consideration the hot or cold element of foods and beverages. For Western medicine, this is less of a concern. Most Americans simply choose drinks they are most comfortable with.
Chinese hotel rooms are equipped with hot water kettles. American hotel rooms have drip coffee makers, which only heat water to 192°F (89°C) and not to a full boiling 212°F (100°C). Americans hotels will also have an ice machine on each floor. If you ever stay in an American hotel room next to the ice machine, you’ll frequently hear guests scooping out ice!
My friend, I hope you enjoyed this walk through the world of iced tea culture. Americans may drink more iced tea due to early refrigeration, convenience, refreshment, and cultural reasons, but then again, it may just boil down to a collective personal preference. In my view, enjoy tea the way you like it, letting your health and taste buds be your guide.
{ 今日英文速记卡 }
1.Brim \ ˈbrim \
a)含义：v. 注满
b)例句：
i.In fact, Americans drink water, soda, and many alcoholic drinks (like distilled spirits and mixed cocktails) in glasses brimming with ice.
事实上，美国人用装满冰的玻璃杯饮用水、苏打和许多含酒精的饮料（如蒸馏酒和混合鸡尾酒）。
ii.Tears brimmed in her eyes.
她热泪盈眶。
近义词： fill, heap, stuff
2.Beverage \ ˈbev-rij \
a)含义：n. 饮料
b)例句：
i.This is less true in Asia, where more consumers enjoy coffee beverages cold.
这在亚洲是不太真实的，因为更多的消费者喜欢喝冷的咖啡饮料。
ii.Alcoholic beverages are served in the hotel lounge.
酒店的公共休息室出售酒精饮料。
近义词：drink, libation, quencher
3.Aroma \ ə-ˈrō-mə \
a)含义：n. 香味
b)例句：
i.Tea connoisseurs the world over generally agree that tea is best served hot, saying that hot tea has a stronger aroma and flavor than cold.
世界各地的茶鉴赏家普遍认为，热茶最好，热茶比冷茶有更浓烈的香气和味道。
ii.As they bake, they perfume the whole house with the aroma of apples and spices.
他们烤蛋糕的时候，整幢房子都飘着苹果和香料的香气。
近义词：bouquet, fragrance, scent
4.Substitute
\ ˈsəb-stə-ˌtüt \
a)含义：n. 替代物
b)例句：
i.As beer was often consumed cold, many people switched to iced tea as a substitute.
由于啤酒经常被冷饮，许多人换成冰茶作为替代品。
ii.The course teaches you the theory but there's no substitute for practical experience.
这门课教的是理论，但没有任何东西能代替实践经验。
近义词：alternative, backup, replacement
5.Sanitary
\ ˈsa-nə-ˌter-ē \
a)含义：adj. 卫生的；清洁的
b)例句：
i.The Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1948 later enhanced the sanitary infrastructure of the water supply.
1948年联邦水污染控制法案后来提升了供水的卫生基础设施。
ii.Overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions led to disease in the refugee camps.
过度拥挤和恶劣的卫生状况导致难民营中出现疾病。
近义词： clean, germfree, hygienic
Thank you for watching me to inspire, encourage, and accompany you.
See you next time.
想了解更多信息，请持续关注新浪微博（@桑国亚）或公众号《老桑说》（laosangshuo）
老桑说
John Smagula
点击阅读原文，了解更多老桑微博内容，欢迎关注进行互动。