Sun Tea

We had a thunderstorm the other night — lightning, thunder, and heavy rain! It was lovely. But by 8:00AM the next morning, the only evidence of the earlier tempest was the slightly damp ground.

The cloudless sky, the warm sun, and slight breeze made it the perfect weather for a batch of “sun tea”.

I’m originally from rural southeast Nebraska but my husband is from Lincoln, Nebraska; home of The University of Nebraska and Cornhusker football, Valentino’s Pizza, Runza, The Mill, and The Green Gateau (the last two are relevant to this post).

The Green Gateau is a cute little bistro in downtown Lincoln and one of their signature beverages is a strawberry-apricot tea — iced in the summer and hot during the winter.

If you want to buy loose leaves to make at home, you can find “Green Gateau” at The Mill. (Trevor’s parents still live in LNK and gave us this bag at Christmas!)

I keep the aforementioned tea in this antique, airtight tin. This isn’t necessary to the tea making process of course but the enameled flowers are so pretty I had to show it off.

The first time I ever went to an IKEA (five years ago?) I bought their French press. I have used it to make coffee but I actually prefer a pour-over method for coffee making. I’ve found a French press works really well for loose leaf tea and the clear glass container is perfect for sun tea. (I’ve even thrifted a mini one for individual cups of tea!)

Don’t steep tea for longer to make it stronger — this actually makes the tea bitter. For stronger tea, add more tea leaves!

We left this batch in the sun for just under three hours (that’s when the lawn maintenance folks came through and we had to “save” it from grass clippings!)

I poured the steeped tea into this vintage lemon jug and placed it in the fridge to chill. It’s best to drink it within 24 hours so it doesn’t get moldy.

Love and taste (and tea!)

K