Friday, September 4, 2015

Squid Drinks: Sun Tea

Mixology has become a big hobby for me over the past several months.  Most of my drinks are alcoholic but my daughter, understandably, gets upset if I don't also occasionally throw something together for her to try.  Fortunately, The New York Bartender's Guide (a gift from a friend back in college) has several non-alcoholic recipes.  Shirley Temple (ginger ale and grenadine) has been her favorite, as it was for me as a kid.  I used to order them at Danny's Spaghetti House in Silver Spring, Maryland.  They called mine a Roy Rogers to spare my masculine dignity.

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.

26 comments:

  1. My Mum always made sun tea.
    I 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

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    1. 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.

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  2. My 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.

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    1. I love the idea of moon tea. Moonlight is quite magical here in winter - probably too cold for brewing, though.

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  3. I haven't made sun tea in a long time, but yes, it is delicious!
    Shirley Temples and Roy Rogers, how cute!

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    1. I always found the distinction a bit silly, to be honest. But it does make for a good story.

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  4. I think "sun tea" has a special flavor, and there is really no explanation for it.

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    1. Sunlight can impact the flavor of other things, too - beer, for instance.

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  5. I'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!

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    1. My 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.

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  6. I'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.

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    1. I'm more of a coffee person but tea is nice from time to time.

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  7. I 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.

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    1. So simple. If you've got a good jar, sunlight and four hours, you're all set.

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  8. For 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.

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    1. My daughter generally likes tea. Somehow this variety didn't work for her. I drank it sweetened at her age but not anymore.

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  9. I've seen this before, but haven't tried it. I do like tea, warm or cold.

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  10. I love tea and would try this mixture to see what it tastes like.

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  11. I'm not a tea drinker, but my family is huge on sun tea--they buy the lipton packets and let it brew.

    I 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!

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    1. 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.

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  12. Love experimenting,..will be trying this out!

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  13. I 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 ;)

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    1. I like doing that, too. Raspberry lime gin rickeys were a recent treat.

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