Thursday, December 13, 2007

Russian Tea

Around the holidays, it's fun to make Russian tea. Faith and I both especially like it. What is Russian tea, you may ask? It's a super retro, citrusy spicy little concoction. Here is its story:
When I was in college I met Sylvia, who was going to become my best friend. We were taking "Dickens to Hardy" at Fresno State. Early on in our friendship, she invited me over to her house to make Christmas cookies. We made snowball cookies, which didn't turn out at all because we doubled the flour inadvertently--they were so floury we couldn't form them into balls at all. At the same visit she said "we have to make Russian tea." I thought it sounded completely nasty (hot Tang? yuck!) but when I tasted it I loved it and we were both completely obsessed with it for the next several holiday seasons. It's orangey and spicy and sweet and bracing--so good.
Now we don't make it every year anymore, but when we do I totally am reminded of Sylvia and Christmas. Here is what you do: Mix together 1 1/4 c. Tang, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/3 c. instant tea, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. cloves and a dash of salt. Store in a canister. Then, to make the tea, mix 3 to 4 measuring teaspoons into a cup of boiling water. Enjoy!

4 comments:

Felicia said...

Love your flowery tea mug :)

Suzie Sews At DOTTY RED said...

I adore that cup as for the writing on the book with all its history stuck to it...Ahhh you can not beat handwriting.

amy turn sharp said...

love that! I have had a version of it before~~

ToadyJoe said...

Especially as you have youngsters in your house, you HAVE to try adding Red Hots to your Russian Tea. Just mix 'em in the dry mix in the canister... but (just a suggestion from personal experience) you might want to have extra on hand - as the Red Hots seem to get 'sifted' out of the canister and into the cups in a heavier dosage than the tea mix itself, lol. Yum! It's just not Russian Tea without the Red Hots, in my mind!