Summer Potion # 9 - Herbal Sun Tea

One non-alcoholic beverage that I love in the summer is iced tea. I am a true Northerner in that I like my tea unsweetened....the brisker the better.

Nothing against you Southerners with your sweet tea. I just like to taste my tea without an overwhelming wave of sweet!

This is a very direct recipe calling for a tea source, an aromatic/flavor enhancer and a sweetener. Recipe should yield about two quarts of tea.

All items in this recipe can be purchased at the local grocer. A few notes:

• You will find cheesecloth most likely in the baking or cooking utensils section
  
  
• While agave syrup is not necessary, if you choose to purchase it will most likely be with other sweeteners
  
  
• The Rooibos tea can be purchased where bulk teas are sold or if you need to you can cut open a few Rooibos tea bags from boxed tea - also sold at your local grocer with boxed teas

The recipe that follows is a great sun tea that allows you to harness the power of the sun to help brew the tea. The five minutes of effort will be well worth the hours of enjoyment at the end product!

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts cold water
• 2 tbsp loose Rooibos tea
• 2 tbsp dried mint
  
• Agave syrup, honey, sugar or Splenda

Process:

1. Place tea and on a square piece of cheesecloth
   
   
2. Tie the cheese cloth into a bundle and tie off with kitchen twine
   
   
3. Place tea bundle in a large glass container and add water
   
   
4. Cover and allow tea to steep in direct sunlight for 2 hours or more
   
   
5. When fully steeped, strain tea and discard solids
   
   
6. Stir in sweetener of choice until fully dissolved - sweeten to taste
   
   
7. Serve tea immediately after sweetening or refrigerate up to 3 days