Tea in Cold Cups

One of my pet peeves (is that a term that dates me?) is asking for hot tea at a restaurant and being served it lukewarm. This might be due to several reasons:

*The water is only lukewarm when it comes to my table. Either it was only warm to start with, not piping hot, or sat in the tea pot too long.

*Perhaps the pot was cold, so the hot water cooled.

*Then the waitress might bring a pot of very hot water to the table, but present me with a cold cup. Sometimes it seems the cup has come from the refrigerator. I sit there with the cup in my hands, trying to warm it slightly, so the water won't get cold as soon as I pour it.

I like my cup of tea to start out hot. Then if it cools, it's my choice.

Do You Prefer Hot or Iced Tea?

Depending on the part of the country or the world where you live, you may be more accustomed to hot or cold tea. Hot tea is my preference, although I don't mind iced tea, especially in hot weather.

However, I find a cup of hot tea more refreshing, relaxing and reviving than a glass of iced tea. Perhaps that's because hot tea was more common in our household and my grandmother's when I was growing up.

I have found that when we travel in southern regions of the United States, it's more difficult to get hot tea served in restaurants. In fact, some don't serve it at all.

"We can heat up some sweet tea in the microwave," one waitress told me.

I appreciated her attempt to be helpful but that's not what I wanted for my breakfast. I also don't like sugar in my tea, so it heated sweet tea did not appeal.

If I travel with my own tea bags, I generally can get a cup of hot water when hot tea isn't served. So that has been one solution.

Which do you prefer, hot or iced tea? Or don't you care? Perhaps you don't drink tea at all.