Friendship Tea Toddy

Have you ever heard of Russian Spice Tea, also known as Friendship Tea? Well, for starters, the recipe does not actually come from Russia. The original recipe was found in a New York Times Article back in the 1800s and it called for a simple iced tea with lemon and sometimes sugar. In 1907, a touch of orange was added to the lemon, tea, and sugar, and it is now the recipe still being used today. A staple of the drink is the Orange Tang drink mix. Tang has a refreshingly sweet orange taste and was first introduced in 1959 and became popular when John Glenn and NASA used it on the Mercury flight in 1962.

Today, Friendship Tea is still very popular in the south. It is served on all kinds of occasions, but especially during Christmas time. The idea is to blend it in a mason jar decorated with fabric and ribbons and then gifted to friends and family for them to enjoy during the holiday season.

To create the tea mixture, you need to combine instant tea, lemonade powder, orange drink mix, cinnamon, and clove in a large bowl. Be sure to mix that up very well and then store it in an air-tight container. Then, when you’re ready to serve, grab 2-3 teaspoons of the tea mix and put it in your glass of choice. Stir in 1 cup of boiling water, and 1/2 oz of Christmas Bourbon®. You can always add more of the tea mix or Christmas Bourbon to adjust the taste to your liking. The flavors all work together to create holiday magic in cocktail form.

If your parents or grandparents used to make this back in the day, bring it back but with a new twist! Your friends and family will love this Friendship Tea Toddy, the newest variation of the classic Russian Spice Tea.

There’s a myth that says some people drink their Russian tea with the spoon still submerged then they drink with their eyes closed so the spoon does not poke their eyes. It is a fact that the drink will cool faster with a spoon in it, and apparently tastes better too!