Is the Sweet Tea Line Edging Northward in Illinois and Missouri?

Following a trek to the south a little over a week ago I was struck with the thought that there seemed to be more default sweet tea in southern Missouri than I had previously remembered.

Had I Ignored this? Suppressed it? Or, had something else happened. Was sweet tea migrating northward???

Growing up north of the “sweet tea line” it seemed logical that tea would be served plain as a base. If you wanted to add something sweet you could certainly do that to taste. A spoonful of sugar, sweet-n-low, honey, didn’t matter – you do you. Just ask for your particular addition if it wasn’t already at your table.

Kentucky, southern Indiana, Arkansas, deep southern Illinois, southern Missouri. These are all places where I’ve been served sweet tea by default after just asking for/ordering “tea”.

More and more I’ve noticed that pre-mixed sweet tea has become an ordering option at restaurants not so far away.

Is sweet tea expanding out as the SEC keeps growing? Was sweet tea already a thing before the SEC arrived? I’d like to say yes. Perhaps the best case to test “the SEC factor” is in Austin, Texas where the Longhorns are now an SEC team.

Armadillos are encroaching further and further north, is that related? Climate change? Sweet tea as a beverage menu option to becoming default tea seems to be a longer process. Could it just be fashionable?

There are gateway sweeteners in the form of fruit flavors. Have you developed a taste for peach tea? Raspberry tea? These are delicious change ups, but the more you consume the more irresistible pure sweet tea will become…

Have you been telling people “Bless your heart”? Has “Ya’ll” started popping out of your mouth? These are more than likely tells that you drink, crave or even demand sweet tea.