Happy Juneteenth!!! It’s been a wild ride this month filled with incredible protests, activism, personal sacrifices, thorough discussions, courage, strength, and so much more to shed light on the important fact that black lives matter. This month the act of celebrating Juneteenth is more powerful than ever before and I’m excited to take part in it this year all the way in Japan! I am a proud black southern woman and I grew up enjoying delicious southern sweet tea on hot summer days. I remember adding lots of ice and even a little bit of water to dilute the sweet tea because at times our folks could be a bit heavy-handed with the sugar. Meaning that it can very well be pancake syrup in a glass lol! Today’s recipe is a Spiced Citrus Sun Tea with Mint and it is my loving homage to the celebration of Juneteenth!

When it comes to iced tea, the saying goes “If it ain’t sweet, it ain’t southern!” I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and I miss a good glass of sweet tea that I don’t have to make for myself here in Japan. As a child growing up in the south, there was always sweet tea available at a family member or friend’s house as well as unlimited refills at restaurants.

We recently learned all about black tea and it is the foundation for making southern sweet tea. Some of the popular brands that are used to make this beverage are Lipton, Luzianne, and Tetley. These brands often use a black tea blend that mixes together 2 or more types of black teas like Assam, Ceylon, and Orange Pekoe.

Before we get to today’s recipe, let me tell you a little bit about the history of this celebratory time in American and African American history.

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, is the celebration of the complete and true end date of chattel slavery of African people in the United States of America. The Emancipation Proclamation was the start of the movement toward abolishing slavery effectively in the rebellion states of the Confederacy on January 1, 1863. However, it wasn’t abolished fully until two and a half years later because of the remote location of the state of Texas as well as the lax enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation due to low numbers of Union soldiers in the state. One main reason the order was defied for so long was that the plantation owners wanted to make money on one last crop harvest before being forced to free their chattel slaves. On June 19th, 1865, the Union army read General Orders No. 3 to the enslaved people of the last slavery stronghold in Galveston, Texas, effectively freeing all slaves in the confederacy states.

Juneteenth is observed usually on the 3rd Sunday of June and there are many celebratory rituals that are practiced and shared within the community. Celebrations include cookouts, festivals, lecture series, readings of prominent African American literary works, fishing, rodeos, street fairs, family reunions, singing of traditional songs, reenactments, parades and so much more!

One of the most important songs of Juneteenth is “Lift Every Voice and Sing” which is a poem and song by James Weldon Johnson. This song is embraced as the national anthem for Black Americans and the words are ringing viscerally in today’s current climate. Every time I hear and read the lyrics to this song, I’m filled with immense pride! Below is a photo of the full poem and song from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Nellie Y McKay. Most times when you hear “Lift Every Voice and Sing” you only hear the first part of the song. I’m so grateful to be able to read the entirety of this important song and I hope you enjoy it!

Now on to the recipe! I love hot summer days because I get the chance to make sun tea! For this recipe, I chose to use Ceylon black tea due to its natural citrus flavor. By using this variety of black tea, I knew it would pair well with fresh-cut citrus, warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves as well as fresh peppermint. The inclusion of these aromatic and flavorful ingredients will surely elevate traditional southern sweet tea to new heights!

This Spiced Citrus Sun Tea with Mint is special because it’s slowly steeped outside for hours by the heat of the sun. It creates a flavor from the tea that’s different than when it’s steeped on the stove in boiling water. It’s softer and more mellow yet super impactful to the palette. A bonus about this tea is that it blooms beautifully overnight as the citrus, spices, and mint infuse in the tea.

I’m elated because we just had our Juneteenth gathering and the pitcher was empty by the end of the night! This is a great sign of a delicious beverage so I know you’re going to love this recipe. It will be perfect for your weekend festivities!

I hope you enjoy this week’s recipe! When you decide to make this refreshing Spiced Citrus Sun Tea with Mint, please share on social media with the hashtag #CookingWithACA and tag me @acertainaesthetic.

I have a feeling that the cookouts are going to be tremendous this weekend and I’m definitely missing home right now. I hope y’all have a blast, be safe and take great pride in celebrating this day that has more meaning than ever before. Make it the best Juneteenth ever!

-Shari :)

Spiced Citrus Sun Tea with Mint

A Juneteenth Homage

Serves 8, 8oz Cups

Ingredients

9 bags of Ceylon Black Tea
8 cups water
1 lemon
- ½ lemon sliced into rounds (3 rounds)
- Reserve remaining half
1 naval orange
- ½ navel orange sliced into rounds (3 rounds)
- Reserve remaining half
2 cinnamon Sticks
5 whole allspice berries
2 whole cloves
2 cups of sugar
1 tbsp fresh peppermint leaves (2 sprigs)

Directions

Check the weather to make sure it’s going to be a sunny day.
In a large glass pitcher, add the water, tea bags, 3 lemon rounds, 3 navel orange rounds, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and cloves.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap, place the pitcher outside in a sunny spot, and allow the tea to steep for 2 hours.
Bring the pitcher inside, remove the tea bags, add sugar and stir until it’s dissolved fully.
Take the remaining lemon and orange halves, squeeze their juice into the tea and then discard the halves.
Add the mint leaves/sprigs and stir.
Place the pitcher in the refrigerator and allow the tea to bloom overnight before serving.
The next day, serve over ice and enjoy with those you love on this Juneteenth holiday! :)

Notes

If you don’t have Ceylon tea, you can use pretty much any black tea as a substitute.
If you can’t find peppermint, then you can use standard sweet mint as a substitute.
If you want to have a garnish, take an extra lemon, slice it thinly into rounds, cut between 2 segments of the lemon and place it on your cup.
If you want to serve your tea immediately after making it, that is just fine and it will taste wonderful! However, serving it the next day is optimal because the flavors will bloom beautifully and you will be amazed at the difference!