Spiced Honey Iced Tea                    


This spiced tea was inspired by Indian chai, a blend of tea, milk and ground spices--cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. It has to steep overnight, so plan accordingly.

1 quart water
8 Earl Grey tea bags
8 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
8 cardamom pods, crushed
2 tablespoons coriander seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons anise seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons allspice berries, crushed
1/2 to 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
3 tablespoons honey
Lime wedges, thinly sliced oranges and cinnamon sticks, for garnish

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the tea bags, remove from the heat and let steep for 20 minutes; discard the tea bags. Reheat the tea and pour it into a heatproof bowl. Add all of the spices, cover and let steep overnight.

2. Strain the tea into a medium saucepan. Reheat the tea and stir in the honey; let cool. For each drink, pour the spiced tea over cracked ice. Garnish with a lime wedge, an orange slice and a cinnamon stick and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The strained and sweetened spiced tea can be refrigerated for 3 days.

Makes 8 Drinks