Comfort Food Saturday: Hot Spiced Tea

Coffee reigns supreme as the hot beverage of choice in our house, but as winter drags on, I tend to crave a different flavor from time to time.  This hot spiced tea is perfect for a cold afternoon, particularly one that allows you the time to curl up with a good book or a bad movie. 

When I was growing up, we had the most wonderful next door neighbors, Ms. Dell and Mr. Milton. I adored them. It was like having an extra set of grandparents right next door.  They liked to watch the Nashville Network and Ms. Dell always kept snack-size Snickesrs bars in her freezer. Each Christmas, she would bring over a jar of her spiced tea. Hers was in powder form, containing instant tea and tang, among other things.  The recipe I've used to make it is similar, but uses brewed tea and fresh fruit juice.  Make yourself a cup today and keep warm!

HOT SPICED TEA

• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1-1inch cinnamon stick
• 6 cups cold water
• 6 tea bags
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

In a saucepan, add cinnamon and cloves to water and bring to a boil.  Add tea bags, cover and steep 5 minutes.  Strain into heated carafe or teapot.  In saucepan, heat juices and sugar to just boiling.  Add juices to hot tea, stir and serve.

Comments

[J]

This brings back so many fond memories of Ms. Dell and Mr. Milton, Shorty. ;) I don't know if you remember, but every afternoon, Ms. Dell and I would meet at one of our houses and have spiced tea and cookies and a good chat. In the summer, we had iced tea. Those were the good old days. Thanks for the memories!

[Jen L.]

I misspelled "Snickers."
@J: I do remember your afternoon tea dates! They were our best neighbors ever.

[J]

They sure were. I miss 'em.

[Heidi]

I love snickers in the freezer! I wouldn't have picked up on the misspelling if you hadn't pointed it out. What a fun couple and what a great tradtion to have with the neighbors. I wish I was that friendly with our neighbors.

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