Julie Clark
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Russian Tea Recipe
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Comforting, warm, Russian Tea recipe made in the slow cooker. This from scratch drink recipe is perfect for an evening drink after it simmers all day in the slow cooker.
Cold winter nights are coming and it’s getting dark earlier than ever! It’s evenings like this where I love to sip a warm drink before bedtime. Sometimes it is spice tea…other times it is coffee.
But when we’re feeling fancy during the Christmas season, I make up this Russian Tea recipe (originally found in many of my old church cookbooks from the 1960s) and let it simmer all day. Not only will you love the taste of this hot beverage, but the house will smell amazing from all the spices, too.
Russian Tea From Scratch
Many Russian Tea recipes are made with Tang orange drink mix and lemonade mix which allows the recipe to be an instant Russian tea mix, similar to our friendship tea. Although we love that Instant tea mixture in mason jars for gift giving and busy mornings when we are short on time, this is a “from scratch” recipe that uses juice and strongly steeped tea.
The flavors simmer in the slow cooker (or Dutch oven) for as long as you’d like. You’ll need to plan ahead just a few hours for this, but it is so worth it. And perfectly comforting on a cold winter day.
Does Russian Tea have caffeine?
We make our Russian Tea with black tea which does contain caffeine. If you’d like you can use caffeine free tea bags for a treat that won’t keep you up all night.
What is Russian Tea made of?
Our Russian Tea mix is made from strongly steeped tea (think 5 tea bags to 2 cups of hot water!), sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and orange juice. No powder mixes.
We use cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to add flavor like no other. It’s easy to keep these ingredients on hand so you’re ready to serve up warm tea any day you’d like.
How do you make Russian Tea?
We use our slow cooker to make this Russian tea recipe. You can also make it in a dutch oven on the stovetop.
- Simply add the sugar and juices to the slow cooker liner or pot and mix well.
- Steep the tea bags in hot water along with the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Then drain off the tea into the juice mixture. Discard any cloves or cinnamon sticks.
- Lastly, add 2 fresh cinnamon sticks to the tea mix. Cover and simmer. Stir well before serving.
That’s it! It will take a few hours to heat through depending on which method you use, but as soon as the beverage is heated through it’s ready to drink.
Serving Ideas
If you are having a dinner party that is more buffet style, it may be best to leave the this russian tea in the slow cooker and allow people to serve themselves. If you choose this you can add cinnamon sticks and lemon slices or orange slices to the top of the tea for a pretty look.
If you are serving individual glasses of tea, slice oranges and cut them in quarters. Spear a whole clove into the orange slice and serve on top of each individual glass as shown below. It looks so pretty and adds just a hint more flavor.
Other Tea Recipes
You may also love our homemade chai spice mix and peach lemonade.
Russian Tea Recipe
Comforting, warm, Russian Tea recipe made in the slow cooker. This from scratch drink recipe is perfect for an evening drink after it simmers all day in the slow cooker.
Servings 12
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar 400 grams
- 1 1/4 cups pineapple juice 10 ounces
- 1 cup orange juice 8 ounces
- 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 ounces
- 5 black tea bags
- 12 whole cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks (divided)
- 2 cups boiling water 16 ounces
- 2-3 quarts hot water (to taste)
Optional Serving Ingredients:
- 1 orange (sliced and quartered)
- 12 whole cloves
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine the sugar, pineapple juice, orange juice and lemon juice. 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 ¼ cups pineapple juice, 1 cup orange juice, ¼ cup lemon juice
- In a large measuring cup, place the tea bags, cloves and cinnamon sticks. Pour the hot water over the tea bags and let it steep for 5 minutes. 5 black tea bags, 12 whole cloves, 4 cinnamon sticks, 2 cups boiling water
- Strain the tea into the sugar and juice mix. Discard the cinnamon sticks and cloves that you strained out.
- Add 2-3 quarts of hot water, to taste. Add 2 quarts in immediately, then add more water until you get the taste you'd like. 2-3 quarts hot water
- Add the 2 remaining cinnamon sticks to the tea and cover the slow cooker. Cook on low until heated through.
- To garnish, slice an orange into thin slices, then halve or quarter them if you'd like. Push a whole clove into the orange slice and place it in the cup on top of the tea. 1 orange, 12 whole cloves
- You can also serve the tea from the slow cooker. You can decorate the top with orange slices and cinnamon sticks if you’d like.
Video
Notes
- Don’t have cinnamon sticks? Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, but the cinnamon will not dissolve into the tea.
- The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 12 people, with 1 serving being 1 cup of hot tea. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 65IU | Vitamin C: 20.5mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Thank you so much for this. I had this recipe years ago and lost it. Until this one, all I could find was recipes made with powders, but they can’t compare to this. Looking forward to making it again for Christmas!
I tried this recipe tonight. It was very delicious! Thank you for sharing it.
It is like my mother’s recipe when I was in college on cold Michigan winter nights. Then when I was in the Air Force (1972-1974) a civilian nurse made the instant mix to keep us awake on the night shift. Thanks for putting it out there now. I was an officer and a R.N.
Can this tea be frozen and defrosted as needed?
I remember my mother making this every year around Christmas when I was a young girl. I loved the way it smelled as it was cooking on the stove. Several years ago she gave me a recipe but she was trusting her not-so-good memory. She passed away on Easter Sunday 2019 but think of her every time I make it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I think it comes closer to hers than any of the recipes I’ve tried!❤️❤️❤️
I made this for our annual Christmas Eve party. It was fantastic! Several requested the recipe! I will be making it again for sure!
Tried your recipe after not finding my Uncle Don’s who passed some years ago. It was so very close to his and I am about to make another batch for my school’s luncheon Friday. When you say 5 tea bags, I’m assuming you are referring to family size bags?