How Sweet It Is!

"When we sip tea, we are on our way to serenity."
Alexandra Stoddard

Our family LOVES home-brewed sweet tea! In the past, I had normally boiled the tea on the kitchen stove, but everytime I would turn the burner on I would CrInGe. OMGoodness....with as much tea as we drink, there has GOT to be a cheaper way to do this. That is when I started using the microwave, which is a little cheaper, but it still uses electricity.

Well, when the cold weather came (yes, we drink sweet tea all year long here in the South), and I started boiling the water on the top of our wood stove. AWESOME! There is no electricity involved here! Well, that was great while it was cold, but what about now? I don't think I am going to build a fire in my wood stove each day just to make tea! LOL

Well, after doing a lot of thinking, I remembered that my sister, Vickie, used to make SUN TEA. Oh, yeah! That is PERFECT for this frugal female. So, for the past month or so, I have been making SWEET SUN TEA outside and we just LOVE IT!

To make our SUN TEA you will need:

• a one gallon container with lid
• 8 tea bags
• 1 - 1 1/4 cup sugar - depending on your preference of sweetness

In your gallon container, place your tea bags, sugar, and fill with hot water. Stir GENTLY, so you don't rip the tea bags. (I don't know about you, but I don't like tea leaves floating in my sweet tea!) Then place your pitcher out in the sun for it to steep. I can't give you an exact time as people like their tea at different strengths. I keep ours out on the front porch for a few hours as we like it a little on the strong side. REMEMBER to keep a lid on it or you will serving your friendly neighborhood bugs a sweet treat!

As the tea steeps, you can watch the color get darker from the top down. It really is cool to watch! (Hmmmm......could this be a teachable moment on density? You betcha!)

If you try making this tea, won't you please come back and let me know how you like it? We'd love to hear back from you!

Blessings~

Laura