Sun tea is just about the most simple way to make a summer beverage. Infuse water with flavor in two ways: fresh tea and dried tea. Once you know the steps to making sun tea, the flavor is all up to you and the possibilities are endless!
Fresh Tea
If it’s sunny and you have a bunch of extra herbs, why not make sun tea? Simply snip and wash fresh garden herbs like mint, lemon balm, chamomile and chocolate mint (my all-time fave), and then pack loosely in a jar. Fill with water and leave in the sun for the day. After 6-8 hours, strain the herbs from the tea and compost them. Sweeten tea if desired and serve over ice. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
Dried Tea
This method is even more simple than fresh tea (if you can imagine that!). Add 4-6 tea bags to a 1 quart mason jar, screw on the lid, and set out in the sun. I use some of my favorite teas such as white tea with mint, fennel, ginger, and rooibos. 
DIY VIDEOSYou might like to try your hand at growing a herbal tea garden , or for even more refreshing summertime sips check out this rhubarb lemonade and how to make perfect edible flower ice cubes.
Neat idea! Thanks for sharing with the Delicious Dishes Recipe party this week!
So natural, so easy…sun tea is a new idea for me but it’s so cool. I love who you make it in glass, like it’s rustic.
love sun tea, would it work using ginger root?
Hi Susan, I would think so, but I haven’t tried it. I’ll add a few slices into my next batch now though! Great idea.
I have become obsessed with Lemon Verbena. It is a perennial in our area. I make tea with it fresh from the garden and have recently dried some leaves to compare the difference. It is a light flavor but it smells absolutely wonderful.
Hi Vicki. You’re right, it is sooo good! And good for you. I haven’t compared myself, but I find that dried herbs in general have an earthier flavor than the fresh ones. But I like it! So you get two flavors from the same plant. Keep me updated on how your experiment goes :)
I love your blog! And I love this idea! I have heard of sun tea, but you make it so simple and seem so enjoyable I have to try this too (and cold tea isn’t even my kind of thing! Lol.) My mom loves tea so i’m going to have to try this and see what she thinks. 😄