Warm, black, fruity tea

Every year around Christmas, my family makes this drink we like to call "Russian tea". My husband, who is part Russian, likes to point out that pineapples are not exactly native to Russia. It's still good, though. It's a pretty easy and forgiving recipe (unless my mom is watching you make it, in which case, there are very precise steps and measurements you MUST NOT deviate from at ANY COST!)

Russian Tea

Be sure to have a very large pot, and enough containers to store about a gallon of tea in when you're done. This recipe makes about a gallon of tea when all is said and done.
1 gallon water
3 lemons, halved
2 oranges, halved
8-10 cloves
6-8 bags black tea
1 46 ounce can pineapple juice
2 cups of sugar or equivalent (I use 2 teaspoons of stevia extract)

Bring the water to a boil in your large pot. Add lemons, oranges, cloves, and tea. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the fruit and let them cool a bit, then squeeze what's left of the juice in them into the tea. Pour the tea through a strainer into a bowl or pitchers to remove the excess pulp. Rinse out the pot and pour the tea back into it. Add pineapple juice and sugar or other sweetener. If you're using sugar or honey that needs to be heated to dissolve, heat over medium or medium-high heat for another hour or so. You can usually just add artificial sweeteners or stevia without the extra cook time--just heat it up to serve it. Store in the refrigerator (if it's not gone before you get a chance to put it away).

Comments

[Mel]

Sounds delicious!

How do you like the stevia? Are your plants growing or did you decide to stick to buying extract? Any side effects? I think a post about how to use stevia to replace sugar would be great (if you recommend it)....