As a Christmas gift back in the late 1960’s, a friend brought my family a jar of Russian Tea Mix she had made. We were not tea drinkers, but the mix was really good. It was a fad recipe at that time (remember those?).

This year I decided to revive that recipe. After some experimentation, the results were very much like what I remembered.

NOTE: Quantities listed below are just suggestions. Make a small amount first, then taste it to determine if adjustments are needed.

RUSSIAN TEA MIX

2 cups sugar-sweetened orange breakfast drink mix

1 cup sugar-sweetened lemonade drink mix

1 cup instant tea powder (I used unsweetened)

1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined, then store in an airtight container. Use a heaping teaspoonful of mix stirred into teacup of hot water and you’ll have INSTANT CHRISTMAS!