Well, it is that time of the month again… time for me to share a drink recipe with you! I don’t know how the weather has been in your neck of the woods, but after a month of daily rain, we are getting some HOT summer weather here in St. Louis! SO hot, that I thought it would be nice to share a refreshing COLD drink with you! Have you ever made sun tea? My husband said his mom used to always make it when he was a kid, but for some reason I had never had it before. So, I thought how perfect of a drink this would be for July… sun-brewed ice tea! Ahhhh…
This drink is SO easy to make… I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up three glass mason jars with air tight lids. Then, I had some leftover chalkboard paint and I painted the rims. Then, I labeled each rim in cursive with the type of tea I planned to brew in the jar! Hobby Lobby sells mason jars with chalkboard lids, but they have a hole for a straw… since you need an air-tight lid, it is easier just to make your own lids. Aren’t they the cutest?
Make sure you wash your jars in the dish washer or in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to sterilize.
Be sure to select a few teas for your jars. I selected three different kinds for fun: Earl Grey (my favorite), Vanilla Caramel (my second favorite) and Green Tea. It is fun to try a variety of flavors and if you have kids, they will probably really enjoy the vanilla caramel tea!
You don’t want to set the mason jars on the ground outside, so I set up a little table. I took my daughters craft table and spread some fabric over it to make it look pretty. I then set the jars on the table, with the lids and tea bags.
Put 2-3 tea bags in each mason jar. I put 2 tea bags in and it was plenty!
Fill the jars with distilled water. It is important to use distilled water as a precaution so bacteria (I know, TMI!) does not grow! Water heated by the sun reaches a maximum temperature of 130 degrees – the perfect temperature for bacteria to breed. SO, even though folks have been making sun tea for years without any problem… it doesn’t hurt to use distilled water.
Screw the lids on tight. Now you wait for 2-3 hours while the tea brews under the sunlight in your own backyard! I love how the fabric I used matches the blue and pink flowers in my garden. I didn’t plan that, but it was nice how it worked out for these photos. 🙂
While the tea is brewing away outside, I went inside and got some chores done around the house… and, I looked forward to sipping a nice cold iced tea afterwards!
I let the tea brew for 3 hours. Don’t let it brew any longer, because that can also be a risk for bacteria. Fun stuff, I know… I couldn’t believe how rich the colors looked in the mason jars when I went outside to see how the tea was doing!
I couldn’t wait to take all this amber-colored warm goodness inside to drink up!!!
I poured the tea out of the mason jars into my mason jar glasses with a handle! heehee! I know… I do love mason jars! I then added ice, poured in some tea and added a little sugar. You can also add honey! My kids and I had so much fun trying ALL three flavors (yes, we tried all three in one sitting!). This is so fun to do alone, with your hubs/significant other OR with the kids!
Sorry I didn’t add any cute little garnishes or straws to the drink… I just wanted to drink it up! I’m sure you’ll understand 😉
I hope you enjoyed this drink… next month (August) is my birthday month and I have an EXTRA special drink to share with you that month. Stay tuned!
To see which parties I have linked up with, click HERE.