Sunny Disposition Sun-Tea

You don’t need an “official” sun-tea jar to make wonderful, mild and tasty sun tea. Just a hardy glass vessel that holds more than a gallon’s worth of space, has a tight lid, and can withstand direct sunlight for 4-5 hours. It’s a great way to elevate the service of iced tea at your next gathering, or it keeps well for 2-3 days in the fridge, for a special treat when you need a moment to peace out.

Ingredients

• 8 regular-sized tea bags

• 1 gallon filtered or purified water

• Lemon, honey, and/or fresh mint, if desired

Method

1. Fill water into a clean glass vessel.

2. Leave a few inches for the tea bags and some space above.

Healthy Hint:

Commonly made with black tea, here you can use any robust tea bags you like: I used Green Tea with Pomegranate for this one. Yummo! (And my adorable family friend was sweet enough to model it for you.)

3. Add tea bags and, once you’ll press them down to absorb the water, they will float.

4. Seal tightly.

5. Place in a very sunny spot: move to another spot later if needed, to continue keeping it in direct sunlight.

6. Serve hot with lemon, honey, and/or a sprig of fresh mint -- or allow it to cool and serve with ice. (Don’t add honey to cold liquids, to prevent the honey from seizing.)

Editor’s Note: Your Honey Bee

In an entire season, each worker bee produces only 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey. So imagine how many bees are needed to make one small jar! We need bees for WAY more than honey: their natural pollination work is at the source of human life, in all that we grow that sustains us, and the hierarchy of other species that also rely on healthy, living plants. Right now, the alarming, global epidemic of the loss of bees has imperiled theirs - and our - survival.

FUN FACT:

Bees use the most complex “language” on earth, next to primates. Unlike humans, who only use a portion of our brains, bees use every one of the million neurons packed into their brilliant little noggins. Click here for more amazing facts on bees.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Let the lawn go unmowed through early spring if possible. The resulting, naturally flowering meadow-plants will give the critters a head start. Never use pesticides unless they are organic and proven to not kill bees. Avoid herbicides for the same purpose.

GROW YOUR OWN beautiful backyard or patio plants that encourage pollinators (butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees, among other fantastic, welcome visitors). These plants include:

• lavender and other purple flowers

• fall bulbs that bloom in spring

• foxgloves and other tubular flowers

• bee balm

• thistle plants

• rosemary and thyme this list goes on: your local greenhouse and farmer’s markets will feature pollinator plants, or expert advice on where to find more. These busy critters get thirsty just like the rest of us: put out bird baths ~ for the birds and the bees!

• flowering clover. . .

• and BARE, sunny spaces in the ground without mulch. (Most of the world’s bees live underground.)