Russian Tea

I really think that one of the sweetest blessings in my life are my girlfriends! The Lord has truly blessed me with some remarkable women to share life with. This afternoon a couple ladies from my office came over for tea. We ate fun, girly foods and drank tea and chattered away for a couple of hours. I was struck by what a precious thing it is to work with ladies like these. They love the Lord and approach life and work with open hearts and speak truth and encouragement to me on a weekly basis. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed this afternoon, to the point of weepiness, with how rich my life is because of the women, inside work and out, who share it with me.



Sigh... Dash away a couple stray tears... Enough of being sentimental! Lets talk tea!

A friend shared this recipe on her blog and I thought it would be fun to try it out this afternoon for our little tea party. Aside from the fact that it made my house smell wonderful, it tasted AMAZING! Enough so that I went back out to the store tonight to get some decaffeinated black tea so that I can make another batch this evening.

At first sip, the tea tastes like a good, spicy apple cider, but if you pay more attention to it, the predominate flavor is actually pineapple, which is fun. Here you go :

Russian Tea

5 1/2 cups water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
3/4 cup sugar
5 black tea bags
Juice from 2 oranges
Juice from 1 lemon
1 - 6oz can pineapple juice

- Boil water, cinnamon, cloves and sugar for 1 minute.
- Add tea bags and steep, covered, for 20 minutes.
- Strain out spices from tea and add juices.
- Serve hot or cold.

(If you want, you can keep the strained spices and citrus peel and simmer them in some water to make your kitchen smell lovely for the rest of the afternoon!)

That's all. Hope you all have a lovely week!