Spiced Tea

When I was growing up there was a little restaurant on the square in Denton that my mom loved, particularly their tea! Someone there was kind enough to give her the recipe and she would make it on occasion and I could never get enough. Since Brent and I are now on this low-no carb diet with no sugar I had to made a tea that he would drink unsweetened. Of course for those of you that aren’t as regimented as us this is excellent sweet – equally delicious warm with honey.
Spiced Tea
Yield: 8 quarts (2 – 4 quart pitchers)

1 quart water
Peel from one small orange (I use a potato peeler and leave the white behind – too bitter)
1 stick of cinnamon
6 whole cloves
8 black tea bags

In a medium saucepan, bring the water, orange peel, cinnamon and cloves to a boil and then immediately remove from heat. Drop in the tea bags and cover, let steep for 30 minutes to an hour or until cool. Strain and divide equally between two 4 quart pitchers and then add water to 4 quarts.