You know how there are some things you remember from your childhood that are really simple but for some reason created these lasting memories?
That’s how it is for me and sun tea. I remember making sun tea as a kid using bags of tea, fresh mint from the garden, and the iconic tea pitcher that would sit on our back porch just soaking up the sun. We would pick the mint that grew in the garden bed near our garage, the mint never failed and grew hardy and strong year after year. I realize now that mint never seems to have a hard time growing, I planted some last year and it came back nice and strong this year. I might have to keep an eye on it actually since it has the potential to take over my raised bed.
I was itching to make sun tea but I needed to find the right container for it. Ideally, I would have liked to use a glass pitcher or jar but I have a little toddler who has a knack for finding the fragile things and making them no more. I wasn’t willing to take any chances so I went with the plastic pitcher. I found this one at HomeGoods if you are looking for something similar. Bonus: it comes with a spout. The one we had as kids had a spout as well, it was one where you had to push down a little button. Those vintage sun tea jars actually still exist if you do a google search .
The nice thing about sun tea is you really can make it however you like. Take any tea you like, throw it in there with water and just let it brew. I went with a caffeine free option so I could drink it at any time of day but if you want to use a caffeinated tea go for it.
The tea I brewed wasn’t crazy strong which is exactly what I was looking for. You can always enhance the flavor with simple syrup or flavored syrup (like I did) and fruits or herbs or let others assemble the tea however they prefer. This is just one of those staples you want in your fridge over the course of the summer and maybe, like it did for me, it will become one of those things that becomes a family tradition.
Sun-Brewed Iced Peach Tea
Ingredients
- 6-8 Bags of tea (Peach or other flavor)
- 1 Handful of fresh mint leaves (1/2 Cup)
- Water
- Peach flavored syrup (optional)
- Frozen peach pieces
- Lemon slices
- Mint
Instructions
- Place tea bags and mint in the container.
- Fill with water and place outside in a sunny spot.
- Let tea sit for several hours, the longer it sits the better!
- Remove the tea bags and mint.
- Serve with a little bit of peach flavored syrup or a plain simple syrup, frozen peach pieces, lemon, and mint springs.
