Making sun-tea is one of my favorite summertime rituals. There’s not much as refreshing as a tall glass of iced tea on a hot day, but I prefer to brew my own tea rather than ingest all of the additives found in the range of store-bought cans or bottles available now.
While you may believe you’re making a healthier choice by choosing a tea-based commercial refreshment over a soda pop, this is not necessarily the case. Arizona Tea is one of the biggest culprits because they add high fructose corn syrup (a GMO and artificial sweetener that is not good for your health), and “natural flavors” (which aren’t really “natural”) to their cans of flavored teas. But they are far from the only tea company guilty of this health-claim deception. I could go on and on, but you’d be wise to read the label yourself before reaching for that prepared tea-based beverage.
Making sun-tea ensures the purity of the iced tea my family enjoys so much. When desired by me or the kids, we sweeten it with a splash of cranberry juice in the glass, a dollop of agave nectar, or a sprinkle of Sugar-In-The-Raw.
Sun-tea uses solar power to brew the tea, making it an energy-efficient beverage as well. Here’s how to make it:
1. Fill a glass jar with clean, cold water.
2. Drop in 6 tea bags. This summer I’ve been using 4 bags of decaffeinated black tea and 2 bags of mint tea in each jar and the combination is delicious.
3. Loosely cap the jar and set it in the sun to brew until the liquid is darker and you deem it to be strong enough.
4. Remove the tea bags and squeeze excess liquid into jar.
5. Place jar in the fridge. Dispense and enjoy!
