The ´Covadonga´ Fruit Drink

Here's a recipe tip for a cool drink on a hot day, or a hot drink on a cold day. A glass of this gives you a caffein shot and a sugar top-up - great when you need a pep-me-up. If people ask you what it is, just say it´s a ´Covandonga´!

(Of course, the word 'hot' is relative. A hot day in the UK - one which would get people complaining about the heat - would be a cool day here in Mexico!)

Ingredients: Water ... loose tea (or tea bags) ... fresh (or bottled) limes and/or lemons ... oranges ... honey ... sugar and/or sweetner.

Take a large jug (2 pints or litres) and fill it 5/6 full with freshly brewed black tea. (That's normal tea to us Brits.) The strength of the tea is up to you. I use between 2 and 4 heaped tablespoons of loose tea.

Pour some of the hot tea into a cup and disolve two or three tablespoons of honey in it. Pour the sweetened tea back into the jug.

Then take 3 or 4 limes (or two lemons), cut them in half, and squeeze them out. Extract as much of the flesh as you can also. If you don't have a fruit squeezer, use a suitable sized spoon and really scoop the fruit out thoroughly.  Do the same thing with two medium sized oranges. Add the squeezed fruit - flesh and all - to the tea.

Of course, you can add any other bottled, squeezed, liquidised or mashed soft fruit to the mix. I once mashed two very ripe bananas and added them, giving it a great banana flavour.

If you're planning to drink this cold it's a good idea to wait until the tea has cooled down before adding the fruit juice. That prevents the vitamins in the juice from being damaged by the heat.

Now add sugar and/or sweetener to the jug until you get a flavour that knocks your socks off!

If it's a cold day in the UK (or elsewhere) put your socks back on again. Then enjoy this hot refreshing drink. If it's a hot day anywhere else put the jug into your fridge... or a neighbours fridge if you don't have one yourself. If you use a neighbours fridge better padlock the jug 'cos otherwise there won't be much fruity tea left when go next door for it!

When the level of drink has gone down in the jug - surely rather quickly! - you can top it up with Cola to add extra taste and caffein. Try it ... you'll be surprised at how good it is!

If you have any fellow feelings at all, share the drink with your neighbour, and then tell them where you read the recipe and give them the web address for this blog. That's an order! :-)

1 comment:

  1. John, I'm really enjoying this! It brings back so many memories of when my family lived in Mexico. I want to take my son down there when he's older so he can experience it, too.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment. I promise to read it and post it here as soon as possible.