Written by: Emma Hamlin, Policy Intern
Moving on to the next topic of June, it’s National Iced Tea Month. For many of us, there is nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than a tall glass of iced tea. Whether it’s enjoyed on a front porch after a long day in the saddle, shared around the family supper table, or served at a community gathering, iced tea has become a staple of rural life and Southern hospitality.
Iced tea has deep American roots, evolving from 19th-century alcoholic tea punches into a non-alcoholic summer staple. It was propelled to national fame during the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis and remains deeply embedded in Southern hospitality and American ready-to-drink culture.
For me, iced tea is more than just a summer drink. It brings back memories of watching my great-grandmother, Maggie Pesnell, make tea. I remember her making a pitcher of sweet tea and asking how much sugar to put in. She responded, “Well, you keep pouring until Jesus tells you to stop!” It was no wonder people had to cut the tea with water when they were over at her house, but it was still an experience that stays with me to this day. I promise that is not how I make my tea!
I also remember every time I made tea with her, I would hear a new story about my family roots. Over a glass of sweet iced tea, I found out that my grandmother, Sharon Pesnell (who passed in 2005), was a hell-raiser who loved her family. There was a woman who had lied her way onto living on my great-grandmother’s property, and Sharon didn’t like it one bit that her momma’s southern hospitality was being taken advantage of. Every time she would come up the driveway, she would spin her tires and kick rocks up towards the lady’s mobile home in protest. And she eventually moved away because of it, and we never heard from her again. But this family watched out for each other then, and we still do it now. And we do it with a glass of tea in our hand.
As women in agriculture, we understand that food and beverages often tell a larger story. Every glass of tea represents the hard work of farmers who grow the ingredients we rely on every day. While tea itself may be grown far from our communities, the sugary lemons, honey, and countless other products that often come from farms and ranches across the globe.
Agriculture has always been about more than producing food, but about preserving traditions, strengthening families, and building communities. The simple act of sharing a glass of iced tea has created countless opportunities for conversation, friendships, and memories that last a lifetime. One of my favorite tea memories was bringing my meat-judging team to their H-Tea-O Experience. I had a specific order that I got every single time, one I called my “Texas Girl Crack”, and they all got the same thing. I got to hear their thoughts; some loved it, and others didn’t. But it made an incredible memory for all of us. For the rest of the judging season, whenever we were in Texas, we would always ask our Coach to take us to H-Tea-O!
So, for the rest of June, go sit and have a glass of sweet tea with a friend or a loved one. You never know what you are going to learn.
