Growing up, I knew about sun tea from my books. I loved reading how my characters—mainly old-fashioned, romantic, Midwestern ones—steeped tea in the heat of the sun on their back porches, then served it in beautiful glass containers. I imagined sitting on a porch swing overlooking miles of cornfields, sipping on iced sun tea while munching on watermelon. To me, it seemed like the quintessential American experience.
My family didn’t share my affinity for sun tea. Tea, in our English household, was served hot—and only hot—with milk and in floral cups specific to the occasion. I remember vividly the look of bafflement on my mom’s face when at a restaurant she asked for tea, only to be served a cup of sugary sweet tea loaded down with ice.
