Sweet Tea appears as a signature dish in 4 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Sweet tea · Charlotte
Sweet tea is the canonical Southern non-alcoholic table drink, brewed strong with black tea and sweetened hot with sugar, then chilled and served over ice.
Sweet tea entered Southern cooking in the late 19th century when refined sugar and refrigerated ice became affordable through the Southern railway expansion. By the 1920s it was the table drink across Carolina households, served at every meal except breakfast, and remains the unmarked default ordering 'tea' across Charlotte to this day. The pour comes pre-sweetened with two cups of sugar per gallon at most Carolina restaurants.
Where to eat in Charlotte:
- Mert's Heart and Soul
- 300 East
- Sweet Lew's BBQ
Sweet tea · Greenville
Black tea brewed strong, sweetened heavily while hot, served over ice. South Carolina claims to be the birthplace; Charleston Tea Plantation is the only commercial tea farm in the United States.
Sweet tea is the unofficial Southern beverage. South Carolina's House of Representatives passed a 1995 resolution declaring sweet tea the official hospitality beverage. The Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island is the only commercial tea farm in the United States, growing the source for the Carolinas tea-and-sugar tradition.
Where to eat in Greenville:
- OJ's Diner
- Henry's Smokehouse
- Stax Omega Diner
Sweet Tea · Knoxville
The East Tennessee sweet-tea tradition: black tea brewed strong and sweetened with a syrup of dissolved sugar while still hot, served over ice with a lemon.
Sweet tea is the Southern standard non-alcoholic table drink, served at every East Tennessee diner counter and meat-and-three room. Pete's Coffee Shop on Union pours it from a 2-gallon dispenser into Mason jars; Buddy's Bar-B-Q runs a similar service. The sweet tea here is sweeter than Nashville or Memphis versions.
Where to eat in Knoxville:
- Pete's Restaurant and Coffee Shop
- Buddy's Bar-B-Q
- Litton's Market and Restaurant
Sweet Tea · Savannah
The Lowcountry's house drink: black tea brewed strong, sweetened heavily while still hot, then chilled and served over ice with a lemon wedge.
Sweet tea entered Southern cookbooks in the 1870s and has been the Lowcountry's default warm-weather drink ever since. The Savannah version is brewed strong (typically Luzianne or Lipton tea bags) and sweetened generously while still hot so the sugar dissolves completely. The drink is served at restaurants in mason jars or tall glasses, with refills standard and free. The unsweetened or half-and-half option is sometimes offered, but the full-sweet version is more common; the Mason-Dixon line is widely cited as a sweet-tea border. Crystal Beer Parlor, Mrs. Wilkes, and every Lowcountry-Southern menu in Savannah serves it.
Where to eat in Savannah:
- Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room
- Crystal Beer Parlor
- The Olde Pink House
- Sisters of the New South