Wonder Wednesday 151: Sun Tea
Sun Tea? I haven't heard that in a while!
That is what my neighbor replied when I asked if I could borrow some rosemary to make sun tea. I was pleased as punch with that response, because I think we could all use a little dose of nostalgia at the moment - a time out, sensory trip back, to syrupy slow sunny days where not a care in the world could penetrate our bubble.
Enter - sun tea! Back when, a pitcher of sun tea was a regular thing to see brewing out in the sunshine. With hurried life, out the window went the time & the inspiration to make sun tea - or so it seems.
But the thing is, sun tea is actually so easy to make! It's the original "set and forget" kind of recipe! This project was inspired by my dad, because he is extremely busy (and not the most eco, relaxed, or "slow food" type person in town by any means), but the one thing he does love do that is all these things is make sun tea on the weekend.
The sun is shining, the days are longer, & summer's waiting in the wings, so say goodbye to gross (enviro terrible) k-cups & pods, pots on the stove, & microwaves! The sun is all the energy we need to make our refreshing beverages!
What if I don't have a yard or garden?
No biggie! You don't need it. If you have a balcony or a very sunny window that is all you need.
If you don't have a sunny window, you can still make "shade" tea (aka an infusion) it will just take about 12-18 hours, so make it an overnight project.
What if I don't drink black tea?
Also no problem! You can make sun tea with white or green tea. Or you can make totally caffeine free herbal sun tea. I recommend adding dried herbal tea along with any fresh herbs you choose to get a stronger flavor.
Wonder Wednesday 151: Sun Tea!
Materials
Dried Tea - bags, loose leaf, black, green, white, decaf, herbal.... what ever you like.
Fresh herbs - any sort you like. (I used rosemary & yarrow, but think any of the mints, lemon balm, lemon grass, basil...)
Fresh Water
A clean clear glass pitcher
Spoon
Direct sunlight for 6+ hours
Optional - herbal flowers, honey, ice, sugar
Procedure
Sun Tea is absurdly easy to make and only takes minimal preparation.
The main thing to remember is that if you are using garden herbs, wash them throughly. No one wants dirt or little bugs in their tea!
Scope out your super sunny location. Ideally south facing & getting as many hours of sun as possible. Ideally sun tea wants a minimum of 6 hours of direct full sunlight.
I always recommend using organically grown & fairly/directly traded teas of all types.
I also recommend never using tea bags that are plastic or not good old fashioned paper.
Pick and wash any fresh flowers &/or herbs that you will use in the sun tea just before you are ready to brew.
Why do I always recommend using organically grown & fairly/directly traded teas?
Well "regular" tea, aka any leaves white green or black from the plant Camellia sinensis (as well as most herbal teas), are picked, dried, and packaged for consumption. They are not washed/rinsed prior to drying because wetting the dry leaves would miss the point!
That's what the consumer does when they brew the tea!
So if the growing plant has been sprayed with chemicals, their residue will be on the surface of the leaves along with anything else that fell or was deposited there by insects, and end up in the tea along with all the good stuff. So make sure those leaves are free from potentially harmful chemicals so we don't add another weight to our body's environmental load.
Why fairly/directly traded? Because that means that the farmers and harvesters have been paid a fair wage and treated with dignity and safer working conditions and we all want to do our part to make sure everyone is safe, healthy, and treated with equity. Many tea harvesters are women who support their entire families with their wages.
Procedure
Fill a very clean glass pitcher with water.
Add the fresh herbs
Add the tea bags
Stir, making sure all the herbs and tea bags are saturated and submerged into the water (Even if they are floating at the top make sure they are all wet.)
Let it soak up the sunshine & brew away!
Check the brew and stir every couple hours if you like. I think this is fun and children do too. It builds sensorial suspense.
Or set it to brew & leave it. Stir it when you get home or get around to it.
After 6 hours in the full direct sunshine (this may be more if you are in northern latitudes) taste test your sun tea.
If you like it, it's ready! If you want it stronger, let it brew longer.
This is totally a matter of personal taste or may depend on the strength of the sun.
When you like it, remove the tea bags and herbs. Make sure you get all bits of plant out of the tea.
Let the tea cool indoors or in the shade. It's amazing how hot the tea gets just from the sun!
Of if you want warm tea, have a nice cup of tea!
Add any sweetener to taste while warm.
When ready, serve over ice.
Dress it up with edible flowers if you like. I used yarrow flowers since yarrow was in my tea.
Tip - If you add ice to hot fresh brewed "real" Camellia sinensis tea right away, the tannins in the tea may bind with the caffeine and make it look cloudy. While not super pretty, this is not harmful to drink. Allowing the tea to cool down helps avoid this effect.
Store in the fridge (this may cause some cloudiness also).
Drink sun tea within 24 hours.
Seeds to Sprout!
Hummingbird Juice Mocktail
This Wonder Wednesday 129 project gets our garden party vibes really going and makes a super compliment to sun tea! You could even brew the sorrell tea in this project as sun tea if you really want to be solar powered!
Violet Syrup
Wonder Wednesday 94 can offer you some super spring color to add to your sun tea! Make your own violet syrup - and if you add lemon you'll get a surprise!
Wind Painting
When you tire of flying kites this spring, put the wind to creative use in your nature journal with this Wonder Wednesday 140 paint with the wind project! It's an abstract endeavor inspired by the artist Paul Klee.