Ask Lemmy

A nice hot cup of char with a separate little jug of milk and sugar to taste. Oh, and a little spoon. Lovely

I get black tea, cream, and sugar. Hot.

USA Midwest, you are generally asked if you want sweet or unsweetened black iced tea. There are usually various sweetener packets at the table that you can use. Some restaurants only have sweet tea.

For “nicer” restaurants, the universal sweet tea boundary seems to be precisely at the NC/VA border.

Interesting. I'm driving from Raleigh to Northern VA tomorrow with lunch in Farmville, VA. I'll have to test this theory. Can corroborate that NC "tea" is super sweet iced tea.

Edit: Hmm, so I asked for tea in Farmville, VA and the waitress asked me "sweetened or unsweetened". We told her what was up and she admitted that she was from further north in Virginia, but she had learned to ask while working there. Where she was from, tea would be unsweetened unless specified.

So ... Maybe there is a bit of a DMZ in Virginia before you fully cross into unsweetened territory?

I once got a teapot with a few tea bags inside and one free water refill, I live in Poland and tea is rather warm/hot drink here

Even in hot countries people drink hot tea, it's a custom in Turkey for example, in north Africa people drink hot coffee and it's surprisingly effective in fighting the heat

Always hot tea in thin waisted little glasses. If I drink in a good place it is "rabbit blood". I am from Turkey.

"so like iced or hot?" If you ask for hot you get a cup of hot water with a bag of saddness floating in it.

You'll usually either get a pot of tea with a teabag or two in or a pot of hot water and some tea bags. Milk is usually served in a separate jug.

Chicagoland: They ask what kind. Iced tea is a thing, so are different kinds of hot tea. Some places have bottled brands, depending on the place. It's not all that complicated.

In the southern states of Australia you're likely to be asked "English Breakfast, Peppermint or Green?" Maybe one or two other varieties depending on the establishment.

US Midwest - the restaurants I visit don't have iced tea (IF they serve cold tea, it's the premade kind at the soda fountain). I get a cup of hot water, a single bag of black tea, and sometimes a lemon slice. If there isn't sugar at the table you have to ask for it.

Probably barley or green tea in a little paper cup. I'm in Korea.

Brisk Iced Tea, I think. Most around here drink MTN DEW like its keeping them alive.

They show me a QR code laminated onto the table. Then I ask if they have a paper menu, and they sheepishly say no. Then I ask them what kind of tea they have, and they list a bunch of things involving citrus. Then I buy one of the citrus monstrosities to be polite, and never go there again.

Then I go home and make some basic green tea, and I follow the steeping instructions because overstepped green tea makes me nauseous.

Europe.

Either they ask back wether I want hot or ice tea (beverage) or they default to hot tea and bring out the tea arsenal in a small box to choose.

so if you want the beverage (ice tea) you should say that you want ice tea.

Probably an Arizona or Brisk.

Maybe a green tea if you're in an Asian restaurant.

I knew someone back in college that tried to outline the sweet tea line. They found there's a zone of ambiguity where it will vary from restaurant to restaurant.

I thought a good follow up would be to ask different individuals how to make sweet tea. Those who know, know you can't just put sugar into iced tea.

We talking breakfast tea, cream tea, high tea, dinner or just a cuppa?

I get hot tea, unsweetened. New Zealand. I would probably get a couple of sachets of sugar to sweeten my tea if I want to, or they'll be in a container at the counter or on the table

Very few places here would even have iced tea, especially the sweetened varieties, and you would definitely have to specify it. Only at some "nicer" restaurants would you even have a chance of finding it, most fast food chains or buffet type places wont have it with the exception of some Asian places

I remember some years back staying in a hotel in New Jersey as a part of a wedding party that had gathered mostly from the UK and Commonwealth countries. I asked for tea on arrival, and they had none. When I came down for breakfast in the morning, there was a box full of tea at the breakfast buffet that had obviously just arrived by courier and just been opened up, management must have ordered it overnight for urgent delivery for all the English and Australasian guests, it must have taken them unawares

It entirely depends on what kind of establishment