I bet those stats are tea tea, not counting herbal tea. And the vast majority of consumed tea leaves by weight, in the US, almost certainly go to iced tea, not hot tea as is common in other countries. (I guarantee "tea-drinking in the southern US" is more than 95% consumed-cold "sweet tea" or iced tea; even if you make that yourself—and it's very, very cheap to buy pre-made—it's about as easy to do it in a pot on the stove as to use a kettle)
> I bet those stats are tea tea, not counting herbal tea.
I think you're right. There is a table showing the popularity breakdown of the different types of tea, including herbal, but I think that's the global breakdown, not US.
It didn't provide a stat for it, but the page does remark that the majority of black tea consumed in the US goes to making iced tea.
