If my mom liked something, she went all in. She had collections that would have challenged the Smithsonian. Beanie Babies, Spode china, Brownware, cut glass, Santa Clauses, pumpkins, witches, rabbits…anything holiday related, really.
And if she thought you liked something, she'd get it to give to you. In multiple. One Christmas I got 4 pairs of Jellies, a brand of shoe in fashion at the time after I had mentioned in passing that they were cute! I learned to watch saying I liked anything around her.
So it was no surprise that after she was introduced to "sun tea," it became a big thing.
Texas is Southern, therefore iced tea is considered a staple food and flows in every household and establishment. Many folks like it sweetened, but my mom was an iced tea purist. She took hers straight.
Usually, she relied on Lipton Iced Tea, a powder that made instant iced tea. Mix in some scoops. Add ice, and maybe a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon, and you had a delightful beverage to cool off from those humid Houston summer days. No one was making hot tea. Got the kitchen too hot.
Then, one day, some DIY crafty friend introduced her to sun tea.
My mother's life was transformed!
She began buying Lipton tea bags! And a big plastic gallon jar.
To make sun tea: Throw some tea bags in the water, screw on the top, leave the jar in the sun, and voila! Delicious brewed tea ready to become iced tea!
She thought it was the greatest thing. (And you know what? It really did taste pretty darn good.) I remember playing in the yard, running around the strategically-placed-in-the-yard sun-tea-in-the-making jugs many a hot Texas day only to find in the fridge by evening and in glasses on the table at dinner.
At a certain point, those jugs stopped being planted in our yard. Perhaps she lost interest, on to the next big thing. Or maybe, if I recall, she had to stop the tea-drinking altogether because of all the caffeine.
I wonder if anybody makes iced tea that way anymore.
Maybe I will find a patch of sun (on the fire escape?) and make some sun tea in her honor. But it'll have to herbal Roobius…
Wonderful article! I love sun tea. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! It is still being made. That makes me π
LikeLiked by 1 person
OH absolutely, I just made some a couple weeks ago, 100%! Love sun tea!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay!! Of course you make sun tea!π
LikeLike
Enjoyed your memories. (Seems I was served sun tea once and that it had something special about it.)
Was first introduced to iced tea when visiting relatives in Oklahoma at age 7. It was what everyone drank, even the little kids.
Can’t handle the caffeine myself anymore either. Now it’s chamomile or ginger.
Thanks for the nostalgic trip! ππ₯π₯
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, kids totally drank it too! Mmmm. Ginger tea. Herbal teas are my one remaining pleasure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here, when it comes to drinking anything besides water. Good for cookie dunking. πͺ
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can relate. Once my mom found out about Rhino, I was inundated with rhinos in every shape, material, and form.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Frogs on my end. So sweet, really.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post. We used to make sun tea in NM when we lived there over 20 years ago for a year. It worked well, too. Haven’t done it in Hawaii, though now you remind me … π
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe it is time…
LikeLiked by 1 person