I love summer. It's the time where I come to life. All winter I sit inside, cold and lethargic, reading books and sipping tea. I often feel like I'm 80. Or a sloth. And then one day the sun is shining, the air is warm, and I wake up! I have energy, I smile more and just feel happier. I take advantage of the sunny weather and beautiful warm nights.
And this summer is no exception. Which is why I kicked it off with making my first batch of Sun Tea. Fresh iced tea that is easy, fun and environmentally friendly to make. You'll also feel pretty handy that you made it all-natural. If you ask me the tea tastes fresher and more delicious than any store bought tea and you don't have to heat up your kitchen to make it. Plus you can be creative and use fun teas like white peach with mint for a great summer refresher. Enjoy the power of the sun!
Sun Tea Recipe
Courtesy of Simple RecipesMethod:
Put 4 to 6 tea bags into a clean 2 quart glass container. Fill with water and cap. Place outside where the sunlight can strike the container for about 3 to 5 hours. Move the container if necessary to keep it in the sun. Add a few tablespoons of sugar. When the tea has reached its desired strength, remove from sun and put it in the refrigerator. You may or may not want to remove the tea bags at this point. I usually don't.
The tea will probably taste more mellow than what you are used to from using boiling water. The slow seeping has a way of bringing out a slightly different flavor from the tea. Also, because you didn't use boiling water, you should refrigerate the tea and drink it up pretty quickly - a day or two. It will not keep as well as iced tea made from boiling water.
I usually make sun tea with various forms of herbal tea. Sometimes you can put in a few sprigs of fresh mint as well.
I had no idea that slow sleeping would make for a mellow tea. I often don't like the bitter taste associated with some teas, so I'll happily give this a try - that is if Seattle ever has a sunny day. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you... give me summer any day! Here in San Diego we've been struggling with the grey marine layer for the last few weeks. I've got sun peeking through this morning though, and I know it will be out in full force soon. I hear a heat wave is coming and I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteThe tea will go nicely with the heat!!
Hi Mother Rimmy- thank you so much for visiting my blog. I will wish sunny days your way :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kim, I know YOU don't have to worry about lack of sunshine for much longer. Looks like southern California is having a summer this year! :)