Recently here in Philly we've had a lot of sun (you know, July), so I revisited something from growing up in Amish country - sun tea. I'm also a recovering alcoholic of 6 years so I always welcome sober beverages other than water and seltzer.
All sun tea requires is tea bags (any kind, ~8 bags per gallon of water), a pitcher (glass preferred), and tepid water. No need to boil the water first - the sun will do all the work.
Stir, cover the pitcher, set outside on a fairly sunny day, and wait. My best results are after 6-8 hours on our deck but I like it strong. Some people only do 2-3 hours - it's personal preference. We also experimented by throwing in canned peaches and leftover blueberries from a party, and both worked very well. Oranges are also popular. Once you're satisfied, bring your tea inside, sweeten with honey, sugar, or whatever you've got on hand to taste and put in fridge to chill.
For super cheap, this yields gallons of a great summer beverage that uses all these random tea bags we've accumulated over the years, and we control the sugar content. Some of our best sun tea has come from throwing random types of tea bags in and enjoying the result. Have fun with it!
July 18, 2021 at 09:16AM
