All you need are fresh herbs, water and sunshine—that's it! There's no real specific recipe for making sun tea other than a few of rules of thumb:
- Use fresh cut herbs from the garden. Be creative and combine your favourites. Give them a rough chop or toss them whole into a glass jar.
- Add water. The herb to water ratio is approximately three cups of herbs to 8 cups of water. Use room temperature or slightly warmed water—filtered or well water tastes best.
- Cover the jar with a lid or a piece of cloth secured with an elastic and leave outside in direct sun for at a good 5-8 hours.
- Strain out herbs, pour your tea into a pretty pitcher, garnish with a few edible flowers and serve over ice. Sweeten to taste with honey, if you like. Sun tea keeps for a day or so in the fridge.
Making herbal sun tea is a lovely process that harnesses the energy of the sun and fresh herbs. Try some of the following brews:
- Mint & lemon balm
- Linden blossoms
- Mint & chamomile
- Lavender, mint & lemon slices
- Rosemary & orange slices
- Rose & chamomile