AMISH COUNTRY, RECIPES

Make Sun Tea: Simple, No-Work Refreshment

Make Sun Tea: Simple, No-Work Refreshment
With classy stainless steel straws, you'll never have to waste money on disposable plastic straws again.
With classy stainless steel straws, you'll never have to waste money on disposable plastic straws again.

You know all those things we country folks have grown up doing, that when we mention to a city (or even suburb) person they look at us cross-eyed? Well, making sun tea is one of those things. It's so simple, and yet many people have never done it. So for all my world-travelling, academia-dwelling, urbanly-hip friends, HERE is the easiest way to make iced tea:

Sun Tea

You need:

  • glass jar with tight-fitting lid
  • your favorite tea bags (with or without strings)
  • water
  • a sunny day
Jazz up water or homemade iced tea (after brewing and chilling) by adding fresh fruit and mint leaves. Canning jar mugs, set of 4, at lehmans.pro and our store in Kidron, Ohio.
Jazz up water or homemade iced tea (after brewing and chilling) by adding fresh fruit and mint leaves. Canning jar mugs, set of 4, at lehmans.pro and our store in Kidron, Ohio.

Yep, that's it. Here's how:

Fill your container with fresh, cold water, almost up to the top. Place 2-3 tea bags in jar. If they have strings, hang them over the side of your jar. Place the lid on top and carry it outside. Put the jar in a sunny place such as your deck, patio, on top of a picnic table, etc. - and walk away! I like to do this around 11 a.m. or noon, when the sun is almost at its highest.

In 2-4 hours, depending on how hot the sun is, your tea will be "sun-brewed" to your desired strength.

Bring the jar inside, remove tea bags and stir in your favorite honey, raw sugar or other sweetener. Refrigerate until tea is cold, then serve.

I like to use an old-fashioned half-gallon glass milk jug for my sun tea, but any large glass container would do - a large canning jar or juice jar with lid work well.

PLEASE NOTE: You do not want to use plastic. Warm plastic = possibility of toxins leaching into your tea. Not good.

This is a super-simple way to make great iced tea during the hottest summer days when you don't want to heat up your stovetop. Just let the sun do all the work. Enjoy!

Still thirsty? Check out our selection of coffees, teas, soda pop and other refreshments.

Make Sun Tea: Simple, No-Work Refreshment

Sarah Nussbaum

Ingredients

  • Fresh, cold water

  • 2–3 tea bags

  • Honey, raw sugar, or other sweetener (optional)

Instructions

  1. Fill a glass jar with fresh, cold water, almost to the top.

  2. Place 2–3 tea bags in the jar.

  3. If the tea bags have strings, hang them over the side of the jar.

  4. Place a tight-fitting lid on the jar.

  5. Set the jar outside in a sunny location.

  6. Allow the tea to brew in the sun for 2–4 hours, depending on desired strength.

  7. Bring the jar inside.

  8. Remove the tea bags.

  9. Stir in honey, raw sugar, or another sweetener if desired.

  10. Refrigerate until cold.

  11. Serve and enjoy.

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Sarah Nussbaum

Sarah Nussbaum

Sarah Nussbaum is an Ohio-based writer, wife, mom of four children, and aspiring homesteader. She enjoys singing, baking, gardening, home preserving and projects around her family’s 180-year-old farmhouse.

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