Cooking 101: How To Make Sun Tea

Everyone craves an icy cold drink when the temperatures start to creep up into the triple digits. Let’s be honest, grabbing a sugary soda is probably one of your worst options. My son was addicted to sugary sweet drinks and this healthy sun tea ended up being my solution to weaning him off his sugar laden soda addiction.

Years ago Teresa, a co-worker gave me a tea bag of Good Earth Sweet & Spicy tea. That little tea bag changed my tea loving life. Seriously! No joke. Thank you Girlfriend!!!

It’s a caffeine free, naturally sweet herbal tea. It’s packed with cinnamon and orange flavors that make it taste sweet but with absolutely no sugar needed. I quickly became addicted to it and I’ve been brewing it for years. It’s delicious both hot or cold, which means you can enjoy it year round. Enjoy it hot when it’s cold outside. It will warm you from the inside out with its cinnamony goodness. Pour it over ice for a refreshing, thirst quenching libation during the hot days of summer.

Your’e going to love how easy this is to make. I remember making sun tea when growing up, it was a thing back in the 70’s but it fell out of favor over the years for some unknown reason. I think we should bring it back in a big way!

Start by filling a large clear pitcher or glass drink dispenser with hot tap water. I have a glass drink dispenser that will hold 2 gallons of water so I make a batch of sun tea about once a week. It seemed like I was making tea every other day when I only made it by the pitcher so I upgraded to a larger drink dispenser. It lives on my kitchen island all summer long. The recipe is easy to scale down if you don’t have a container to hold as much and it’s easily adjusted, depending on how strong you like your tea. Use these measurements as a guide and adjust accordingly.  

Add tea bags to the water, making sure to submerge them in the water. Ten tea bags brews a tea that’s just the right strength for our taste. We enjoy a pretty strong tea. Try it with fewer bags if you don’t like your tea as strong.

TIP: make sure you use a clear pitcher or dispenser with a lid to keep critters out and so the sun can work its magic and turn the water into tea. If your container doesn’t have a lid just cover the top with a piece of plastic wrap.

Set your pitcher or dispenser outside in full sun.

Allow the tea to steep for 6-8 hours in full sun or until the water turns a deep, dark golden honey color.

Squeeze out water from the tea bags and discard them.

Tea can remain on the counter, covered for up to a week, or longer if stored in the fridge. 

Serve tea over ice with a slice of lemon or a sprig of fresh mint. Sweeten tea with some sugar if desired, but you won’t need it with this herbal tea. It’s naturally sweet and oh so yummy!

If you’re trying to break yourself or your kids from a soda sugar habit, this refreshing sun tea may just be the answer. Give it a try. You really can’t go wrong. It’s a healthy alternative to sugary drinks. Its one of the easiest things you can make; the sun does all the work for you, and it’s absolutely delicious! It might just qualify as the perfect summertime beverage.

Did You Make This?

Be sure to snap a pic and tag it @naturewayblog I love, love, love hearing from my readers!  Don’t forget to leave a comment and a review below, and tag me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, or TWITTER!

May I ask a small favor?  If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page?  It lets me know what you are enjoying the most.  It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial for you, my readers.  And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way.  Thank you!

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!