Aunt Mary's Spiced Tea

My Aunt Mary and Uncle Jimmy were the most gracious hosts.  They lived in an English Tudor home that was warm, elegant and lovely ... going to their house was like spending the weekend in a story book.

One of my favorite places in Aunt Mary's house was the kitchen, which had a homey fireplace and sitting area.  Drinking her spiced tea reminds me of sitting on a stool by her kitchen fireplace with the roaring winds of the Texas panhandle blasting outside.

I love the long and cold winter evenings of January, when the celebrations of Christmas and New Years have quieted and the season of rest sets in.  Invariably, I get a craving for spiced tea and have to mix up a batch to last me thru until spring.

This is Aunt Mary's basic recipe (from 1973, in my Mom's handwriting ... love that :o)

I didn't have the exact ingredients on hand, so I improvised a little:

1 small canister of Tang (about 3 cups)
3 cups instant Tea
2 cups instant Lemonade
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon

I didn't have ground cloves, so I ground the whole ones I had in my Black and Decker Handy Chopper.  

I love this little thing - I'm not a big fan of appliances, but this one is perfect.  Doesn't take up a lot of space, and is just the right size for most chopping I need to do.

  I used about four teaspoons of whole cloves to get 2 teaspoons of ground cloves.

  Put everything in a big mixing bowl and mix and stir.  

This recipe makes about 9 cups of mix.  Store it in an airtight container to keep it powdery.

Put two heaping tablespoons in a cup of hot water, stir ... and snug yourself in for a cozy winter evening!


I'm hooking up with TheHouseofHepworth's linky party!