Miranda Lambert's 'Automatic' Helped Me Remember Sun Tea

The first lines of the song go, "Quarter in a payphone, drying laundry on the line, watching Sun Tea in the window, pocket watch tellin' time."

Yeah, I remember payphones, drying laundry on a clothes line and I remember my grandfather having a pocket watch but most important, I remember how cool and refreshing Sun Tea was! The slow seeping has a way of giving you a smoother taste. I know it's just tea, but growing up in the early to mid 80s, I thought it was one of the coolest things ever!

My 13 year old son had not even heard of Sun Tea until I brought it up in conversation the other day while talking in our kitchen. I was brewing a pot of tea on the stove when the song came on the radio.

As I reminisced, I could see my mom putting water in our jar, which actually had "Sun Tea" written across it in yellow, put the tea bags in, seal the lid and sit out on the back porch. Later that day, we'd add sugar and have tea!

Here's a Sun Tea recipe in hopes we can keep this simple artifact from our past alive. Teach your children the art of making tea with help from Mother Nature.

Monk's Momma's Sun Tea Recipe

Start by putting 6 tea bags into a clean 2 quart glass container
Fill with water and put the top on, leaving the paper in the end of the tea bag strings hanging outside of the lid
Place outside in direct sunlight for about 3 to 5 hours
If necessary, move the container so that it stays in the sun
You'll know your tea is ready for you by the color and taste
Remove from sun and put it in the refrigerator. You can leave the tea bags in or take them out. I leave them in.

Refrigerate and drink as soon as possible. Don’t prepare more than you can drink in two or three days.