Name: Instant Russian Tea
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: ½ cup instant tea powder; 2 cups orange-flavored drink mix (e.g. Tang); 3 ounces lemonade-flavor drink powder; ¾ cup white sugar; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves

This is an instant tea mix that can be given as a gift in a large jar. It tastes like mulled cider.

Instant Russian Tea

instant tea powder

drink mix (e.g. Tang)

lemonade-flavor drink powder

white sugar

cinnamon

allspice

cloves

In a large bowl, mix together powdered drink mixes, sugar, and spices.  Place in jars.


Instructions to include with gift:  1. Place 2 to 3 rounded teaspoonfuls in a cup.  2. Add boiling water and serve.


HERE IS THE DEAL WITH THIS RECIPE......ALL THE SPICES AND FLAVORS NEED TIME TO BLEND TOGETHER BEFORE TASTE TESTING AND DECIDING THAT IT NEEDS MORE THIS AND THAT...... ALWAYS ADD/DECREASE TO YOUR LIKING BUT DO GIVE IT TIME LIKE MOST THINGS....ALWAYS BETTER THE NEXT DAY.

Not quite the russian tea from my childhood--but very close.  I found it to be a bit too lemony, next time I will cut that down a bit.  And it seems like a lot of sugar but it doesn't end up a terribly sweet beverage.  Very comforting on a cold winter night!

I like to add crushed Red Hots cinnamon candies. Measure 1/8 cup candies, place in a sandwich bag between a dish towel and crush with a hammer. Add to mix. Allow mix to set a few days for flavors to compliment each other.

Does anyone have any suggestions...Tang has been reformulated and now is "ultra concentrated". I tried substituting orange cool-aid mix for the Tang and it was horrible, way too strong.

It doesn't get any easier or any better than this!  Everyone loves to receive this as a gift.  It smells sooooo good in a steamy mug...really warms the body and the heart.  Thanks Laura!

Great gift idea.  I put in small gift jars and placed Christmas cloth over the lid and tied with pretty ribbon. Very cute!

I keep a jar of this mix in my pantry all year long.  It is great on a cold, rainy afternoon with a muffin for a snack.  The spices are perfect with the orange.

Needs more tea and sugar - this is very very very tangy - we added another 1/2 C of tea and over a cup of sugar and it was much better.

not sure how much 3 oz of lemonade is? i measured: a heaping 1/3 cup. enjoy. (note to subscribers-keep your units of measurement consistent!)

I'm making this to give to all my sons'
teachers for Christmas. I love the way
this recipe is presented in quantity,
with instructions for the gift tag. My mom,
a retired teacher, received this as a 
gift from one of her former students and
really enjoyed it.

I love this recipe. Its a great "base" recipe to make your own version of russian tea. Its easy to modify to suit your taste buds. I highly recommend you mix well BEFORE altering.  Here's what I did: I didn't use tang rather an orange drink mix. It tasted more like orange than tang! loved it.  I also probably doubled to tripled the spices and added nutmeg. Cheers!

We gave it as part of our Christmas gift baskets and people were thrilled.  It's a nice change from the usual hot drinks and it's great on a cold day!

This is a great tea for vocalists.  It leaves just the right amount of  needed coating without stripping the throat.

My family makes this every holiday and then mom sometimes surprises me with it. I LOVE IT. This recipe might need a little tweeking as others say but if you are like me and drink the Arnald Palmers (ice tea and lemon-aid)when you're out then this is such a treat! Be careful with moisture because it will clump up super easy.

Important:  If you have sweetened tea mix, you will need to increase the tea and decrease the sugar by high a cup.  The recipe is for unsweet tea mix.  I love this recipe.  I usually decrease the clove a little and substitute sweet lemon tea mix for the tea and sugar amounts (1 1/4 c).  I like mine lemony.  I also sometimes do half sweet tea and half green tea mix.   Subbing in green tea makes it easier to get sleep at night after drinking it.

Great recipe!  i didn't add any extra sugar b/c i used a pre-sweetened lemonade mix (of course tang is pre-sweetened as well).  it would have been way too sweet if i would have added the sugar.

