Why Is Sweet Tea So Expensive?

I have asked myself this question so many times, and yet I cannot gather an answer that makes sense. It seems like in the past few years, tea has gotten almost unaffordable to order at a restaurant. In many cases, if there is a beer special, it is cheaper to have a beer!

For example, I went out to eat the other night at BW3's. My wife ordered a sweet tea, and I of course had two beers because if I am going to spend money on something other than water, it is going to have alcohol. Her tea cost around $2.20 plus tax. Prior to eating my wings I ordered, I ate a salad. The side salad was only $2.99. For an extra 80 cents, as opposed to only getting a few glasses of colored water with a little sugar, I got a salad with crips iceburg lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, croutons, bacon bits, and ranch dressing. Let's think about that. A cow had to be raised to produce milk so we could have the cheese and ranch. A pig had to be raised so we could have the bacon. Multiple farmers had to grow the lettuce, onion, and tomato, and all were probably shipped separately on transport trucks. The tea is one plant that is dried and tied into a small pouch that heated water passes over and then they add a little sugar. How could these two products cost the same?

As for me, I will never drink tea again as I refuse to pay over two dollars for colored sugar water.