Tea-upon-ice

Tea-upon-ice is a beverage consisting of tea or tea extract infused into heated water and served upon ice. It was invented and popularized by the Internet blogger . The first verifiable mention of tea-upon-ice came in an Ocelopotamus blog post on August 10, 2007 called

The birth of tea-upon-ice

The recipe for tea-upon-ice was given in that original post, as follows:

'Having made some hot tea by the normal infusion method, on a whim I poured the tea over some cubes of frozen water, thus lowering the temperature of the tea and transforming it from a steaming hot beverage into a refreshing chilled one. I call this invention “tea-upon-ice.”'

Unfettered usage of recipe granted by inventor

The idea of securing legal protection for the intellectual property inherent in the concoction of this refreshing drink occurred to Ocelopotamus, who wrote:

'I briefly considered applying for some sort of patent, but then my humanitarian side asserted itself. This idea must belong to the world, I scolded myself, there in the kitchen of my home.'

Popularity of tea-upon-ice

The popularity of tea-upon-ice quickly spread. An accounting of Ocelopotamus's bemused realization of the sudden ubiquity of his invention was given in a follow-up blog post on August 15, 2007. In that post, Ocelopotamus describes his reaction to encountering his beverage at a local restaurant in Chicago, albeit under a slightly different, less attractive name (that of "iced tea"):

'I discovered this when I was out dining with a friend, and he casually asked the waitress for a glass of “iced tea.” I was so pleased by this small tribute to my invention that I didn’t even bother to correct him for getting the name wrong. And I was prepared to chuckle at the puzzlement of the waitress when she asked him to explain this unheard-of thing he’d just asked for.

Instead, she walked away without a word, and came back a few moments later with a tall glass of nothing else but my cool, delicious brainchild, tea-upon-ice! It came garnished with a large wedge of lemon, which I found interesting — it’s always fascinating to see the way others embellish and adapt one’s ideas.'

Denial of vainglory by inventor

Tea-upon-ice is free from patent, copyright, or trademark restriction. Anyone is free to use the recipe as given by Ocelopotamus, and no credit to the inventor is necessary. As he modestly explains in the August 15, 2007 post:

'I did make a point of admonishing my friend that he was not to reveal me to the waitress or the other patrons as the inventor of this miraculous drink — I didn’t want a fuss made, or for people to think they must pay me tribute every time they enjoy it. I am not the sort of vainglorious creator who needs everyone kowtowing to him and thanking him all the time!'

Differences with "iced tea"

Mild confusion has sometimes arisen regarding the difference between tea-upon-ice and another beverage, "iced tea." Besides its less-attractive name, "iced tea" is itself already problematic given its confusion with "ice tea." In fact, some say the two (iced tea and ice tea) are the same beverage. The intra-ice(d) tea dispute is of no concern to tea-upon-ice or its inventor, but it does illustrate that "ice(d) tea" is already problematic.

Another difference is that with "ice(d) tea" the emphasis is on what the ice does to the tea -- the "icing" of the tea, if you will. With tea-upon-ice, what the tea does to the ice is underscored, i.e. by pouring the hot tea onto the ice, the ice itself is changed, melted somewhat, its edges (if any) dulled and softened by the tea. Then the cooling process begins. With "ice(d) tea," the cooling process seems to have already begun or indeed even already been accomplished as soon as the beverage exists.

One final difference is that "ice(d) tea" has a completely different page (see earlier link) from tea-upon-ice -- logically, then, this in itself proves the two are different.

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