This turned out very well and the rest of the batch is going in Christmas goodie bags for the kids. I did blend the tea and then added the rest of the ingredients for a final spin for a more even taste from cup to cup. I didn't have any red hots, but will try another batch with those added like another reviewer recommended.

I only made 6 servings. Made as directed with 3 teaspoonful of mix and boiling water. After tasting the final result, I wasn't too pleased so I added a T of sugar to my cup. Tasted the modified result and it tasted really good. Even my 5 year old daughter said, "Its good!" Served with cabbage soup, "Russian Dipping Sauce," "Traditional Russian Pirozhki," "Russian Garden Salad," and "Russian Tea Cakes III."

Well, I have never tasted Russian tea, so I can't compare this to that.  This is very good and addictive on cold winter mornings.  I used Lipton tea powder, a small container of Tang which was not quite 2 cups, and sweetened Countrytime lemonade powder in the plastic container.  I didn't have allspice so I used 1/2 tsp cloves and a splash of nutmeg.  It is heavenly.  Made it for gifts and just labeled it "Spiced Orange Tea".  It is not too orangy, not too sweet, and not too spicy.  Just right!  The drink is a brownish orange color.  Thanks!!!!!!!!

I take this recipe one step further &amp; add 1 small box of instant jello.  Its good for you &amp; tastes great too!  I  try to pick a flavor that compliments the tea.

My four stars is more a reflection of ingredient (un)availability than of the recipe as written.  I went to three different grocery store chains and could not find instant tea mix wasn't pre-sweetened as well as lemon-flavored.  To compensate, I eliminated the added sugar from the recipe all together.  I also reduced the lemonade powder (for the 24 servings scale) from 3 oz. to 1 oz (i.e., three envelopes of unsweetened Kool-Aid-type lemonade mix).  I'm definitely keeping this handy all winter!

We had a Bridal Shower Tea Party for my now sister in law.  I made this to give as her shower favor. It was great tasting although if you use sweetened lemon ice tea mix which was all that I could find at my grocery store I would decrease the lemonade mix and sugar. I am going to try it next with unsweetened instant tea crystals processed in a blender first and see how that works.  Thanks for sharing!!

Very good, a bit too sweet. I was hoping it would be exactly like my grandma's used to be. I think next time i won't add as much sugar, or lemonade mix to make it more to my liking! But thank you very much for posting this recipe, otherwise I would of never had anything even NEAR my grandma's recipe!!

I like this, but I'm not so certain about the amount of Tang involved.  I didn't use the entire amount called for bc I didn't have enough, but I'd maybe cut that to 1 1/2 c or 1 c and increase the tea a bit.  It does remind me a bit of mulled cider, but I'd have to experiment a bit more to make it a little more to my liking.  Still, it is a nice hot drink that I like better than hot chocolate and a bit less than cider.  Thanks for the recipe!

Very similar to a recipe I have for Friendship Tea. Gave those as Christmas presents. This is sweeter, which I like better.

I wanted to make a tea drink mix to give away as a gift to my sister in law and brother in law who love tea but I couldn't find instant black tea so I went to the chinese grocer and got powdered green tea instead. For the lemonade drink powder i used one 6g pouch of unsweetened lemon lime koolaid and only added 1/4 tsp allspice.The mix tasted nice but the green tea powder left lots of sediment in the cup I made,but that can be fixed by straining it when making yourself a cup. The sweetness is just right for me.

I have made this for about 3 years in a row now! And every winter I come back to this recipe!! I love it!! I add a little more allspice because it makes it deeper (?) tasting, not just sweet! But I love it either way! 

I've used this receipe to give as holiday gifts by putting this in embellished mason jars.  It's always a hit and is a childhood favorite of mine...so comforting.

This was a great recipe for spiced tea...I made some changes...I used instant lemon flavor tea mix, omitted the allspice (I did not have any on hand), and increased the serving size to 6qts. to fit my jar.

My family loves it! No questions asked. My younger brother likes to drink it cold and my mom adds a little more spice to it for extra flavor...I love it the way it is!!! Thank You!

this is an awesome drink mix.......but only one problem for me, as I can no longer get the instant tea mix here in Canada....would appreciate any help in finding some too
so I have substituted the instant tea for Ice Tea mix, and different juice mixes.....my family and friends love it,and I make it every winter, it is great if you have a cold

I made a jar of this mix and brought it in to work.  Whenever I want some, I just get some hot water and mix!  It's a good way to warm up in a cold office.

