I’ve written about Russian tea on my blog. I thought I’d like share the recipes here as well.
We discovered Russian tea after my family moved to Sitka, Alaska when I was young. As the former capital of Russian America, Sitka retains the flavor of a colonial town. For me, that flavor is Russian tea.
Mom became well known for serving Russian tea. Many people still make the drink using her recipe:
Combine the following:
2 cups Tang Instant Breakfast Drink
2 cups sugar
1 cup instant tea
1 cup pre-sweetened lemonade mix
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
Add about 2 full tsps per cup of hot water, or to taste.
Mom’s recipe is lighter on spices than some. We love our spices; a tablespoon each of cinnamon and cloves seems about right to our particular tastes.
I have found many other versions of the recipe, both instant and “scratch.” Of course, I found several on the Internet. Most of the people posting the recipe called it a Christmastime drink. Since I strongly associate it with Alaska Day, that struck me as odd. However, when I mixed up a fresh batch, the smell of citrus, cinnamon and cloves emphatically evoked Christmastime! It would indeed make an excellent Christmas drink.
I found what I believe may be an authentic Russian tea recipe that goes beyond the terse opinion of my beloved Russian matron. It isn’t instant, of course, and it contains one rather alarming, unexplained ingredient:
6 tablespoons Orange Pekoe Tea
4 whole cloves
1/2 cup sweet cider
1/2 teaspoon red food coloring(!)
2 quarts boiling water
Sugar, honey or strawberry jam
Steep tea, cloves, cider, and food coloring in boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten with sugar, honey or strawberry jam.
Why the red food coloring, I don’t know. I recommend skipping it! A red tinge won’t be very noticeable in black tea.
The cider strikes me as more authentic to Russian Alaska than other recipes, which call for orange or pineapple juice. Russian trade did extend to the tropics at the time, and Sitka, as their major Pacific sea port, may well have seen pineapples, but apple trees grow well in Sitka’s climate, and likely were more readily available than tropical fruits.
I also see this doesn’t include the essential ingredient the little Russian matron called for: dark rum. I recommend adding a dollop, if only for the sake of true authenticity!
The combination of orange pekoe tea and cider was very pleasant, but it didn’t taste quite like the Russian tea I know. We added a stick of cinnamon, but that didn’t make a huge difference. It depends on what you’re used to.
So, whether to toast Alaska Day, to celebrate Christmas, or simply to warm an autumn or winter day, this is probably as close as one can get to real Russian tea. Enjoy!
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Mark Zeiger is a regular contributor to Self Reliance Works. His family homesteads off the grid in Southeast Alaska, fueled, comforted, inspired and fortified by hot drinks. See more at www.akzeigers.com.
