This is something my Mom found in a thrift store once upon a time and we just recently found it when emptying another box I had put in the barn.
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| Vintage Solar Tea jar |
Has anyone ever made the Southern treat "Sun Tea"? It's made by steeping tea bags in a jar (usually a gallon) of water in the sunshine. The sun heats the water and steeps the tea. It really does taste different.
Well this is a glass jar and dates from the 1970's. It's pretty neat. It's a round bubble shaped glass jar and all the parts fit into the top just like this for storage. This has obviously never been used.
Here are the different tops all spread out...it even has the original instructions!
The first part is the domed lid that allows sunshine to come in through the top as well. Pretty neat.
The other part is an actual pour spout. You just unscrew the ring, remove the dome lid and replace with the spout and screw the ring back down.
Can't wait to use it when it gets hotter. It will be nice to have a glass of cold sun tea after I finish mowing.
There is some controversy about Sun Tea and its potential dangers. I can say I had it for years growing up and never had an issue. But if you do make it, you must follow some safety protocols. The big worry is that it doesn't get hot enough in the sun to kill bacteria found in tea leaves as opposed to boiling water in a tea kettle. After some research, the two things you need to do are sterilize the jar before using (running through a dishwasher cycle works) and then pour boiling water over the tea bags and let sit for about 5 minutes. This makes sure any bacteria present is killed (since sun won't heat it to boiling). The pour it all into the jar and let the sun do the rest of the process. Need to do some more research on that but hey, people have been doing it for decades, and they haven't "banned" them yet so as with anything, follow the rules.
What a cool looking Sun Tea jar.
ReplyDeleteI make Sun Tea every summer and put a couple of sliced lemons in with mine, plus I also use filtered water and not faucet water. I set my jar right where it gets the West,Hot afternoon sun
Thanks for the info. Good idea on filtered water and the lemons are a good idea. Plus you're right it needs the hottest, most direct sun.
DeleteAnother great find - this time from your own box of surprises! What a great reminder of your mom and your childhood.
ReplyDeleteIt is. Thank you. As I organize the barn and start unpacking more things, no telling what I'll find, ha.
DeleteI never had ill effects from sun tea.
ReplyDeleteThanks!! Same here. It's just if you google sun tea, you might think you'll die at any moment. ha.
DeleteWhat a nice surprise and memory of your childhood.
ReplyDeleteI would be concerned about the health risks of old clear plastic exposed to sun and heat, I am sure you could make this idea work with a glass container and an upturned glass bowl or saucer for a lid, it's also a better conducter of heat than plastic.
Have fun experimenting.
Hmmm, thanks for this, I never thought about that. I'll see what I can find. Great suggestion.
DeleteI whole heartedly agree with Abbeysmum. Put that one up for an artifact and enjoy looking at it. Your mother would want you to be safe.
ReplyDeleteAt one point, Cracker Barrel sold Sun Tea makers for about $25 while at the same time Dollar General had the identical maker for about $5.
I know you are enjoying all these memories from your childhood.
Thank you for the kind words!! I will look for a glass bowl/dome that would accomplish the same things.
DeleteGetting into home brewing 'Texas Tea' at the farm? :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, not that kind of brewing........YET! That's on the list of things to learn, for sure!!
DeleteThis is very neat!
ReplyDelete1st Man,
ReplyDeleteNice tea jar! I've made sun tea with a glass picture tea bags, and water sitting in the sun. It's a very convenient way to make it.
You can make the same kind of sun tea with your fresh mint and lemon balm. It's delicious. Just rinse the herbs and plunge them into the warm water to steep the same as the teabags. Delicious, and another great way to use that mint that grows so prolifically.
ReplyDeleteWe used to make sun tea every summer. We just used a big glass jar--I imagine it had housed pickles at one time! I've never heard of there being any kind of ill effects from it.
ReplyDelete