Warming Tea With Spices and Fruits

Despite the seeming closeness of spring, winter still holds its ground.
In Siberia, frosts are now below 20 degrees Celsius (and at night about -30), and in America there is also a serious cold snap. Please take care of yourself, it's time for a cup of aromatic warming tea.

The process is incredibly simple, everyone can do it! The main thing here is good and quality raw materials. The preparation time is about 15 minutes, of which about 5 minutes will be spent on slicing fruits and 10 minutes on infusing the tea.

The tea tastes spicy, very aromatic, it is ideal for cold weather and allows you to warm up from the inside, fills you with warmth, a sense of harmony and comfort, and also easily helps to recuperate after a hard day!

Apples go well with black and green tea, citrus fruits, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, ginger, hibiscus, rose hips, linden, mint, jasmine, honey, even with black pepper. You can safely experiment and add your favorite spices and herbs to the drink, try different combinations and proportions in order to create your own unique recipe for your favorite drink that suits your tastes!

A little about the benefits of such tea (this is an optional item for reading, here you can move on to the preparation process).

In ancient times, tea was a great rarity in Russia, but our ancestors prepared and drank hot aromatic tea, which was made from local herbs, flowers, leaves, berries and fruits. One of our favorites was apple tea - apple trees grow in our country almost everywhere, they are well kept fresh or dried. During the long Russian winter, tea with apples was an important source of vitamins and other useful substances, it contains a rich complex of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B3, E, P, PP, K), calcium, iron, amino, pectins, fructose, antioxidants ...

Apple tea is an effective prevention of atherosclerosis and stroke. The substances contained in apples prevent the formation of cholesterol plaques and help to quickly remove excess cholesterol. This drink helps to normalize digestion, maintain vigor and normalize blood pressure, increase immunity, and reduce high blood sugar levels. The pectins contained in apples bind bacterial toxins that are formed in the intestines during digestive disorders or poisoning, and also help remove heavy metal salts from the body. This tea will appeal to those who follow the figure, it normalizes the digestive tract, removes toxins, improves mood and has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, and also promotes the breakdown of fats and drowns out the feeling of hunger, as it contains glucose - a source of energy for the brain.

Let's get started!

Step 1: Ingredients

Apple - 1 pc.

Orange - ½ pc.

Ginger - 2 cm, medium-sized piece

Cinnamon stick - 1 pc.

Carnation - 5 pcs.

Black tea - 3 tsp.

Drinking water - 1 liter.

Honey or sugar for sweetness - to taste (on average one to two tablespoons per mug)

A teapot (and a kettle to make boiling water) or a small saucepan (I'll tell you how to use at the end)

Important points and clarifications.

Tea in this case can be used both black and green. Traditional no additives. I use black tea here, the taste is richer.

If you want to get a tea saturated with the traditional aroma of a combination of apples and cinnamon, then it is better to add just a little orange, just a couple of slices. And slightly reduce the amount of ginger, it feels very good here.

About apples. In general, any apples are suitable for making tea, but preference should be given to local aromatic varieties - they have not lost their taste and nutritional properties during transportation and storage. Sour wild apples, which are difficult to eat fresh, are also suitable for making tea, from which the drink is especially aromatic and healthy. You can also use dried or sun-dried fruits, which are also great for making tea.

From spices, you can also add cloves, star anise, cardamom, be guided by your preferences.

Tea brewed in a teapot should be drunk immediately. If the tea was brewed in the morning, it is better to prepare a new one in the evening.

Step 2: Prepare Apples

Rinse the apple well, cut it into 4 parts, remove the core with seeds and cut very thinly so that the fruit gives the drink maximum aroma and taste.

Apple peel is very healthy, so if you are sure that the apples have not been processed for long-term storage before being sold, then it is better not to peel them. Can be washed with a special fruit detergent. If you have doubts about the quality of the skin, for example, the apples were covered with wax, then just peel it. Apple seeds are also very useful - they have a lot of iodine, so you can use apples for tea with them. I removed the core for aesthetic reasons :)

Place the sliced apples in a teapot (I have a French press).

