Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Comforting, warm, Russian Tea 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.

Table of Contents
  1. Russian Tea From Scratch
  2. Ingredients Needed
  3. Does Russian Tea have caffeine?
  4. How do you make Russian Tea?
  5. Watch us Make Russian Tea
  6. How do you serve Russian Tea?
  7. Russian Tea Recipe
  8. Other Tea Recipes

Cool 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 tea…other times it is coffee.

But when we’re feeling fancy, I make up this Russian Tea recipe (originally found in many of my old church cookbooks) and let it simmer all day. Not only will you love the taste of this comforting drink, but the house will smell amazing from all the spices, too.

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (1)

Russian Tea From Scratch

Many Russian Tea recipes are made with Tang orange drink mix and lemonade mix which allows the recipe to be a dry mix “Instant” tea. Although we love that Instant tea 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.

Ingredients Needed

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.

Does Russian Tea have caffeine?

We normally 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.

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (2)

How do you make Russian Tea?

We like to use our slow cooker to make Russian tea. You can also make it in a dutch oven on the stovetop.

  • Simply add the sugar and juices to the 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.

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.

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (3)

Watch us Make Russian Tea

How do you serve Russian Tea?

If you are having a dinner party that is more buffet style, it may be best to leave the tea in the slow cooker and allow people to serve themselves. If you choose this you can add cinnamon sticks and 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.

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (4)

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (5)

Russian Tea

4.66 from 32 votes

Comforting, warm, Russian Tea 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 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Print RecipeSave Recipe

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 5 black tea bags
  • 12 whole cloves
  • 4 cinnamon sticks (divided)
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

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

Author Julie Clark

Course Drink

Cuisine American

Calories 161

Keyword hot drink, hot fruit drink, hot tea recipe, slow cooker tea

Have you tried this recipe?

Share a review below or share on Instagram with the tag #tastesoflizzyt.

Other Tea Recipes

  • Cranberry Pineapple Iced Tea
  • Lemon Ginger Iced Tea
Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T (2024)

FAQs

Russian Tea Recipe {Slow Cooker Hot Drink} | Tastes of Lizzy T? ›

Varieties. Traditionally, black tea is the most common tea in Russia, but green tea is becoming more popular. Traditional tea in Russia includes the traditional type known as Russian Caravan as it was originally imported from China via camel caravan.

What kind of tea do they drink in Russia? ›

Varieties. Traditionally, black tea is the most common tea in Russia, but green tea is becoming more popular. Traditional tea in Russia includes the traditional type known as Russian Caravan as it was originally imported from China via camel caravan.

How do they make tea in Russia? ›

A teapot, filled with concentrated tea, is placed on top of the samovar, which maintains it at just the right temperature. As soon as the water in the samovar is hot (it should not boil), it is poured from the faucet into the cup or glass to dilute the concentrated tea.

What is Zavarka? ›

The zavarka is a strong tea concentrate made with loose leaf tea . It's then diluted with kipyatok (кипяток) which is boiling hot water. The dilution allows the drinker to control the strength of their tea.

Does Russian tea have caffeine? ›

Like other black teas, Russian Caravan tends to be high in caffeine, containing about half as much caffeine per cup as coffee.

What is the difference between English and Russian tea? ›

Unlike English tea culture, in Russia, tea is usually taken black and sweet. Despite the rising popularity of green tea in the nation, black tea is still the most common. Often a sugar cube is placed between the teeth and then the tea is sipped through it.

What drink is Russia known for? ›

The main Russian alcoholic drink has always been vodka ever since it appeared in the 15th century. Vodka is made from grains and purified spring water.

What is a Russian tea maker called? ›

samovar, metal urn, often of brass, with a spigot near its base, widely used in Russia to boil water for tea. In traditional samovars water is heated by means of a vertical tube, containing burning charcoal, running up the middle of the urn. A filled teapot is set atop the chimney to steep.

What does Russian tea taste like? ›

The flavors of cinnamon, clove, and citrus that already make this our most popular tea will only be enhanced when you add the remaining ingredients of your Russian Tea. The more subtle tanginess of orange will be brought to light in adding lemon, orange juice, and pineapple juice.

What is Smoky Russian tea? ›

Inspired by the ancient classic Russian caravan tea that got its smoky flavour from the old tea trade routes, and the caravans evening campfires along them. This is a pinewood smoked Lapsang Souchong black tea. Blended with Formosa Oolong sourced from Taiwan & Mao Feng Keemun sourced from China.

What is gulag tea? ›

Chifir (Russian: чифи́рь, romanized: čifir', or alternatively, чифи́р) is an exceptionally strong tea, associated with and brewed in Soviet and post-Soviet detention facilities such as gulags and prisons. Preparation of chifir in an enamel mug. Some sources mention properties of a light drug, causing addiction.

What is Russian Ivan tea? ›

Ivan chai or fireweed tea is a fermented herbal tea made from a fireweed (willow) herb that tribes from Siberia and Alaska were adding to food and used for its health benefits for thousands of years. In Russia it has been brewed as a tea drink at least since the 13th century and is known as Koporsky tea.

What is the most consumed tea in the world? ›

Black Tea: The Most Consumed Tea Globally.

What does Russian tea smell like? ›

It smells pretty much as you'd expect it to smell: of smoke and black tea. It isn't very heavy, however, I find it completely wearable for day. It's probably the effect of the slightly fruity notes, raspberry and magnolia – the latter often reminds me of apples.

Do they drink coffee or tea in Russia? ›

Russians are often known as the tea-drinking people and there are different reasons for that. One of the stats has shown that around 78% of people love tea at least once a day. Some people like to have it with sweets and pastry which makes the tea break perfectly in every sense.

What do Russians eat for tea? ›

A Russian Tea
  • Menu.
  • Beverages: Russian Caravan Tea. Decaf English Breakfast Tea. Flavored Vodkas.
  • Savories: Borscht Shots. Charlotte's Marinated Mushrooms. Open-faced Smoked Salmon Sandwiches on Swirled Rye. Piroshki. ...
  • Sweets: Cheese Tarts. Russian Tea Cakes. Poppy Seed Cookies. Walnut Crescents.

Why is tea called chai in Russian? ›

When tea first traveled outside China to the Arab countries and Russia, the Mandarin word cha spread with the goods. In the Persian, Japanese, and Hindi languages, the word settled as cha, in Arabic shai, in Tibetan ja, in Turkish chay, and in Russian chai.

What is in Lapsang Souchong tea? ›

Lapsang souchong (/ˌlæpsæŋ ˈsuːtʃɒŋ/; Chinese: 立山小種) or Zhengshan xiaozhong (Chinese: 正山小種; pinyin: zhèngshān xiǎozhǒng, 'Proper Mountain Small Varietal') is a black tea consisting of Camellia sinensis leaves that may be smoke-dried over a pinewood fire.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Arline Emard IV

Last Updated:

Views: 6088

Rating: 4.1 / 5 (72 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Arline Emard IV

Birthday: 1996-07-10

Address: 8912 Hintz Shore, West Louie, AZ 69363-0747

Phone: +13454700762376

Job: Administration Technician

Hobby: Paintball, Horseback riding, Cycling, Running, Macrame, Playing musical instruments, Soapmaking

Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.