When I was in high school I found a recipe for Spice Tea. It was quite popular back in the day, and recipes were frequently in magazines and newspaper articles during the Christmas holiday season. I didn't like the recipe I tried; it was just too sweet for me. I adjusted the recipe: I doubled the amount of instant tea, left out the sugar entirely, and changed the spices. This is the recipe I came up with:
Mother quit drinking it several years ago, saying it was just too sweet. I haven't made any since, but The Daughter decided it was time. I made some one day while she was here. We enjoyed a cup together, and I sent a jar of it home with her.Spice Tea2 cups Tang
1/3 cup lemonade mix
1 cup instant tea
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
The cup came from Dollar Tree and is one of my winter-time cups. We don't get much snow around here, but sometimes a snowflake is fun to look at, on this cup if not flurrying in the sky.
The jar is a 1976 Bicentennial jar. I remember all the Bicentennial hoopla. You couldn't buy anything, it seemed, without a bicentennial connection. We had bicentennial Christmas tree decorations in 1975. It was a mad craze! My Mother was so excited about all the celebrations, and then Daddy died not long after the 1976 year began.
My memories are a mixture of happy and sad, as I guess is the case with most people.
Join Bluebeard and Elizabeth's T Party here.
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The recipe sounds like it would taste a bit like Constant Comment tea. I haven't seen Tang is years. I think I might have bought some once when my girls were small. Didn't the astronauts supposedly drink it or something? It is jogging a memory but it might be a faulty memory. I'm known for those, LOL!
ReplyDeleteDarla
i don't think it's much like constant comment, it does have sugar in it, and the orange flavors are a lot different.
Deleteyes! the ads for tang used to play up the astronaut connection. the powder was easy to take on space flights and had some actual nutritional value.
i found the tang in the grocery section where instant lemonade and kool-aid are kept. there's even a kroger brand of it, but i used the tang name brand.
I remember that bicentennial. I think I even have one of those jars. I got it from my Grandmother, I'm sure (Grands raised me). I even remember seeing that recipe with Tang in it, although I don't think I ever bought any instant tea. It sounds good, though.]
ReplyDeleteLet's not talk about snow. Snow is falling as I type. We are projected to get 9-12 inches today, more on Thursday, and again on Saturday. I'll be glad to send some your way to go with your occasional flake, if you like (grin).
Thanks for sharing T today with your Tea and Tang inspired recipe you brought to the party.
the bicentennial was a big deal! mother got quite carried away with it. red/white/blue and early american themed everything!
Deletewe're not getting snow. we are much more likely to get ice. it sleeted early this morning, but the high today is supposed to be in the mid-30sF, so it'll melt soon. we had more snow and less ice when i was young. at least you can play in the snow. ice? not so much.
I have a sweet tooth so I'm wondering if I would find it too sweet.
ReplyDeletei don't find it too sweet for me. the original recipe included 1/2 cup sugar, which was a bit sweet for my taste. the recipe is so adaptable, you can use any of the ingredients "to taste".
DeleteI didn't even know they still made Tang :):) I sure wish I could give you more snowflakes to enjoy-many more since we've been getting entirely too much! happy T day!
ReplyDeletei'd like it to either snow already or get warm. i'll take either one, but oh! this cold! brrrrr!
DeleteWe have plenty of snow here and with more on the way--I'd be glad to send you some if you are missing it! The cup is cute--I'm wondering if I got one if it would keep the snow away from us? Happy T Day!
ReplyDeletei'd love some snow lol. we've got freezing rain and are under a winter weather advisory. it's not expected to be very bad, though, with highs going up into the mid-30sF this afternoon. snow would be a fun change :)
DeleteLife is full of happy and sad ... isn't it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with us today...
Your recipe brings back memories for me too
Sending Tuesday (((hugs))) your way
oxo
yes, memories are that way, aren't they. thx for those warming hugs :)
DeleteAhh, I have an old church cookbook that had a very similar tea recipe with the Tang and I'd agree it was quite potent, I'll have to give your modified version a try! Thanks for sharing and happy T-day!
ReplyDeletethe recipes were everywhere for a while, and most of them seemed light on the tea and heavy on the sugar. it's such an easy recipe to adjust, though.
DeleteI remember the craze of that tea recipe. Was not really to my liking either, too sweet.
ReplyDeleteYour version sounds more to my liking, may have to give it a try.
Thanks for sharing it and your T-day!
it was a craze, wasn't it! i hope you like my take on it if you try it. :)
DeleteI remember that mixture!! we use to have it all winter long (we had a hot cocoa recipe we use to alter with, too).
ReplyDeleteI think I will write down your altered recipe and give it a try, thanks!!
Have a great T day
~Dawn
we did the same thing, drinking it or hot cocoa all winter. i hope my recipe suits you. :)
DeleteMy MIL used to make that but she called it Russian Tea. Last year the school librarian gave me a jar for Chirstmas...brought back good memories of when we were first married. :) Happy Tuesday!!
ReplyDeleteoh! i'd forgotten all about it being called russian tea, but i remember that now. i'm glad folks are still making and giving it at christmas. i gave some to all my husband's relatives for christmas one year, and no one ever said anything about it. hmmm... i think it didn't make a hit with them lol
DeleteThank you for the recipe. Would love to try it one of these days.
ReplyDeleteSusan
i hope you like it. it makes a nice change for me. something a bit different from my regular tea or coffee.
DeleteFood and drink can connect very strongly with memories, can't they?
ReplyDeleteMy husband's family makes a similar tea mix, which they call Russian tea. But it's not really Russian. I don't know where that name came from. :)
yes, i'm noticing more lately how food and drink bring back memories for me.
Deletei can't imagine where the "russian" name came from. i just did a quick google search and didn't see anything answering that question. i did find thousands of recipes, though lol
Interesting recipe. Thanks for stopping by
ReplyDeletethx! :)
DeleteI made and drank my share of Russian tea back In the day. Would jar it and give as little Christmas gifts. Couldn't drink it now. To sweet but your recipe improves that! Memories are wonderful but sometimes bittersweet. Food holds memories for me as well.
ReplyDeleteyes, you can add more of the instant tea, too, to lessen the sweetness. i'm glad people are reminding me of the "russian tea" name. i'd completely forgotten that. thx :)
DeleteI can remember drinking that a lot when my kids were younger. I also remember mixing up a big batch to give as gifts one year and one of the kid knocked it off the counter and it went everywhere. What a mess to clean up!!!! No one got tea gifts that year. Happy T Day and have the Merriest of Christmas's !
ReplyDeleteIt's so sweet, it's a mess if it gets spilled lol
Deleteback in 76 I was on my own and collecting my own canning equipment-I had purchase allot of those canning jars-still need to dig into the canning jar collection at the woods house and find the pints and quarts. Growing up my Mom made that drink mix-good memories happy T hugs Kathy
ReplyDeleteThat drink mix was all the rage back in the day, wasn't it!
DeleteGosh, for anyone outside the US that recipe is total gobbledegook. We don't have Tang (I had to Google it) or lemonade mix, and instant tea is available on the internet but it has so many flavors, I wouldn't know which one to choose. Needless to say, I will give this one a miss.
ReplyDelete1976 was a bicentennial? Of the United States? My son was born in August 1976 and it was the hottest summer in my lifetime.Sweet (and sweaty) memories.
Happy belated T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
Lemonade mix is an instant lemonade (like Koolaid, a powdered drink meant to be mixed with water). The instant tea for this recipe is the plain powdered instant tea, which was the only kind available when this recipe was most popular.
Delete1976 was the bicentennial of our country's 1776 independence. That year _everything_ was bicentennial-themed!