How did/do the Russians make carrot tea?

Question

A while ago I read a book about the Russian Civil War (it was Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff) in which the characters frequently drank coffee made out of acorns and tea made out of carrots. I tried naively making carrot tea by grating some carrots and pouring hot water on them, like I would make ginger tea. But the resulting brew did not taste strongly of carrots.

How is carrot tea brewed--what part of the carrot is used? I would also be interested to know whether there are any other countries in which this has ever been a popular drink.

The book "Blood on the Snow" by Emanuel Litvinoff is classified as fiction (http://www.worldcat.org/title/blood-on-the-snow/oclc/16497685&referer=brief_results). There are a lot of recipes, plants, and dishes mentioned in fiction which don't correspond to practices done in real life. That said, dandelion roots are roasted before made into a coffee substitute, and this may have been similar to the treatment used on the acorns. In terms of the tea, when you soak carrots in water, it would be called 'broth,' so the greens are more likely the ingredient used. — , Jul 21 '16 at 22:37
@Cascabel, sorry I had to withdraw my acceptance (and tea made from carrot tops is very nice, and also made in Russia) but I went to the trouble of learning some Russian and it turns out that user29585 is actually correct. The Russians call this drink морковный чай and searching for this term in Youtube reveals numerous videos of people showing how to make it. — Flounderer, Sep 09 '17 at 18:42

Cascabel · Answer 1 · 2013-09-07T01:55:46.720

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You use the leaves, not the carrot themselves. I don't know for sure this is what your Russian Civil War book was talking about, but I know it works, and besides, if they were desperate enough for acorn coffee and carrot tea, I imagine they were eating the carrots. This site suggests that you might need 1/4 cup of carrot greens per 1 cup of water; you can find plenty more searching for "carrot top tea".

edited Sep 07 '13 at 01:55

answered Sep 06 '13 at 22:58

Cascabel

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Thanks. This certainly seems logical and it made a weak but drinkable tea. I will accept this answer, but I would still be interested to hear from a Russian! – Flounderer Sep 08 '13 at 00:41

score 11 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 07 '21 at 16:41

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Wash, dry, shred, cut finely or julienne the carrots. Dry it on a sheet of parchment paper until almost all of the moisture is evaporated. Bake it in an oven on low heat until brown.

Left: result, Right: brewed. Source

edited Apr 07 '21 at 16:41

Nick T

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answered Nov 27 '14 at 17:35

user29585

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Have you made tea with this? It sounds pretty interesting! – Megha Jul 20 '16 at 17:35
That makes sense. It's a similar preparation to the Turkish 'apple tea'. – Joe Sep 24 '18 at 17:30

score 4 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 24 '18 at 16:45

I know the carrot tea my grandmother did it* it's super deliceous ande easy to make, everyone must try it. All you have to do is to grate carrots as you would for soup or stew, and dry them in the oven at the 40-100 C.

And when they are dryed out put some in a tea pot pour hot water, sweeten it with honey and milk (or simply drink without any added things). It's awesome.

How did/do the Russians make carrot tea?

3 Answers3