Beijing Boyce

If you spot The Village Grouch about town on any given afternoon, there is a good chance he will be enjoying an iced tea (or three). I asked this connoisseur to list his top five spots for what he calls the “house wine of the South.”

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“Last summer, quaffers of the liquid respite known as iced tea would have found themselves in Beijing’s Iced Tea Triangle–namely, the Jianguomenwai area with TGI Friday’s, Peter’s Tex-Mex, and Tim’s Texas BBQ. However, in the post-Olympic period, worthy venues offering the House Wine of the South mean we know have more of a Beijing Ice Tea Constellation rather than a simple geometric shape. Here are my picks for Beijing’s best.

“1. Union Bar & Grill (map): The winner, far and away. Great tea, brewed especially to be served cold. Comes with lemon and sugar water, and is bottomless, for 20 kuai. For a chilled afternoon with the laptop, it’s unbeatable. It was Union’s parent company, the Windy City Group, that taught me to love iced tea via their Dan Ryan’s restaurant in Hong Kong, and it’s just as good here.

“2. Peter’s Tex-Mex (map): I abandoned this place quite sometime ago for their inconsistent wireless, but their bottomless iced tea is still superb. It also comes with sugar water and lemon, and is filled consistently by Peter’s friendly staff. Was once my favorite iced tea in Beijing, but in this case, it’s the venue that serves it, not the product itself, that has dragged it down in the rankings.

“3. Tim’s Texas BBQ (map): Tim’s is down to one venue for the moment, but as a true Southerner, he understands the meaning of true iced tea. It makes a nice accompaniment for the barbecue dishes, although actually beer is the best choice for those.

“4. TGI Friday’s (map): There was a time when the bottomless buckets of tea that Friday’s dispensed were unbeatable. Now, they charge 9 kaui per glass, although the staff can often be convinced to refill once for free. It comes with lemon, but Friday’s serves this strange-tasting sugar water, which isn’t really great. They also offer honey, which is good, if you like that taste.

“5. 7-Eleven: The convenience store chain doesn’t make iced tea, but they do sell it in bottles. As such, it is the venue for Suntory’s iced oolong tea with no sugar. You have to really like tea to enjoy this, as the taste is quite strong, but for RMB3.20 per 500 ml bottle, the price is tough to beat and it’s easily accessible.

“P.S. Starbucks’s iced tea is generally crap, although when they do the iced Earl Grey, it’s nice though there’s always too much ice and not enough tea.