hot oklahoma heat sun tea

the teas freshly in the sun

as i'm sure everyone else is talking about, it's been ridiculously hot here in oklahoma. i've been reading different blogs, and listening to how addicted people become to sun-brewed tea, and since everyday feels a little hotter, i thought that i'd utilize the heat to make my own few jars of tea.

to start the tea off, i gathered three jars from various places in my house to make the tea. jars aren't hard to come by around my house (or my family's for that matter) thanks to the abundance we had at my wedding! the hardest part was probably finding lids.

then i went to my tea cabinet and collected three teas: ugandan black (that my good friend kelsey brought back for me), jasmine green, and zen green (another gift from kelsey). i used two or three tea bags for each jar, depending on the size of the jar, and the initial strength of the teas.

after of 3.5 hours in the oklahoma sun

after filling the jars with water and capping them off, i set them on our front porch so they would have direct sunlight even as the sun went overhead into afternoon.

three and a half hours later, i brought my jars inside. the jars were surprisingly hot from being in the sun for so long, and i guess i should've put one of the lids on more tightly, because one of them was open, and the hot tea dribbled down my front side. the teas were substantially darker thanks to the sun steeping my little teas! the hardest part of this whole process was definitely choosing which tea to try. well, either that or waiting nearly four hours to crack one open.

i opened the zen green (the babiest jar) and poured a glass for tyler and i. i diluted it mildly, not really knowing how strong to expect them to be. after doctoring it up with a little truvia, and some lemon slices, i finally tried a sip.not to my surprise really, it was delicious! so fresh, and maybe a little less strong than usual. which could be due to my dilution or to the sun-brewing process, but either way, it's wonderful. perfect fresh tea for any hot summer day. could only be made more perfect if there was a little rain... but i'm not going to hold my breath.