I have been in Atlanta for many many moons and only had sweet tea for the first time last month in SC. How did I manage that? Simple, nobody in NYC drinks sweet tea. It's iced iced (baby) for us. One day in SC I bought food @ the local Piggly Wiggly, yea a real name 
and a free tea came w/it. Not being one to pass up a free meal, as the pudge pics painfully prove, I took her up on the offer, took it home and let it sit all by itself as I went on drinking everything else in the house but it.
After 1,000 hours of boredom, I filled up a cup w/ice and poured some of the room temperature tea into it. Interesting taste, I thought, then I had some more.
By the time I got to the end of the 16oz cup, I was hooked. Not hooked enough to go buy more, just enough to make a mental note to give it another try when I got back to the ATL.
Then as I usually do, I forgot all about it. Till last Friday. I was @ my favorite sit down eatery, munching on healthy grub consisting of pasta w/lots of veggies and on a lark instead of my usual lemonade, I got sweet tea.
Now, that free supermarket tea meant well, but it had nothing on this tea. I had to resist the urge to charge my way back to the kegs, thrust my mouth under the spigot and proceed to suckle @ it's sweet teet.
It was just that good.
If you aren't in Atlanta, I'm sorry I can't advise you on where to get your own sweet tea fix. From what I understand for one it's a southern thing and for two, it just depends. I don't want to be disappointed w/bad tea in the future, so I'm sticking to the tea @ my eatery, plus if I have it everywhere I go, it can really turn into a bad addiction now that I find out after all these years of opting for coke, I could've delicious sweet tea instead.
So all I'll say is, if you are ever in Atlanta. Do not get the sweet tea from Piccadilly's. It's mine.
All of it.
Comments: 11
01.30.06 | marta commented: Do you know how hard I worked to shed the sweet tea addiction? Almost a whole year! And now you wax poetic about it, and I'm so close to running down the street for a big ole' cup! But no, I'll control myself...maybe...
01.30.06 | Nicole commented: Dare I say it? Sweet tea is... sweet... meaning quite caloric. Maybe you can have it be a nice occasional treat, but please please please don't get hooked into drinking stuff like this all the time! I know that I would much rather eat my calories than drink them =)
01.30.06 | Alison commented: Yep, you're right that sweet tea is definitely a southern thing. I can't stand it myself. Enjoy your treat, but remember that there's a reason why the obesity epidemic is more pronounced in the south. This might amuse (or terrify) you: http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_US.shtml. Your geography is working against you.
01.30.06 | Queta commented: okay sure
one more thing I'm missing out on by
not living in ATL
I'll just add it to my list of things to experience while there
I miss sun tea..which I think is impossible to make in Seattle. Drop 3-4 Lipton tea bags in a huge jar (usually a cleaned out pickle jar...) screw the lid on and put on your porch or on your brick wall...let it brew in the HOT midday sun..bring it in at dinner time and furiously try to dissolve sugar in it, drop some ice cubes in.ahhhhhh.
01.30.06 | Elaine commented: I'm a native of Atlanta and I adore sweet tea! Piccadilly definitely has the BEST sweet tea in the South. Sure, it may pack some calories but for me, it's worth it! This is making me thirsty...
01.31.06 | Marla commented: "The house wine of the South," I believe it's been called.
I can't STAND sweet tea; I guess that's the Yankee in me. It's so sickly sweet it makes my teeth hurt, it's pure sugar-water. Yuck!
01.31.06 | Kate commented: Next time, try it mixed with the lemonade. Amazing.
And my suggestion for the calorie thing: this isn't AS wonderful, but... try Diet Nestea. And then try mixing it with Diet Minute Maid lemonade.
When I moved from South Florida to North Carolina for college and told someone I'd never heard of sweet tea, they sent me to the nearest Bojangles, saying it's the best sweet tea in the world. I've never seen a Bojangles in Atlanta (still looking) but perhaps the next time you're in South Carolina, there'll be one there... and you can try the best sweet tea in the world. And I'll try Piccadilly.
01.31.06 | kate commented: Oops, forgot. I'll try to make sure I go to one other than yours. All yours.
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Ok, being from Texas, it's pretty inherent that you learn to make 'true' Southern Tea from birth: Soak Tea Bags(Luzianne or Lipton) in pot of water, bring to boil. Add in 1 cup of sugar to boiling water & stir to let sugar dissolve into tea. Pour boiling mixture into tea pitcher & add cold water to fill pitcher up. Seriously, this is a daily habit for most, though I only make it on weekends.