Hey moms,
Any of you out there make sun tea? Growing up my mom's best friend used to have this big ole pitcher she put out in the sun with tea bags inside and it made lots of tea. I am a tea fanatic and am off soda for a while. I make really yummy decaf tea with herbal flavors to spice it up. But my tea maker only makes 3 quarts and that is gone in about a day around here, plus because I have an electric tea maker I have to fill it with ice and it uses up all my ice. Anyway I would like to make about 5 quarts at a time, does anyone know if a 5 quart sun tea pitcher is available and where I could obtain one? Also, if you are sun tea maker, how do you make yours? Thanks!!
Check at Fiesta Grocery store or any mercado type grocery store. for a 5 quart container..
I like to use 4 tea bags orange pekoe tea bags and 1 "Republic of Tea" Ginger Peach teabag (can be purchased as decaf) for 2 quarts..
If I make it slightly sweet, I only use 1/4 cup sugar.
So for 5 quarts you will want 13 regular sized tea bags in any combination you like..
Check and see if you have an Old Time Pottery in your area.......they have great big jars that would work.........and they are cheap......
Making it depends on what you like......you'll have to experiment to see how many tea bags it will take to make it the way you like it.......read the tea bag box to.....it may tell you how many makes a quart.......
Good Luck and if you don't have an Old Time Pottery in your area, try a canister store......
I make it...not that big of a jar.
Here's a bunch:
Hi Mama!
I LOVE SUN TEA! My mum had this old orange and yellow painted jar that said Sun Tea on it. Finding them is kind of hard, but search e-bay, Walmart, and Target for large jars in the kitchen storage section. Even check antique stores.
What I do- fill it up with water, add all the tea/spices I want, and set it out in the sun during the brightest and hottest part of the day. When the sun sets, bring it in and ice it up!
For days when I can't use nature, I do it in the coffee pot. One really solid, strong pot full makes a load of iced tea. Mine is a 12 cup-er, and I fill the water storage with water, put 6 or more bags in the glass pot, and then press start. The hot water drips into the pot and after sitting for 20 or 30 minutes after the "brewing" process is done, I pour it over a mason jar full of ice and stick a straw in it. I also fill up more ice filled jars and stick them in the fridge. The heat melts the ice and waters down the strong tea just enough, and then I have 4 or so jars of tea. It's not as much as a big pot (which you can do on the stove- a large stock pot), but works in a crunch or for smaller servings. The stock pot is great for larger servings when you can't do the sun tea as well.
Good luck mama!
Enjoy your tea!
-E. M
My dad drinks loads of tea every day. He makes it any season on the stove with a few of those industrial-sized tea bags. Boil water (two quarts? more?), REMOVE FROM HEAT, then add teabags and let steep until (STRONG) tea is cool enough, then add some water and refrigerate. You could keep the water you are going to add in the refrigerator so it is already cold by the time you add to the coolish tea concentrate you made.
Just get any clear glass container with a lid...hang whatever tea bags you like in it (usually 3-5 bags will do it) and put it in the direct sunlight! Very easy, you don't need anything special :) enjoy!!!
P.S. See you are in Houston...you'll want to add about 2 teaspoons of sugar to each glass for sweet tea probably ;-) or 2 tiny scoops of stevia
I found a pretty sun tea jar at Target. It's glass, has a decorative lid and has a nice spigot near the bottom for dispensing. It is pretty enough that I use it for dinner parties. It holds about 1.5 gallons, so it's a little bit hard to move from place to place when it's full.
Just follow the directions the others gave you...tea bags, water, sun. That's all it takes!
