Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is in English folk custom the end of Christmas merrymaking and in ancient Celtic tradition the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale). Leaves me to wonder how many people got sick drinking from the same wassail bowl!



WASSAIL TEA recipe for Twelfth Night Celebration
¾ c. lemon juice
1 ½ c. orange juice
1 ½ c. apple cider
1 ½ c. sugar
1 ½ c. water
3 tsp. of our Organic Pumpkin Spice Black Tea blend
or
7 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 ½ tsp. tea

Combine juices and cider in large kettle. Set aside. Combine ½ cup sugar, whole cloves and cinnamon sticks in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Remove spices. Add spiced water mixture to juices. Add 1 ½ cups boiling water to tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain. Add tea to juices with remaining 1 cup sugar. Add 5 cups boiling water before serving. Heat until piping hot. Do not boil.