Name: Friendship Tea Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 cups Tang; 1/4 cup sugar; 3/4 cup instant tea, lemon; 1/2 cup instant lemonade; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 tsp ground allspice; 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Friendship Tea, also known as Russian Tea, is a heavenly winter treat. It has warming citrus flavors, subtle holiday notes, and a little caffeine boost. I just discovered Friendship Tea this year and I’m blown away! It’s instantly become a staple. Today I’ll walk you through the very simple recipe for making your own batch of tea at home.

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Honestly, I don’t like warm drinks. I don’t drink coffee, but on a particularly cold day, I might brew a cup of tea. It’s a rare occasion, but it happens. So the fact that I’m recommending a hot beverage should speak volumes to the tastiness of this tea.

Ever since I whipped up a batch of Friendship Tea mix, I’ve been having a cup almost every day. It’s super convenient because there’s no brewing time. And even though the holidays have passed, it still has a wonderfully festive winter flavor. I can tell you now, we’ll always have a batch ready in this house during the cold months.

Tea is perfect for snow days like this…

History of Friendship Tea

Interestingly enough, though it’s commonly called Russian Tea, this recipe does not hail from Russia. However, you will find some variation of it in just about every church cookbook in the South. History is a little grey on exactly where the “Russian” name originated. It’s thought to be loosely based on Russian royalty in the early 19th and 20th centuries that would take their black tea with sugar and lemon. In fact, the non-instant version of this drink would call for a stovetop boil of black tea with orange, lemon, and sugar.

When the 60s hit, everyone was excited about space travel & astronauts. All the cool kids were drinking Tang. What better time to create an instant version of this classic drink? Russian tea rose in popularity and now it’s become a staple at family holidays. There are many variations to the recipes floating around, but here’s my take on Friendship Tea or Russian Tea.

Also, keep in mind that this makes a fabulous holiday gift.

What you’ll need:

Want More Ideas?

For another wonderfully warm winter drink idea, check out our recipe making your own bone broth at home. It’s healthy, flavorful, and healing for your body.

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