Roasted tea: A Czech winter treat for year-round enjoyment

Pečený čaj, or roasted tea, is a popular aromatic drink in the Czech Republic. Seasonal fruits are roasted and then placed in small jars. When you unscrew the lid in the fall and winter, the whole room fills with a wonderful summer sweetness.

Pečený čaj can also become the base of an intensely fruity and aromatic lemonade. It warms you up in the winter and quenches your thirst in the summer. This drink is not well known, but you can buy jars of roasted tea in the Czech Republic without any problem. I brought several flavours from Prague myself. Some I will certainly save for the winter.

Pečený čaj is a trendy fruit drink in the Czech Republic. Translated to American English, pečený čaj means roasted tea. However, don't be misled; this product doesn't contain tea leaves; instead, it has a mixture of roasted fruits (baked with sugar and spices). The mixture is then placed in airtight jars. One teaspoon of such fruits creates a glass of aromatic drink.

The idea is to enjoy the taste of fruits even in the winter, so now, while you have plenty of fresh seasonal fruits on hand, is the best time to prepare roasted tea, or more specifically, a fruit-roasted mixture. The ready mix can be poured with water, but our southern neighbours sometimes add a splash of rum.

Homemade roasted tea: recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 kilogram of fruits (apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries, currants, chokeberries, cherries),
• 100 grams of citrus juice – oranges, lemons, mandarins,
• sugar – enough to cover the fruits,
• spices: cinnamon/cardamom/ginger/cloves/vanilla/anise.

Preparation:

1. Place washed and cleaned fruits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. It's best if the fruits are not too crowded and close together.
3. Pour the citrus juice over the fruits, add your favourite spices and sprinkle with sugar. Mix well.
4. Put the fruits in the oven and bake at 170°C for 50 minutes, stirring the mixture every few minutes.
5. Then, transfer the fruits along with the resulting syrup to jars and pasteurize.