I love a nice mug of hot, spicy tea on a cold day. It warms my innards (and my hands if I hold the cup just right) and makes my tongue happy.
I learned this recipe for hot spiced tea when I was in Girl Scouts. It was made out of Tang. (Yes, hide your shock: Tang had been invented by then!) Tang was popular at the time because it was the official morning beverage of the astronauts, or some such thing!
Every Fall or Winter I get in the mood to have some of this tea. It’s an old church-lady favorite now!
This tea is also a welcome gift and is easy to make. The recipe is forgiving. You can package it in some fun and creative ways or you can just stick it in a plastic sandwich bag. Either way–it tastes good.
You can put a sandwich bag of it in a festive mug and add a bow. Or put it in a canning jar that you have decorated with glass paint. Or just a plain jar. You could put it in a plastic sandwich bag, cut a large circle out of fabric, gather it up, and tie it with a bow.
Or, you could forget about packaging it up and keep it all for yourself.
How to make Spice Tea with Tang: Printable
1 cup instant iced tea (you can use plain, lemon, sweetened, unsweetened)
2 cups Tang instant breakfast drink
1 tablespoon of allspice or pumpkin pie spice
You can mix that up and use it as is, or you can add some Jello (lemon, orange, lime, or ?) or instant lemonade mix, or powdered apple cider mix. You could even use powdered Gatorade or Koolaid, I’m sure!
To make a mug: Add one heaping tablespoon of the mix to a mug of boiling water. Stir to dissolve, then drink it when it’s cool enough to stand it.
One sip whooshes me back to those Girl Scout days when this recipe helped me earn a cooking badge. Come to think of it, it’s not really cooking. Oh, well…somehow it counted.
And it still makes my tongue happy.
Kathi N blogs at Granddad’s Corner. Do you have a recipe post or kitchen-related story to share on the Farm Bell blog?
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SarahGrace says:
We really enjoy Spice Tea. I grew up knowing it as Russian Tea. I haven’t made it in a few years, but I just may this year!
On December 9, 2011 at 8:16 am
Anita says:
I remember this! And it was wonderful – a great idea for gifts and a chance to introduce my daughter to a new treat.
On December 9, 2011 at 8:39 am
Pete says:
Ah, yes, this brings back memories! We all had to try Tang because the astronauts drank it. And then when someone invented the “Russian Tea” it just seemed patriotic to drink it!
Funny that individually both the Tang and the instant tea are not very tasty, but put together make a very nice brew.
Thanks!
On December 9, 2011 at 9:25 am
lisabetholson says:
I don’t remember Tang as a cooking badge for Girl Scouts…but who am I. My daughter was in 6 years and I wasn’t in on the cooking parts of the program. Tang was around then, maybe I’m getting old faster that I thought. Ha ha, probably……
Thanks for bringing back Girl Scout memories, I may have to do some of this as a pleasure drink for cold days since they are here again.
On December 9, 2011 at 10:12 am
Jeannie Brazell says:
Sounds good to me, we called it Russian Tea also, love it hot, and also love it cold with ice,
I am a true daughter of the South, cold ice tea all year round, sweet of course.
On December 9, 2011 at 11:25 am
murphala says:
I remember Tang! But I honestly didn’t realize they still made it. If you’re interested, I googled it and found a 6-pack of 20 oz jars of the mix at Amazon for 26 bucks. I don’t know if that’s a good deal or not (seems to be?) but if you’re going to mix it up for gifts, that might be a good deal! Thanks for the recipe…I’m going to try it.
On December 9, 2011 at 11:38 am
Kathi N says:
I don’t remember it as “Russian Tea,” but when I gave a jar of it to my sister-in-law last night, she said, “Oh! Russian Tea!”
@lisabetholson: Tang was not the badge, but making recipes or doing activities around cooking was, and somehow my troop leader fit this recipe into one of those activities to satisfy the requirement.
My grocery store sells Tang in a big canister that will make 22 quarts (72 oz canister), and it’s $10.59.
@Jeannie, I have not had it cold, but I do love tea so I’ll give it a try!
Thanks, all, for your kind comments.
On December 9, 2011 at 11:57 am
rileysmom says:
Thanks for the reminder, Kathi N! I never knew it as Russian Tea, but I remember mixing of “vats” one year for gifts!
On December 9, 2011 at 7:01 pm
lisabetholson says:
Thanks Kathi, I didn’t mean its self was the badge, I understand it was a cooking badge. I should give this a try.
On December 9, 2011 at 7:07 pm
holly says:
I could not find Tang, but made this using sugar free store brand “Orange Early Rise” – one packet that would make 2 quarts, to 1 cup ice tea mix and 1 Tbsp Apple Pie Spice – WOW!! It is a new favorite!!
On December 14, 2011 at 2:17 pm