WHAT’S IN THE OLD GLASS JAR?

Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker 

If you were raising a family in the 1970s and 1980s, you might have some memories of the trendy drink at that time … Sun Tea.

I don’t know who came up with the idea, but I thought it was cool.

My family lived in Scott, Ohio and so we went and bought a glass iced tea jar with a spigot to set out and make that delicious sun tea.

Almost every day you could look out and see all of our neighbors glass jars sitting out in the sun with tea bags in them. 

Sometimes there might be a little friendly neighborhood competition as us ladies talked about our sun tea and our pretty glass jugs.

Last year I got my kids some Irish tea bags for Christmas. My son had the flavored one called Whiskey tea. 

He texted me the other day and asked, “Hey Mom. Do you think those whiskey tea bags would make good sun tea?”

I answered, “I bet it would but I haven’t thought about Sun Tea in a long time.” My son, Tom, had a glass tea jar and proceeded to make his version of good old sun tea.

I told him, “Hmmmmmm . Now I want to make Sun Tea, but I no longer have my tea jar, but I’ll find something.”

I looked around and found an empty grapefruit jar and it was about half the size of the big jars. Well, I had Pomegranate tea bags here, so I made pomegranate sun tea.  

Later that evening I spoke to my daughter and told her about making Sun Tea and she said, “Now, I want to make Sun Tea too.”

Well, my tea was really good poured over a glass of ice and my son said his whiskey flavored tea was also good.

In the past week with this heat wave, we have all made at least 2 jugs of tea. My second jar was peach flavored and I am not sure what kind my kids made.

Today my son messaged me and asked, “Mom, did you know they make sweetened tea bags now?” I replied, “No I did not know that, but I may have to try it.” Plus, he said that the sweet tea bags were really good.

Being the curious person I am I googled Sun Tea. Wow was I surprised! After all these years the FDA has said that sun tea is not good for us. The reason was that the tea in the sun doesn’t reach a warm enough temp to kill germs and there could be germs in the tea which could lead to a tummy flu. 

You know, I have made and my family and I have drank sun tea for years. To my knowledge we have not gotten sick from it. One thing the FDA said was if you make it use a glass jar, but right now my plastic grapefruit jar is sitting in the sun making an apple spice tea. Pray I don’t feel ill from it. 

It is so refreshing to have your children think of old memories like making Sun Tea. Maybe some of you readers will make some. It is very refreshing and interesting now that there are many kinds of tea available.

Do you have an ice tea jug? Is it pretty? Have you used it lately? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny For Your Thoughts.