This adaptable recipe can be served hot or cold.
Reviewed by Dietitian Lisa Valente, M.S., RD
Key Points
- Lady Bird Johnson’s spiced tea recipe reflects her Southern hospitality.
- The tea can be customized with fresh juices for a less sweet version.
- Johnson often served the drink to guests at the family ranch in Texas.
When you drive down a highway trimmed with flowers instead of litter, you can thank Claudia Johnson. Affectionately known as “Lady Bird,” the former first lady was deeply involved with the Highway Beautification Act of 1965—a law dedicated to making highways and other American land more scenic.
But the first lady wasn’t just known for her activism, her business acumen or giving 47 speeches across eight southern states during Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 campaign. Lady Bird Johnson will also long be remembered for her Texas hospitality.
Luckily for us, we stumbled upon a recipe for her Spiced Tea—one that seems like a great way to honor the former first lady. After all, what’s more reminiscent of classic Southern hospitality than a cup of sweet tea?
Served either hot or cold depending on the season, LBJ Ranch Spiced Tea—the full name of the recipe—was served primarily at the couple’s family home in Stonewall, Texas.
If you want to make it for yourself, add four family-size tea bags to a large pot filled with 8 cups boiling water. Next, empty 1 can frozen limeade and 1 can frozen orange juice into the pot, then finish by adding 1 cinnamon stick and a sprinkling of whole cloves. Simmer for a few minutes, and serve hot or over ice.
As with most tea recipes, feel free to adjust the scale. This is a portion for a crowd, but you can make a smaller half batch if you want. Plus, there are plenty of other ways to make this recipe your own. If you want it “spicier,” throw a couple extra cloves into the mix, or you can omit them altogether for a smoother sip. Lady Bird also recommends adding sugar or artificial sweetener, like saccharin, to taste, depending on how sweet you prefer your cup.
If you’d like to lower the amount of sugar in this recipe, you might consider skipping the cans of frozen limeade and orange juice and replacing them with fresh lime juice and orange juice. Since some frozen concentrates, especially limeades, may have added sugar, using fresh fruit instead can help create a less-sweet option.
This recipe is just one small part of Johnson’s legacy—the next time you feel the urge to raise a glass of tea to Lady Bird, consider getting involved in your community as a way to help honor her memory, too. Volunteering with an organization like Keep America Beautiful or working in your community garden are great ways to salute her legacy. As Johnson famously said: “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
So, next time you’re hankering for a pot or pitcher of tea, try this recipe and see why it was touted as “a favorite of family and guests at the ranch.” While you’re most likely not a friend or family member, it could definitely become a new favorite.