Are you old enough to remember the “Russian Tea” phase back in the 70’s? I was a teenager then, a very young teenager, and our Moms and Grandmas were mixing up batches of Russian Tea like crazy and giving everyone little jars of the stuff. I think the mix had instant tea, Tang (remember Tang? Astronauts drank it!), powdered lemonade, and some spices. You opened up your gift jar, spooned some mix into a cup, added hot water, stirred it up and you were drinking Russian Tea! I liked it. It was a different hot drink. I wasn’t into coffee yet, Hot Chocolate was too childish, English tea with milk was OK, but boring. Russian Tea was fun and different–and a bit exotic.
Fast forward to February 7th, 2014, Opening Ceremonies for The XXII Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia and I will be hosting a Russian Themed Winter Olympic Dinner. What to have to drink after dinner? My daughter suggested Vodka shots off the tip of a sword. Umm, no. A citrus-y, sweet, slightly spicy version of Russian Tea is more up my alley — but not made of Tang, Country Time Lemonade and Nestea. So I hit the Internet. First spoiler, the so-called “Russian Tea” of the 70’s isn’t Russian at all. It’s an American concoction! The only thing Russian about it is it’s name. Shhhhhhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone! Real Russian tea is “Russian Caravan” tea, because tea used to be imported to Russia from China, via a 16-18 month caravan, and it acquired a smokey flavor from all of the caravan campfires, according to Wikipedia. So, I went to my local Russian grocery store, yes, we have one in San Jose, and I couldn’t find “Russian Caravan” tea anywhere (nor anyone to help me), but lots of Earl Grey. I am not serving Earl Grey tea at my Russian Dinner. Early Gray Tea is English and I don’t like it, it’s too smokey!
So now I am back to my original “Russian” Tea quest. I found some recipes on the Internet, checked out their star ratings, and tried a few. One was truly horrid; it involved extracting the juice from oranges and lemons, then boiling the rinds in sugar and water then adding the liquid to cold tea. I was skeptical, but the very attractive, very sincere lady on the YouTube video seemed nice, and she was raving over her tea! So I tried it. She was not honest. Her tea was bitter and horrid. Of COURSE it was. Boiling all that pith then adding it to the tea? I should have known better. Why do people post bad recipes?
Eventually, I came up with this version for fresh Russian Tea. I like it. I really like it. I served it to five friends and two relatives, and they all said they liked it. Then I served it to another relative, the daughter who suggested I serve vodka shots off the end of a sword, and she hated it. I was SHOCKED. I tied her down and make her try it again. She STILL didn’t like it. Harrumph. She’s no longer my favorite child. My son loved the tea. He said, “That’s good. That’s really, really good.” He’s a good boy. He’s my favorite child now.
This “Russian” tea is in the same family as hot tea with lemon and honey, but with orange added, and some cinnamon, and a few cloves, it’s a bit more complex (there’s no honey in this tea though). I’m going to serve it at my Russian themed Winter Olympic dinner, but I’ll brew a pot of Earl Grey, too… for the weirdos.
You all know I am not a photographer, right? I thought I was being deliciously creative setting up a picture to look like hot, citrus-y, Russian tea in cold, stark, white snow. Epic fail. What I got looks like tea in bubbles, oh, not even that, it looks like tea in pillow stuffing, which it is. Can you overlook that? Can you just try this hot, citrus-y, slightly spiced, American-Russian tea? I think you will be glad you did. Just make the tea once, and put it in the refrigerator to reheat as needed. Ponyat’? Da?
I am really getting into the Olympic/Russian thing now. I made Pierogi for dinner last night, and I ordered a Pierogi press and a Pierogi cookbook written by a real babuska from Amazon. I am trying to find a Russian outfit to wear. It seems I should go as a babushka. I already have all the right clothes in my closet…and you know, Vodka shots from the end of a sword might not be too far fetched!
Russian Tea
- 4 strong black tea bags
- 1 quart (4 cups boiling water)
- Zest of 1 1/2 oranges
- Juice of 1 1/2 oranges (about 2/3 cup)
- Zest of 1 large lemon
- Juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/4 cup)
- 6 cloves (0k to double for spicier drink)
- 1 cinnamon stick (ok to use 2 for spicier drink)
- 1 cup sugar (might be ok to reduce to 3/4 cup for a less sweet drink)
- 2 cups cold water
- Make 1 quart of tea by pouring 1 quart of boiling water over 4 teabags and seep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags from hot tea and set tea aside.
- Zest the oranges and lemon. Put the zest in a small saucepan.
- Add 1 cup sugar and 2 cups cold water to the zest in the small saucepan.
- Bring water, sugar, and zest to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
- Juice the oranges and lemon. Pour the juice into the brewed tea.
- Strain the boiled water, sugar, spices and zest mixture the add to tea and juice mixture.
- Stir well and serve or refrigerate mixture until ready to use. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
- Enjoy the Olympics!
Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today. BTW, I tried one more drink in my quest for my Olympic dinner, but I think that one qualifies as a dessert (and a gold medal)! White Hot Chocolate. Too, too, too decadent to post…I must keep my fans from sinning…I must…I must…OK, OK, I’ll post it soon!