Hot Grapefruit Tea

A few months ago, I asked my Facebook friends the following question: "I have been dissatisfied with every brand of vitamins I tried. I?m almost giving up. Can anyone recommend a multivitamin they tried and liked?"

A few of my friends answered with brands of vitamins they liked (the liquid kind was a popular one) but one of them replied with ?Try figs, dates, raisins... warm grapefruit juice with honey is a winner.?

I was surprised by his answer, to say the least. I had never heard of grapefruit juice being consumed warm or as a dietary supplement. All I knew was that it?s packed with vitamin C and that when I?m craving it badly, it usually means I?m about to get a cold and my immune system needs a boost. But that's not what got me intrigued about it, I was simply curious about how it would taste.

Lo and behold, I gave warm grapefruit tea a try. I had a vanilla bean in the pantry that I thought would add a sweet aroma and milden the bitterness a bit. I threw in a few peppercorns and hoped for the best. The grapefruit tea came out very tasty. Every warm sip held notes of vanilla and just a hint of heat from the pepper. It was a great cup that I would most definitely make again.






Hot Grapefruit Tea Recipe

1 serving

1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
1 inch vanilla bean, split and scraped*
2 peppercorns
Honey, to taste (optional)

Place all the ingredients except the honey in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Discard the vanilla and peppercorns. Taste and sweeten with honey, if you wish. Serve warm.

*Split the vanilla bean lenghtwise and scrape its seeds with a paring knife. Add both the bean and the seeds to the juice.