Long Island Iced Tea - Blog, News & Ideas

Summer is quickly approaching which means the days are going to get longer and hotter! Sometimes on a hot summer day the perfect thing is a popsicle.   The best thing about popsicles is how versatile they are! Any juice, smoothie or drink can be made into a popsicle! All you need are the molds J So we thought what about making some Original Long Island Iced Tea Lemonades popsicles? Sounds like a great idea!

Our recommendation to make these popsicles even better is to chop up some fruit and add it to the mold. Cherries with cherry lemonade, strawberries with our Strawberry Lemonade, Peach with the Peach Lemonade…Or be bold and mix it up!

Here is the incredibly simple recipe for some amazing summer desserts:

• Add the fruit to the mold and then pour in the lemonade
• Put in the stick or the base
• Let it freeze

Tip: When it is ready, to get it out run the mold under some warm water

There you have it: a delicious and refreshing summer treat!

Most of us grew up with Pink Lemonade in our lives.  It was just the more fun version of Lemonade! It never seemed weird or nonsensical that it was pink, just cute! But when you do get thinking about Pink Lemonade there is no real reason why it should be pink.  I mean Pink Lemonade, although sometimes flavored with strawberries, cranberries or cherries, is usually just normal lemonade that has just been dyed pink with red food coloring.  Why does this make sense? Why red food coloring and not purple? How did this drink become such a sensation?

Well the origins of Pink Lemonade are actually kind of muddled.  There are two rival stories circulating the Internet.  The first says that in 1857 Pete Conklin, who was a concessions salesman at the circus, ran out of lemonade one day.  While he was rushing around trying to replace it he saw a bin full of pink water where a performer had just cleaned her pink tights! Rather than losing business he decided to sell this wash water and surprisingly it was a hit!

The other story also involves the circus but takes place in 1873.  Henry E. Allot a circus promoter was mixing up a batch of lemonade to sell and accidentally dropped a few red cinnamon candies into the batch turning it pink! He sold it anyway and was delighted at how much the customers loved it!

For the sake of our stomachs I prefer the second story. Although cinnamon and lemonade do not sound very compatible at least it was not wash water! But either way we are happy that pink lemonade got its start, no matter how it really began, because it is undeniable fun and cute! That’s why we decided to include a Pink Lemonade in our new line of Lemonades.  Also don’t worry we only use fruit and vegetable juice to color our Pink Lemonade, no candies or tights allowed! 

Ever since lemonade immigrated to America in the 18^th century from Europe, a true love affair between America and lemonade has developed.  There is no other drink that is more connected to American summers than lemonade.  It is rare to find a child that did not have a lemonade stand growing up. Maybe this is fading out of fashion, but even this summer I drove or walked by and personally patronized multiple lemonade stands run by young American entrepreneurs. Lemonade is American classic, but why is it so popular and so connected with the stars and stripes and summer time? 

The first evidence of “lemonade” was actually in Egypt.  But this delicious drink soon spread to Europe and by the mid-1600s there were “limonadiers” selling lemonade on the streets of Paris.  In America, lemonade exploded in popularity during the 1849 California Gold Rush as a way to fend off scurvy in the malnourished miners.  Lemons contain high levels of Vitamin C that fights off this traditionally maritime disease.  It was lucky for those miners that lemon trees grew so well in the California climate, and in fact to this day 90% of America’s lemons come from California!

In the Victorian Era lemonade became a popular alternative to alcohol, and fans of this idea included First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes. She actually became known as “Lemonade Lucy” because served lemonade during events after her banning of alcohol in the White House during her husband’s terms from 1877-1881.  

With first lady and presidential endorsement, lemonade grew in popularity and has remained popular all the way till today! There have been different ingredients that have had fleeting stints of popularity, egg white and milk for example, but I think the beauty of this drink lies in its simplicity.  Only three ingredients can create such a delicious and complex beverage. 

All of this is why we were so excited to create our Long Island Brand Lemonade’s and be a part of this American tradition and make delicious lemonade of course!

Also check out http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/when-life-hands-you-lemons-make-qatarzimat for more facts on the history of lemonade! 

When you hear the word craft-brewed, probably a picture of a mustachioed hipster in overalls drinking a beer somewhere in Portland, is the first thing that comes to mind. At least it is for me.  But in fact, craft brewing is not really as niche as these hipsters would like to think. 

By 1970 there were only 11 major beer companies left in the US, and they were all making basically the same thing.  But by the 80s home brewing as a concept was rising, mainly in CO and CA.  Fast-forward to 2015 and craft brewers have gathered 13% of the US beer market and a $22.3 billion dollar share of the industry.  So what made this craze take off, other than our Portland hipster?

Well craft-brewers offered variety and took a wild jump away from the 70s where every beer you could buy was a light lager.  Now you could buy from local or regional breweries and find a beer that was unique.  Choosing a beer became a way to express your self, instead of just blending into the crowd.

But you are probably thinking, okay but this is about beer, what about iced tea?  Well the definition of craft brewed is a small, independent, and traditional brewing operation, so Long Island Iced Tea is a craft brewed beverage!  We use handpicked tealeaves to brew all of our delicious flavors, never tea-flavored syrup like some of the other guys.  It tastes better and is better for you!  We are proud to be craft-brewed and be a part of the craze as a tea company.  So just like with craft-brewed beer, choosing a Long Island Iced Tea is a way to express yourself, and stand out from the crowd! 

There is no denying that Iced Tea screams summer - the sun is beaming and the streets and beaches are bustling with smiles. A nice refreshingly cold Long Island Iced Tea is the ideal beverage to have in hand as you lap up the joyous surroundings with family and friends.

Here are some easy and helpful tips to make your Long Island Iced Tea even more refreshingly enjoyable:
1. Pour the delicious Long Island Iced Tea in a large iced filled jug.
2. Add a slice of lemon and squeeze the lemon into it. You can also crush the lemon rind – essential oils from the rind add a nice citrusy flavor.
3. If you like mint, crushing a few leaves into your iced tea to give it an uplifting and energizing taste.
4. A pinch of cinnamon or crushed cardamom is another way to add taste and flavor to iced teas.
5. Try crushed strawberries and raspberries to add a unique taste to iced tea. You can even add pomegranate juice, orange juice or peaches to your iced tea for something cool, different and delicious!

Long Island Iced Tea is the perfect Summer beverage and with a few simple added ingredients you will have your friends and family wanting more. We want to see how experimental you get with your Long Island Iced Tea thirst quencher so make sure you post a picture to our Facebook page.