Middle Eastern Spiced tea

What is better than wrapping your fingers around a hot cup of tea in this harsh winter weather?!! and with this super aromatic tea, that has a lot of Arabic and Middle Eastern spices, you will want nothing but a cozy couch.

This is one of the most popular Middle Eastern tea, and it is most common in the Gulf area specially in Yemen and Emirates, I’ve heard that this is sold by street vendors in every corner in the U.A.E.

Have you ever visited U.A.E before? I would love to go there one day, I’ve heard it is one of the most charming countries in the Middle East, one that you’ll go bankrupt if you visit because you’ll want to buy everything and it is super expensive there. Arabian women like to buy gold when they go the gulf area, gold there is very high quality and the jewelry craftsmanship is beyond this world.

I remember when I was like 11 years old, going to a wedding party in KSA, in those parties women and men are separated meaning, women are celebrating in a different place than men with their own banquet and with the bride among them. When I stepped in there, I’ve found lots of women dressed up to the finest and latest fashion even, and almost covered in shiny gold which was a scene I’m not used to ^o^. At that time, I was not very much interested in gold, so I wonder what will I do now if I stepped in a wedding like this …. poor hubby (^o^)/.

Back to the real world, tea in the Middle East, specially black tea, is like coffee in the US, you can always find it in each and every household. Women and men, poor or rich, single, married or with children, young, old and even children drink tea there. It is something cultural , and this is one of the tastiest tea recipes I’ve ever had.

This recipe is customizable, meaning that you choose to put all or part, as little or more of the spices, but cardamom is a must. I was not sure how will the spices appeal to my taste, so I’ve just added cardamoms and whole cloves. If you want more flavors, you are welcome to add ground nutmeg, cinnamon and some people add saffron which is next on my list for this recipe. This is a hearty drink that makes you feel warm, cozy and relaxed, even my 5 years old said it was super delicious.

One last word, I’ve added 3Tbs of sugar and this recipe yielded a total of 16oz, so it was super sweet for us, so when I made it again, I’ve reduced the sugar to 1Tbs.

Now I’ll leave you with the video and the written recipe… Have a nice weekend.

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Middle East spiced tea

Super flavorful and aromatic tea that will leave you feeling warm and cozy.

Ingredients

• 2 c of water.
• 2 tea bags = 2 tsp loose tea.
• 5 oz evaporated unsweetened milk.
• Sugar to taste- be aware that this recipe yields 16oz of spiced tea.
• 8 cardamom pods.

Use any or all of the following

• 4-5 whole cloves.
• 1/8 tsp . cinnamon - optional.
• 1/8 tsp . nutmeg - optional.

Instructions

1. In a pot, or tea pot, add water, tea bags and sugar. Stir to combine.
2. Add the spices and bring to a boil.
3. Add milk, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Strain, pour in serving cups.
5. Serve hot.
6. Enjoy.