Stillwater Tea Recipe

The beverage is one of Tasha's specialties. She made it from late spring through late summer, most frequently on the hottest days of the year. She set the front porch table with a turkey red tablecloth, straw spoons, cups, sugar water, a plate of cookies, and a vase of flowers. 

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

5 tablespoons black loose-leaf tea

1 quart fresh cold water

6 oranges

6 lemons

6 limes

1 quart ginger ale

Instructions: Make a simple syrup by bringing sugar and 1/4 cup of water to a boil, then reducing heat and simmering until sugar dissolves. Cool, then place in a canning jar with a lid, but don't refrigerate, or it will crystallize. 

Pour 1 quart of boiling water into a pitcher with 5 tablespoons of tea leaves and steep for five minutes, stirring once. Pour tea through a strainer into a second pitcher. Cool, but don't refrigerate, as doing so will cloud the tea. 

Juice the oranges, lemons, and limes. For each serving, put fruit juice in a large glass, pour tea to the halfway mark, then fill the remainder with ginger ale and 2 ice cubes. Add syrup to taste. Garnish with mint. 

The Tasha Tudor Family Cookbook and Tasha's favorite Welsh Breakfast Tea are available in our online store.