This week's experiment was sun tea:
- 2 tbsp loose tea (Kusmi's Anastasia)
- 30 oz water
- peel of one lemon
Put it all in a covered glass jar, set it in direct sunlight for 4 hours.
Before:
After:
Garnish with lemon. Add sugar to taste.
(Recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide, ed. Sally Ann Berk)
I was impressed by how warm the jar was after four hours. The tea was good. My wife and I took ours with lemon, my daughter (aka The Purple Penguin) took sugar. The Penguin didn't care for it, unfortunately. I finished hers and while I'm not always a fan of sugar in tea, it did a nice job of bringing out the spiciness in this case.
I don't know if I'd try this again but it was certainly easy. If I do, I'd likely try a different variety of tea.
My Mum always made sun tea.
ReplyDeleteI do not know how the tea you use tastes but sometimes the most simple teas make the best sun teas.
Japanese son sends me some tea that the monks make and it is just smooth and not over powering.
And since I don't drink, I like Shirley Temples !
My new favorite is ginger ale and lime.
cheers, parsnip
The tea I used was fine but experimenting would be fun. We're generally coffee people but we have a decent collection of teas. There's a Kusmi shop in Montreal we visit from time to time. I grew up with lots of Celestial Seasonings in the house. Red zinger was great for iced tea and I imagine it would be good for sun tea, too.
DeleteMy wife introduced me to sun tea 45 years ago but, as the family grew numerous and busier, she often forgot and left it outdoors all night. Kids and I devised the name "moon tea" to describe it --a bit strong, but potable and full of flavor.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of moon tea. Moonlight is quite magical here in winter - probably too cold for brewing, though.
DeleteI haven't made sun tea in a long time, but yes, it is delicious!
ReplyDeleteShirley Temples and Roy Rogers, how cute!
I always found the distinction a bit silly, to be honest. But it does make for a good story.
DeleteI think "sun tea" has a special flavor, and there is really no explanation for it.
ReplyDeleteSunlight can impact the flavor of other things, too - beer, for instance.
DeleteI'll have to try this tea! I don't drink alcohol anymore, so I'm glad you had a non-alcoholic recipe! I also haven't had a Shirley Temple in years, either, and I need to make one!
ReplyDeleteMy recipe involves more ingredients than one truly needs: ginger ale, grenadine, lemon juice and sugar syrup. The first two are essential, the last two less so. Growing up, the maraschino cherry garnish was an important element of the experience.
DeleteI've tried making Sun Tea before but I'm not a big tea drinker so it didn't do much for me. It's a shame to waste the Arizona sun though.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a coffee person but tea is nice from time to time.
DeleteI enjoy tea of many varieties, but this one has eluded me. I've heard of it for sure, just never tried it. Since it's no simple, I may give it a go.
ReplyDeleteSo simple. If you've got a good jar, sunlight and four hours, you're all set.
DeleteFor a while I made sun tea, but I generally steep it in boiling water (which I obtain by boiling 2 cups in the microwave), steeping 4 bags of tea and adding water to make a half gallon. Although I am Southern, I drink unsweetened tea and have since high school.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter generally likes tea. Somehow this variety didn't work for her. I drank it sweetened at her age but not anymore.
DeleteI've seen this before, but haven't tried it. I do like tea, warm or cold.
ReplyDeleteMe, too!
DeleteI love tea and would try this mixture to see what it tastes like.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will.
DeleteI'm not a tea drinker, but my family is huge on sun tea--they buy the lipton packets and let it brew.
ReplyDeleteI always thought a Shirley Temple was Seven Up and grenadine--it's how we always made it. (our restaurants called them Kiddie Cocktails)
I do enjoy the mixology reports...I'm an experimental mixologist since I rarely have soda in the house and have to improvise when it comes to mixing a drink.
Hope you're having a lovely holiday weekend!
There's no reason one couldn't use 7Up instead, though I do like the bite from the ginger. My recipe calls for lemon juice and sugar syrup. One could use 7Up as a substitute for those, too.
DeleteLove experimenting,..will be trying this out!
ReplyDeleteLet me know how it goes.
DeleteI like mixing up new drinks too, and love having a signature cocktail for all the parties I host, pairing it with whatever theme we're doing. I don't have much use for the non-alcoholic variety though ;)
ReplyDeleteI like doing that, too. Raspberry lime gin rickeys were a recent treat.
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