85
Percentage of all tea consumed in the U.S. today that is sipped cold, according to the U.S. Tea Association. The first “iced teas” in America were alcohol bombs concocted during the Colonial Era, but the simple, summer, “on the rocks” beverage that we enjoy today wasn’t even possible for any but the very wealthy until the mid-19th century. Advances in extraction, refrigeration, and shipping lowered the price of ice (which at the time was cut from frozen lakes in winter) sending its demand through the roof.