While I just thought this tasted like spiced Tang, my kids loved it. They serve it to all their friends who come over, and tell them it's a secret recipe. All the kids beg me to give their parents the "secret". Thank you for the recipe.

Really good, but make sure you use non-lemon flavored iced tea mix.  I used lemon iced tea mix, because that was what I had on-hand, and it was a little too lemony

I have made this recipe several times already. At Christmastime I included it in the gift baskets I made for my sons's middle school teachers. A nice caffeine free alternative when I want a hot drink and want to limit my coffee consumption. Very satisfying!

It was really neat to make it.  The smell is kinda funny but the taste is great.  I had always heard about Russian Tea, and now I can make my own!

Really too sweet, although that could have been my fault, because I didn't know what lemonade mix they meant, and used country time which is sweetened, maybe I should have used unsweetened Koolaid? Not as good as my mom used to make, but not bad. 

This was okay--a little sweet, though. Dad enjoyed it, however, which is saying ALOT.

Just like I remembered from my childhood!

My mom made this when I was a kid and I loved it then.. My brother begs me to make it for him even today! :o)  Thanks for the recipe!!

Delicious and great warmth for the tummy!

I drink this all winter long. I really LOVEto drink this HOT in the WINTER SEASON when it is COLD OUTSIDE. 

Absolutely delicious!  Tastes just like mulled cider and is a nice change instead of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.  Have had many requests for the mix.  Makes a great gift.

This is just like the hot beverage I remember having as a kid.  Thanks for the recipe.  I would not change a thing.  Husband and kids enjoy it too.

We modified this a bit, so couldn't quite give the original 5 stars. We added more tea and tweaked it suit our taste. Included a jar of this in a housewarming gift basket, and it went over very well. Will keep our modified version and use for a long time to come.

Made a mistake and used a packet of koolaid for the lemonade.  Also added a bit more tea and sugar to get the taste my husband is looking for.  Not quite there yet but will keep adjusting.

My mom used to make this when I was a kid.  She never had a set recipe but the ingredients were basically the same as this one.  The only difference is that she added cinnamon imperials to the mix (candies, not the baking ones).  This adds color, flavor and makes it fun for the kids.  Try it!

I made this particular recipe for the first time, but I've been making Russian Tea for 30 years. This came out WAY to lemony and tart! It was like squeezing lemon straight into my mouth! I wonder if the 3 oz. lemonade drink power is a typo. Anyway, I love citrus and this was potent. I'll be adding a lot of all of the other ingredients to balance out the lemon, and maybe add some allspice as well.

Good! Great when you are sick or have a sore throat! I put it in jars and give it to y family!!??We love it!??So easy to make!!??

My husband loved this stuff. I doubled the amount of spice and ended up having to make more.  I also gave it for holiday gifts with some czechoslovakian cookies.  Next time I'll just keep it on hand and not wait for a holiday.

I used to make this years and years ago but had lost the recipe.  I tried this one and it tastes just like I remember.  I did make a couple of changes.  I do not like allspice but love cloves.  So extra cloves went into my mix.  I drink this every day while teaching.  It's great.  I purchased several containers of Tang and instant tea so I will never be out.

This recipe brought back memories of nights in the Northern woods with my grandparents. I was delighted to find "Granny's tea" after all these years. Excellent! A real tangy warm treat.

This was a cinch to make and turned out very well.  It is a perfect holiday beverage!

I didn't think the flavors blended very well. It seemed to taste like weak tea with Tang in it.

It tasted good but I would add a little more sugar and maybe some allspice.

As is, I found this recipe too sweet. After experimenting, I decreased the sugar to a quarter cup and doubled the spices. I might experiment with some other flavored instant teas. This does make a nice gift for friends and family.

I really do not like the flavor that the lemonade powder brings to this drink.

my grandmother used to make this stuff, too, so I'm glad to find the recipe.  she used to call it "German" tea, though.  I bet it changed with every cook!

Instant Russian Tea

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total: 10 minutes

Servings: 3

Author : Laura

Ingredients

Instructions

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