I have found my new favorite thing to do with fresh herbs this year. Well, it is not technically new; I did this years ago but then sort of stopped doing it. My family and I are really enjoying it this year though.
I have been making and experimenting with herbal sun teas. The process is really simple as it is just like brewing traditional sun tea with tea bags. The only difference is instead of using tea bags you use fresh herbs. The BIG difference between the two is the flavor. While traditional sun teas taste like well, sun tea, herbal sun teas have a much lighter and delicate flavor. Their color is also light as the fresh herbs barely darken the water. They are very refreshing and we have been drinking them by the pitcher full. It’s a nice way to cool off and stay refreshed now that the dog days of summer are rapidly approaching us.
The herbal sun teas I have been brewing are really easy to do. You simply place a few handfuls of clean fresh herbs in a glass jar and leave in the sun to infuse for a few hours. Then just strain and serve with ice. The spent leaves can be tossed on the compost or used as mulch.
I also experimented with using some of my dried herbs and they turned out equally as good. Surprisingly they turned the water a much darker color. I also used less dried herbs than fresh since dried herbs are more concentrated in flavor.
Single herb sun teas like the lemon verbena and even orange mint are really good but I have been having fun experimenting with different combinations. What I like to do when I am trying a new herbal sun tea out is to only make a small amount first. I will just simple make it in a quart canning jar that way if I don’t like it I didn’t waste too many herbs in making it.
It’s a lot of fun trying out new combinations and the sky is the limit. You can add some lemon peel with the herbs or what I can’t wait to try is making some with the blackberries once they are here.
Below are some of the herbs and combinations that have been enjoyed by my family.
Herbal Sun Teas
Single Herbs
- Peppermint
- Lemon Verbena (my personal favorite)
- Orange Mint
- Spearmint
- Lemon Balm
Combinations
- Rosemary and Lavender
- Marjoram and Spearmint
- Peppermint and Lemon Verbena
- Lavender and Lemon Verbena
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