Sunday, August 23, 2009

does anybody know the expiration date for sun tea?

so today . . . i was wondering how long sun tea can stay outside before it isn't good to drink. i am wondering this, because i have a jar of sun tea out on the patio that has been there for over a week . . .

i put it out several days ago. once again, i have resolved to cut back on my diet soda consumption. and since i like iced tea, i thought that might be an acceptable substitute--it's mostly water (which is good for me,) but still with some flavor--and no sugar or sugar substitute. but first i had to make some . . .

i immediately ran into a problem--no jar. i know you can make it in the microwave, but i think it tastes best if it has brewed in the sun. i'm sure it's mental, but then i am discovering that most of my quirks are!

i know i have a gallon glass jar somewhere, because i used to make sun tea all the time. well, not all the time, because in oregon the sun doesn't shine all the time. but i would make it in the summer. and glass gallon jars aren't that easy to come by, so i know i didn't get rid of it, and i am pretty sure i would remember breaking it . . . unless someone else who lives in my house broke it and just hid the pieces and didn't tell me . . . hmmmm . . . .

anyway, i needed a jar so i went to wal-mart. there i found a one made especially for drinks. it has a pouring spout in the lid and spigot near the bottom of the jar. and best of all, it had red flowers painted all around it. perfect.

i came home, filled it with cold water, popped four tea bags in, screwed the lid securely on (as per the included instructions,) and carefully placed it in the sunniest spot on the patio.

and promptly forgot about it.

i would occasionally get a glimpse of it, there behind the table and chairs, but never had time to bring it in. ok, in my defense, when i make sun tea i usually leave it out for two days anyway, because i like it to be really dark so i can put lots of ice in it. but then rollie ended up in the hospital, so i wasn't home much. and then he came home, but i was so tired from all the hospital stuff (because i was not the one taking naps,) that i didn't even care about my poor, abandoned sun tea . . .

and now i am a little afraid to bring it in. it is really, really dark. and it hasn't been refrigerated. but it is just tea, so does that really matter? i don't know . . .

i thought about just bringing it in and quickly dumping it out and starting over. but what if i forget about the next jar too? am i sun tea cursed?? am i doomed to drink carbonated caffeinated sugar substitute filled drinks forever???

maybe not forever, but until i "screw up my courage" to deal with the aging brew, i guess diet pepsi will have to do . . .

2 comments:

Wendy said...

Lipton has tea bags for cold water. You pop them in the gallon jar for 3 minutes and it's done! Get some!

Mom said...

The tea will probably be bitter,. Bring it in, dump it out, start over and put it on that ledge outside your kitchen window. It will be in plenty of sun and you will be able to see the red flowers and the tea jar. Of course, you have to go into the kitchen once in a while. hahahah