An additional secret: before using the teapot, I advise you to pour boiling water over it, so the tea will brew better and will be even more aromatic.

Step 3: Prepare Orange

Rinse the orange well and roll on a cutting board until tender, so that juice forms inside. Then cut across into thin slices. Put in a kettle.

At the end, I folded in layers one by one, alternating with the apple.

Step 4: Prepare Ginger

Rinse well with ginger. For tea, it can be used together with the skin.

But I brush it off out of habit. It is convenient to do this gently using a spoon or knife.

Then finely chop the ginger and put in a teapot.

Ginger provides a fair amount of pungency and spicy flavor, so if you are not a big fan of it, then it is better to use less of it.

Step 5: Tea Itself

Add tea to the teapot.

Most often, tea is taken in this calculation: for one cup of boiling water - one teaspoon of tea. For those who like it stronger, you can increase the amount of tea (1.5-2 teaspoons per mug).

Step 6: Add Cinnamon

Break a cinnamon stick into small pieces, put in a teapot.

Step 7: And Some More Spices

Put the cloves into the teapot.

Step 8: Left Just a Little Bit

This is how our puff cake in a teapot looks bright and joyful. Warms not only with aroma, but also with appearance.

Step 9: Add Boiling Water

Boil water in a kettle, pour boiling water into a teapot. Close the lid.

Step 10: Wait a Little

Leave for 10 minutes to infuse the tea.
If you do not have a teapot, or you want to prepare this tea for a large company, you can safely use a saucepan.

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan, then pour boiling water over and cook over very low heat for about 5 minutes. Then cover and leave to brew for 10 minutes. It is most convenient to pour into cups through a sieve.

Step 11: It's Time to Enjoy!

Pour the prepared tea into prepared mugs and serve.

For sweetness, sugar or honey can be added to tea, but so that it does not lose its beneficial properties, it must be added not to boiling water, but when the tea cools down a little.

Supplement your tea with a slice of lemon, fruit or sweets that will help you restore inner harmony :)

It's time to enjoy delicious tea, warm up and relax.

All warmth and pleasant tea!

Comments

[antnolivesworkshop]

I personally have never seen tea made like this before from such fresh ingredients. It looks quite amazing! This is definitely on my list to try.

[Pogacsa]

Hello, КысьБ! I don't speak Russian, but I'm going to use Google
Translate to give my question in both English & Russian for you.
First, I LOVE that you use Instructables to practice your English! I
know dried carnation flower is used in teas & has medicinal
properties, but I don't see any in the pictures of the ingredients. Do
you use carnation flower in your tea blend, but you didn't have it for
this Instructable? There are 2 shops in my neighborhood where I could
buy it and I would love to try your tea, so I'll try your blend with the
carnation and without and see what I like best. Thank you for this
recipe!

Здравствуйте, КысьБ! Я не говорю
по-русски, но я собираюсь использовать Google Translate, чтобы задать
вам свой вопрос на английском и русском языках. Во-первых, мне НРАВИТСЯ,
что вы используете Instructables, чтобы практиковать свой английский! Я
знаю, что сушеные цветы гвоздики используют в чаях и обладают лечебными
свойствами, но я не вижу их на фотографиях с ингредиентами. Вы
используете цветок гвоздики в своей чайной смеси, но у вас его не было
для этой инструкции? В моем районе есть 2 магазина, где я могу купить
его и попробовать ваш чай, поэтому я попробую вашу смесь с гвоздикой и
без нее и посмотрю, что мне больше нравится. Спасибо за рецепт!

[КысьБ]

I apologize for having seen this message with such a delay and only now I am answering.
Thank you very much for your support and kind words about the practice of English. I am very pleased. Therefore, I hope for understanding regarding my mistakes and immediately want to apologize for them. Actually, this is how it happened: in Russian, "carnation" as a flower and "cloves" as a spice are spelled the same way, and I did not know that it was different in English. And after I recently figured it out, I forgot to fix it in the instructions itself, I apologize again.
When brewing tea, I use cloves, a spice.
Thank you very much for your comment and clarification, and for letting me grow and improve :)

[Pogacsa]

Ah! Thank you! I'm glad to know because your tea mix looks delicious. I downloaded the recipe and would love to make it. Thank you for replying!

