Cranberry Tea
In the spirit of Christmas, I’ve got two more cranberry recipes to share with you this week and I’m pretty excited about both of them. This first one, Cranberry Tea, isn’t actually tea at all. It’s more of a hot cranberry cider…but I don’t name the recipes, I just make them. And this is a good one. My aunt started making this recipe a few years ago for Christmas. Not a tea drinker back then, I was initially not interested in a cranberry version. She convinced me to try some, however, and she might be regretting it now, because I loved it so much I now ask for it without fail every Christmas.
It’s a warm soothing drink that’s unique and perfect for this time of year. With the combination of orange juice and cranberries, cinnamon and cloves, it’s full of the flavors of Christmas. It’s also simple to prepare and easy to make in advance. Mike, who sometimes claims he doesn’t like cranberries or tea, loves this drink and has even been known to reach for it instead of hot chocolate. This cranberry tea is one of our favorites and something we look forward to every year.
Ingredients:
To make the concentrate:
1 bag cranberries (12 oz)
2 sticks cinnamon
6 whole cloves
4 c water
1 - 6 oz frozen lemonade
1 - 6 oz frozen orange juice
To make the tea:
1 cup concentrate
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups water
Directions:
To make the concentrate: Combine the cranberries, cinnamon, cloves and 4 cups of water and boil 10 minutes. Cool and strain through cheesecloth 15 - 20 minutes. Add the lemonade concentrate and orange juice concentrate. Boil again. Let cool.
Makes 4 cups of concentrate.
To make the tea: Mix all ingredients together and heat.
from my Aunt Candy