Connecting sun, plants and water is one of the easiest ways to bring herbalism into your life during the summer months.
As plant lovers, we spend time every day during the seasons connecting personally with the foods & plants in our gardens, and the wild spaces around our homes. But no matter where you are, and your level of training in herbalism, sun tea is simple to make, and enjoyed by everyone. Herb availability will change throughout the season as different leaves and flowers come into bloom, so it’s something we do all summer long and like getting creative with our recipes.
My favorite way to make a fresh sun tea is to walk around the garden and pluck a few herbs here and there, noticing which ones are ready to harvest and let the tea blend form itself. If you want to get to know the flavor and energetics of each herb on its own, make a single herb sun tea. Either way, freshwater infused with herbs that have sat in the blazing sun all day, tastes different, like liquid sunshine, and something that brings us closer to the elements of the summer season.
Fresh Herbal Sun Tea
Ingredients
(makes 1 quart)
- 1-2 cups of fresh herbs, chopped
- 1 quart of pure filtered water
Directions
Add herbs to a 1-quart mason jar. Pour the water over the herbs & let sit in the sun all day. Strain & enjoy the same day as brewed.
Herbs in the photo are: lemon verbena, lemon balm, tulsi, elderflower & calendula.
Please note: It is always important to know where your herbs come from when making a sun tea. Be sure to pick from known locations that haven’t been sprayed with chemicals, and pick from the top of the plant to avoid any contamination from closer to the soil. We also recommend washing fresh herbs before putting in the sun tea, and only harvesting plants that you can 100% correctly identify.
For those of you who do not have access to fresh herbs, dried herbs will also work and are equally as delicious and prepared the same way.
Dried Herbal Sun Tea
(makes 1 quart)
Ingredients
- 1 cup red clover blossoms
- 1/2 cup linden leaf and flower
- ½ cup hibiscus flowers
- 1/2 cup rosehips
- ½ cup dried orange peel/ lemon peel
- Optional: elderberries
- 1 quart fresh water
*Be sure your herbs have been stored properly prior to use.
Directions
Mix the herbs and store in an airtight container.
To make herbal sun tea, add ½ to 1 cup of the blend to a 1-quart mason jar. Pour the water over the herbs and let sit in the sun all day. Strain & enjoy the same day as brewed.
We invite you take some time and play around with different herbs you have available and varying amounts of each one to come up with your favorite custom blends. We’d love to hear about your herbal sun teas!