[patriciarichards23]

This tea is delicious. I did find that adding the black tea for the last 4 minutes of steeping time keeps it from getting 'bitter'. Your tips on using sweet / tasty oranges and apples was appreciated.

[КысьБ]

Thank you so much! I am glad that together we have created the perfect formula for the perfect tea :)

[LynsProjects]

Now I understand where that particular tea from Pike's Place Market in Seattle comes from, Russia. But instead of "carnation" (in list of ingredients) don't you mean cloves? I shall make this tonight but I'm going to eat the apples & oranges after brewing it. For that reason think I'll first make this with bagged tea. LOVE spiced tea. During winter must have it. During supper I switch of fruit flavored tea.

[КысьБ]

Oh yes, of course, this is referring to the cloves. I apologize for some inaccuracies in translation, this language is not my native language, but I am trying :) I hope there are not so many mistakes.
Yes, these fruits can then be perfectly eaten, do not worry about it.
I'm glad I liked the tea. In winter, it is really a must have!
Good luck with further experiments :)

[Pothuset]

I am out of cloves, but they are on my shopping list. The rest is alread in my kitchen. I had to try it.

[КысьБ]

Great attitude!
Well, how did it work out?
Was it incredibly delicious? :)

[Pothuset]

The first tea became bitter, but I think it was the wrong black tea I used. The next was much better. I used Keemun tea and removed all the white parts from the orange. Absolutely a favourite.

[КысьБ]

How interesting! I will definitely look for such tea with us and try to make it with it.
And with black tea, you should be careful, because if you insist on it for a long time to get a rich taste of other products, it can give bitterness. Therefore, you can either use a smaller amount of tea, or, alternatively, first pour boiling water over everything, and then add the tea after a few minutes.
I think another interesting option would be to try making white tea, it should turn out great too!
Thank you for trying and sharing your success with me, I am very pleased!
Good luck in your further experiments!

[LarryG7]

From the title I thought maybe you were warming the tea using the spices and fruits. I clicked to see what sort of chemical reaction would do that!

[КысьБ]

Well, in fact, yes, we really heat tea with the addition of spices and fruits, because we brew it with boiling water :)

[LarryG7]

"...Well, in fact, yes, we really heat tea with the addition of spices and fruits, because we brew it with boiling water..."

Well, in fact, no. The above sentence is saying the tea is heated because of the addition of spices and fruits. This type of mistake makes little difference in causal language, however, it could cause much weeping and wailing in legal documents
The sentence should say something like, " ...our tea with spices and fruits added is heated with boiling water..."

[Kekshexe]

This sure is a lot of healthiness in one cuppa <3 It looks like it tastes great. I usually only put ginger in my black tea, but this is like a punch! great :)
Just, when I try it, I would put the tea into a little extra bag to get it out in time (black tea does "normally" take 3-5 minutes before the caffein impact decreases [ok] and the bitterness increases [not ok! :D] - thank you, tannins!) but leave all the other ingredients in there for the whole 10 - 15 minutes.
If, of course, one does not mind the bitterness, ignore my little suggestion and enjoy :)

[КысьБ]

I understand perfectly well that you are talking about excessive bitterness if it stands for too long. But with this in mind, I usually just reduce the very amount of tea per teapot. And it turns out too little to give bitterness, but it infuses well.
It's just that in Russia packaged teas are usually much inferior in quality, so we prefer to take good quality tea in bulk for brewing in a teapot.
But the idea of using a separate bag to take it out early is great! I think it will come in handy in the future, thanks!

[jessyratfink]

Looks like I need to get another French press! This sounds lovely. :)

[КысьБ]

I apologize for the long-time answer, I just returned from the maternity hospital yesterday with a new member of our family (son)!
If I understand correctly, then you need another French press, but larger?)
I don’t confuse anything, and do you have such a word and concept in the language as a French press? :)

[valcider]

Very nicely done! I can almost taste it!