I have always been a lover of iced tea. My kids will testify they were weaned on iced tea.
Tea connoisseurs will contend the only way to make good iced tea is to brew it first in boiling water, let it steep, then cool and pour over ice.
My favorite way to make tea is to put some tea bags in big jug of water, put it out on the deck under the hot sun and make sun tea. The tea has a chance to steep slowly as it sits all day in the sun, creating a full, rich flavor. I like to see the color of the tea slowly swirl in the water, almost like watercolor, getting darker as the day progresses. Warmed only by the sun, the tea cools quickly over ice cubes.
Over the years my kids got used to seeing a jug of tea “brewing” on the porch, or patio on summer days. A couple of times they have given me iced tea makers, which I eventually wore out. In Iowa I couldn’t make sun tea in winter, and because I was a busy mom with no patience or time to brew hot tea to make iced tea, I would resort to instant tea, which lacks the charm, not to mention the taste, of sun tea.
Living in Southern California now allows me to make sun tea all year ‘round. I usually make black tea, my favorite, but sometimes I enjoy a peach or raspberry flavor, just for a change of pace. A chilled glass with lots of ice, no sugar, and perhaps a wedge of lemon, makes for a refreshing drink on a hot day - or any day for that matter.
Sun tea suits my taste and my lifestyle. I travel though life at a much slower pace these days and don’t mind letting the tea steep all day. In fact, I often forget it until the next morning.
Forgotten sun tea - kissed by moonlight.
Sun and moon tea - delightful.
Cheri Cabot
Cheri is a single, freelance writer living in Southern California. She has two grown children, one in Iowa and one a recent graduate of Columbia University, and is the proud grandmother of two. Cheri is also a purveyor of fine coffee, warm chatter and dry wit.
You can find Cheri’s home page at www.ccabot.gather.com
Her weekly political column “Personal About Politics”, can be found at www.personalpolitics.gather.com.
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Comments: 35
Moon tea... how nice that sounds! :) I too love sun tea also! And, you're correct about instant tea! It does like the quality of loose tea.
Sounds delicious !
YUM YUM YUM YUM !!!!!!
I have never heard of doing that, but it makes so much sense! I can't wait to try it for myself when we move to Florida in the fall. Thanks! :)
sounds good i like tea
I grew up with my mom making sun tea in big glass jugs. There was no such thing as instant tea. It makes the best tea!
kissed by moonlight - SWEET!!
I make sun tea too, but I add a sprig or two of mint and a half lemon. It alwaystastes good over ice - thanks for this - nice!
ahhh yes, fresh mint is always a nice touch.
One can actually make "moon tea" by putting the tea bags in the same milk jug filled with water and putting it in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. It is a bit weak for my taste, but some people like it.
But does not have near the charm, my friend.
I love sun tea.
Nice tutorial on tea-making. I recently found a tea I love and can be bought in the grocery store (at least here in Fla.) It's GOOD EARTH Chai Tea - Black tea and spices.
I would have thought the tea would go bad if left out overnight? No?
http://www.paintings-prose-palmbeach.com
There is really nothing to go bad. It's tea bags in water.
Great "How To" Cheri & I love sun tea! However, I don't use a plastic jug, only glass for me.
Glass is a bit dangerous around my cats. They like to knock over anything in glass ....especially anything I am drinking in a glass. I don't relish the idea of sweeping up a big broken glass jug off the driveway....but I know glass is better.
You just need to convince your cats that they're dogs. Then they'll behave! My son had a cat that he called "Jethro-dog".
Oh yes, I could see the kitty kat kritters doin' that! I just don't like the heat o' the sun baking the plastic into my tea...I don't drink out of cans either, nutso I s'pose.
Oh, I know about the plastic & cans but I rarely drink soda, and when I do it's usually a fountain soda. I just don't really care for soda. I'm an iced tea, coffee, or water kinda gal. So, I figure I can fudge using plastic to make my tea since I use glass or ceramics to drink my drinks.
Cheri ~ What a GREAT ARTICLE. I truly needed to KNOW about Sun and Moon Tea ~ L O L.
WE thank you for sharing these tips. This is FEATURED in Artistic Minds.
I love sun tea and make it often here in the summer. There is nothing quite like the taste of it compared to other ways of making it. I will resort to boiling the water and making it that way when I must, but summer days are filled with sun tea in my family. Thanks for sharing and peace.
Absolutely!
I have a 2.5 gal. glass jug with a spigot--each year I pull it out and sit it in the window. That is my "Sun Tea" maker and I fill the ice trays with tea, freeze and throughout the summer that is how I enjoy my tea. I do not care for lemon, I do use lime though--it has a cleaner taste to me and most folk in the Caribbean use lime the way we use lemon, I tried it and yes, it suites my taste.
I have found that at any time, from the jug, I can draw off some tea and add fresh crushed mint, for company I add a leaf of mint in each ice cube section--so good and my friends think I worked quite hard. :+)
Great post Cheri!
To me tea is hot and dark and smells like the green vales of Himalayas. But I love to have your Sun and moon tea in this particular afternoon of heatwave.
sense and sensibility
Sun tea was popular here about 30 years ago. I sometimes pick some mint and/or basil leaves from plant which have spread over our backyard, drop them in boiling water but remove from the heat and let it steep. I have not tried that iced but I like iced tea as long as there's no sweetener added. Lemon is nice.
Wow, what a great memory. I haven't made sun tea since my twenties. LOL
I'm going to revisit it this summer, now. Thanks Cheri!
I too grew up on sun tea in Southern Arizona, where we had plenty of solar exposure to "brew" as you do, all year round. There's something kind of wonderful about channeling the very same energy source that generates the thirst we have tea in the first place. It parches us, and brews our favorite thirst-aid, all at once. I'll have to try the black tea.
This is a great way to enjoy iced tea, but I do echo the concerns about using a plastic jug, especially if it gets warm/hot to the touch.
Cheri, I love suntea! I thought I was the only person on earth who still did this! I enjoy it so much, I love how it brews, the colors, the taste... everything! Such a great post :-)
thanks!
So true. Tea and nerd ropes go good together.
Oh so true. Two of my personal favorites!
(you goof ball)
I have not known anyone to fall ill from drinking sun or moon teas, but it is best to brew tea hot before icing as it prevents the growth and culturization of microorganisms.
http://www.tea-guy.com