Let’s start with what we already know… DO NOT SWAP SUN TEA WITH YOUR DAILY CONSUMPTION OF WATER… If you’re reading this right now, go grab a fresh glass of Raleigh Water. Go on… I’ll wait. *sip sip*
North Carolina is experiencing a heatwave this week… and the City of Raleigh is sweating right along with our neighbors. While we love the summertime and realllly can’t complain about the sunshine it’s time to take advantage of all those rays and make some sun tea!
Please keep in mind… no one here went to culinary school but, we do have a background in trial and error and water!
What you’ll need:
- A large glass container
- Tea bags (any flavor or brand of tea you prefer)
- Sweetener (if you prefer your tea sweet – it could be honey or sugar)
- Raleigh Water (because we want it to taste good, duh!)
Fill your jar up with water (hate to say it again, Raleigh Water is a must). Depending on the size of your container use roughly 8 tea bags per gallon of water. Then unwrap your tea bags and place them in the water. “Flavortown” here we come! You can use any brand or mix them up; whatever you can find in the back of your pantry is sure to be spectacular. Now put the lid back on the jar and set it in the direct sunlight.
(Here’s the win – the hotter the temperature outside the less time it takes for the tea to steep.) This will usually take about 2-3 hours. In the heat Raleigh is experiencing right now, maybe give the sun tea a taste test after an hour.
Then you’re free to slowly add in your sweetener to your desired level of… let’s call it “southern charm.”
TA-DA! Raleigh Water sun tea! Bonus points your house will stay cooler because you’re not heating it up with a stovetop.
Enjoy!