West Coast Sweet Tea
A California sun tea: brewed in the sun, sweetened light with honey, and brightened with Meyer lemon, orange, and mint. Southern sweet tea, gone West Coast.
Southern sweet tea runs on a hot brew and a lot of white sugar. The West Coast version flips both: California sun does the brewing, and honey does the sweetening, light, so it refreshes instead of coats.
Sun tea is the move. A jar of tea and water left in the sun for a few hours steeps slow and smooth and never turns bitter, and it tastes like a California afternoon. Meyer lemon and a little orange, both coast citrus, keep it bright, and mint from the garden finishes it. No sun? Cold-brew it in the fridge for the same smooth result.
Cold and barely sweet, it drinks all afternoon next to the smoke and char of the tri tip. It is the cookout tea for anyone who finds the Southern version too sweet.
Ingredients
- 6 black tea bags (or a black-and-green blend)
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 cup honey or light agave, gently warmed
- 1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
- Juice of 1/2 orange (about 1/4 cup)
- A handful of fresh mint
- Meyer lemon and orange slices, plus ice, to serve
Instructions
- 1
Sun-brew it: put the tea bags and water in a large glass jar, cover, and set it in direct sun for 3 to 4 hours, until amber and fragrant.
No sun that day? Cold-brew it in the fridge for 8 hours, or steep 5 minutes in hot water and cool. Sun and cold brew both stay smooth and never turn bitter.
- 2
Pull the tea bags. Stir the warmed honey into the tea until it dissolves, then add the Meyer lemon juice, orange juice, and mint.
Honey instead of white sugar is the West Coast move, with a lighter hand than Southern sweet tea. It should refresh, not coat.
- 3
Chill hard and serve over a tall glass of ice with Meyer lemon and orange slices.
Serve it colder than you think you need to. Sweet tea lives and dies on temperature.