You add tea leaves to cold water and let it sit out, warming up in the sun for a few hours. Sun tea uses room temperature water to steep tea leaves instead of cold or hot water. Because of this, there are some risks in making sun tea, but you can avoid them if you make it properly. Sun tea is unlike any other tea steeping method. It works best when you’re making iced tea in the summer. The sun doesn’t heat your tea up enough for hot tea. Plus, who wants hot tea in the summer anyway!