Again when running a blog was enjoyable, and earlier than I labored for Texas Month-to-month, I had a weblog referred to as Full Customized Gospel BBQ. A bunch of men in Austin ran one other weblog that was equally devoted to Texas barbecue, referred to as Man Up Texas BBQ. One of many founders, Drew Thornley, was simply as enthusiastic about iced tea as he was about smoked meat, and he shared his critiques through a Twitter account referred to as @IcedTeaSnob. His final evaluation was posted 9 years in the past, however I considered him not too long ago when sipping from a Styrofoam cup stuffed with beige water. A Texas barbecue joint referred to as it iced tea, however it tasted extra like the previous than the latter. I puzzled if Thornley, now an affiliate professor of authorized research at Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nacogdoches, nonetheless had sturdy emotions about tea, so I referred to as him up on a quantity I hadn’t utilized in a dozen years. “Nothing turns me off a restaurant greater than weak iced tea,” he mentioned on the mere point out of the topic.
Thornley prefers unsweet tea with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, just like the one he was consuming as we spoke. If he’s visiting a restaurant for the primary time, “I take my very own Ziploc luggage of minimize lemons in case they don’t have lemons.” In his view, the least a restaurant can do is brew its tea recent each day. He’ll examine the tea popping out of the urn to verify the liquid is darkish brown earlier than ordering. “Discovering actually good iced tea is the exception, not the rule,” Thornley mentioned. “It’s tremendous uncommon, however I’ve been to eating places that publicize double-brewed tea,” he advised me with pleasure. Thornley nonetheless remembers a glass of tea he was served over a decade in the past on the 4 Seasons in Austin that contained ice cubes additionally manufactured from tea. Moreover the tea he brews at house, that’s his holy grail.
I drink iced tea with my barbecue so typically that it has turn out to be my reflexive beverage order at any restaurant—until I spy a Nestea emblem on the fountain-drink machine. That swill is to iced tea what the McRib is to ribs. I like my tea half candy and half unsweet. Extra particularly, if I can pour it myself, I do 1 / 4 unsweet, half candy, and one other quarter unsweet on prime, so my first sip from the straw isn’t all or nothing. No matter how meticulous the method is, few barbecue joints are memorable for his or her iced tea. InterStellar BBQ, outdoors Cedar Park, is a notable exception.
“Within the restaurant enterprise, it’s important to serve stuff you don’t like,” InterStellar’s proprietor, John Bates, advised me. “I drink espresso, sizzling tea, beer, and bourbon,” however not iced tea, he mentioned. That’s ironic for a pitmaster who has a signature dish of peach tea–glazed pork stomach. That peach tea can be out there to drink, and Bates additionally brews black tea, for his unsweet tea, and brown sugar tea. His motive for utilizing brown sugar moderately than white sugar is easy. “If I did drink tea, that sounds good,” he mentioned.
At InterStellar, workers use a Bunn coffee-and-tea brewer to make a really sturdy, concentrated model of iced tea. As soon as the tea has been steeped, they add chilly water to dilute it all the way down to the correct energy. Bates mentioned they brew it early within the morning so it’s not nonetheless heat when prospects arrive. “I believe one of many lamest issues to do is seize a recent cup of tea and it’s heat and melts the ice and waters down your tea,” he mentioned.
Up in Stoneburg, northwest of Dallas, Wes Stalcup not too long ago made the swap to a Bunn tea brewer at 5 BarBQ. “It was too exhausting to do pots on the range,” he mentioned, which is how he initially bought the sturdy tea he desired. He buys Luzianne-brand tea luggage, every meant for a gallon of tea, and makes use of 4 for each three gallons of water. “The default settings made weak tea,” he mentioned of the brewer, so Stalcup adjusted the timing to permit the tea luggage to steep for longer. He additionally gave me an uncommon tip: Add a touch of baking soda to the tea to keep up its readability and provides it a clean texture.
A cup of the Stalcup’s iced tea is so darkish you may hardly see by it. It’s additionally dearer to make than canned delicate drinks are to purchase. For those who order a mixture plate that features a drink at 5 BarBQ, a can of soda is included, however iced tea has an upcharge of $1.50. That additionally accounts for refills, however the tea is so memorably good, it’s value somewhat further.
Few barbecue manufacturers are extra intently related to iced tea than Bill Miller Bar-B-Q. Headquartered in San Antonio, it has greater than seventy areas. All of the barbecue is smoked in large people who smoke at its commissary downtown, however the iced tea is freshly brewed each day at every location. All of them use the identical recipe, and the identical proprietary mix of tea leaves, however the firm wouldn’t expose its provider.
Invoice Miller’s social media specialist, Allegra Gonzalez, advised me over e mail that the corporate brews a median of 68,112 gallons of tea every week throughout all areas. Moreover the proprietary mix itself, the important thing to creating the beverage style nice is retaining the brewing tools and the urns the place the tea is saved clear. The sheer recognition of the tea and the massive parts Invoice Miller serves additionally preserve the recent batches coming. The Texas Tea Bucket, a Invoice Miller–branded mug that’s insulated and holds 32 ounces of tea, is simply $4.75 and may be introduced again to any location for 69-cent refills.
Whereas I believe the fried rooster is superior to the barbecue at Invoice Miller, we agree on the tea’s significance to the model id. In 1991, Invoice Miller up to date an current water tower on the firm headquarters to resemble a cup of tea with a straw popping out of it. The corporate launched Sweetie, the candy tea mascot, in 2020; Sweetie has made appearances at occasions round city, together with minor league baseball video games.
I not too long ago stopped at a Invoice Miller location in North Austin, the closest one to my house, in Dallas. I bought my very own Texas Tea Bucket and loved the half candy, half unsweet tea, then bought a refill for the remainder of the day. I really like the stuff, however Thornley disagrees with regards to Invoice Miller’s unsweet tea, which he recollects as being common (@IcedTeaSnob by no means formally weighed in). To be truthful, he mentioned, “I believe lots of people like Invoice Miller as a result of they’re consuming candy tea.” Contemplating the identify of the corporate’s mascot, I’d say Invoice Miller agrees. “Candy tea is the saucy chopped beef, and the unsweet tea is only a slice of brisket,” he mentioned. I like them each. I’ll preserve dunking my brisket in sauce after I get the hankering and asking for my tea half candy. I gained’t even thoughts if I mistakenly get absolutely unsweet tea—simply don’t serve me weak tea.