Make Great Summer Sun Tea!

It is that time of year around my house for great summer sun tea. We have experimented a lot over the years and have found this method to be our favorite. Enjoy the summer with this great, no/low calorie thirst quenching drink! Beats soda pops of all kinds hands down.

Things You’ll Need:

• Clear glass jar
• Tea bags of choice
• Sweetener as desired
• Summer sun
• Dry throats

Start with a good size clear glass jar with a cap. You can buy a jar from many sources, or just use something you have around the house. We tried quite a few and we often break them, so we are always buying something new to use. The cap can be a screw down style like a Mason Jar, a plastic pop-on, or just a clean cloth put over it with a string, or rubber band to hold it on. Our latest buy is a favorite and we bought it at Target Stores.

The taste of your tea will vary greatly based upon the water you use and the tea blend you like. I suspect that the sun we use to make our tea will probably be equal to the same one you will get outside. :-)

Fill your jar with the water you like to drink in the first place, drop in your tea bags and set in the direct sun for a minimum of an hour, or more, depending upon the strength of the flavor you like. Experiment with the taste until you get what you like. That is the basic recipe and is one of my favorites.

Luzianne is My Favorite Tea Brand But, there is more and here is where you can experiment and tweak for your personal recipe!

We like unsweetened tea most of the time, but sometimes......... just add sugar. However, here is one of the secrets. Do not add the sugar before you brew. Add it right as you bring it in from the sun so that the heat of the fluid in the jar emulsifies the sweetness to a new kind of taste unlike just adding plain sugar. We also use raw sugar for ours instead of processed sugar. Try other sweeteners if you please, but expect the taste to reflect that.

Everyone will have their favorites tea blends and ours is Luzianne brand. For a gallon size jar we add either, (5) of the standard tea bags, or (3) of the family size tea bags for our tastes.

Another flavor we like is to add a single tea bag of Celestial Seasonings Peach Passion blend to enhance the flavor. Using the Luzianne brand gives an incredibly light, yet tart flavor that hits the spot so well on a hot afternoon. Another flavor we like to add to the base tea is the Rasberry Twist, also from Celestial Seasonings. Mix the Peach Passion and the Rasberry Twist on top of the Luzianne for another taste treat.

Slice an orange, a lemon, a kiwi, or more of the citrus fruits and drop it into your glass just as you pour the tea over ice. Try rasberries, blueberries, blackberries, and just about every other flavor combos you can think of will stimulate your taste buds.

Set out on the deck in the direct sun for at least an hour. More time for increased strength. We usually set ours out at about 10:00AM and leave it there for two hours. Leave the brew in the sun too long and the taste will turn bitter along with becoming very strong.

Bring the tea in. Add sweetener if you prefer, and pour straight into a glass filled with ice. Tip: Use clear high quality ice for the best taste. However, we use the ice from our freezer ice maker, but it leaves an odd taste. We have learned to rinse the ice with water before pouring in the tea.

This process makes an outstanding glass of refreshing sun tea. Enjoy yours!