Recipe and procedure for making "cinnamon tea"

[Swarfmaker]

I get a lot of sludge. From the 3-1/2 cups of boiling water, and three
tablespoons of ground cinnamon, I get just a little over 2 cups of
usable "water-soluble extract" or "tea".
I had to do some experimenting with using different brands of cinnamon
available to me. Some worked out better than others. Bulk cinnamon
from Gorden Food Service (GFS Marketplace) was the worst. I put 1/2
tsp. of each brand into a graduated "shot" glass. I filled a tea
kettle and put it on the stove to boil. Meanwhile, I filled a pan with
hot tap water to dip the shot glasses into before filling them to the
same level with the boiling water from the tea kettle. I held the
glass by the top, dipped the bottom in the pan of hot water to pre-
heat. Then, I sat it on the kitchen counter, and poured in the boiling
water. Using a toothpick, I stirred the cinnamon up so it was well
mixed with the water, then let it sit until cool. I found that
different brands of cinnamon expanded more, leaving less "cinnamon
tea", and more icky, gloppy, sludge to be thrown out.
I settled on bulk cinnamon I get from a local "international" market
(catering to middle-eastern cuisine).
Here's the "recipe" I use, plus the procedure:
3 tablespoons of ground cassia cinnamon
2 bottles of mineral or bottled water, 1/2 liter bottles
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 canning jars, 1 quart size
cutting board
1 bamboo shish kabob skewer
1 ceramic, glass, or ceramic coated kettle
Measure 3-1/2 cups of water, pour into a 1 quart canning jar. Note the
level of the water on the jar, and use this to measure the proper
amount of water for future brews. Save one of the mineral water
bottles to store the "tea" in.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the kettle. Pour in the 3-1/2 cups
of water. Put the kettle on the stove to boil.
Put 3 level teaspoons of ground cassia cinnamon in a 1 quart canning
jar. Place the small cutting board in the kitchen sink over the drain.
Place the jar on the board. This is to provide a level and stable
surface. If your sink has a level surface to set the jar on, you can
skip the cutting board.
Run the hot water so that it is HOT before the water in the kettle
starts to boil. Hold the canning jar under the water, and rotate to
pre-heat the jar just prior to adding the boiling water. This is to
minimize the chance of the jar cracking when the boiling water is
added. Hold the jar by the rim in order to keep the tap water out of
the jar.
When the water in the kettle begins to boil, set the jar which you
have pre-heated in the stream of hot tap water, in the sink, on the
cutting board (if you are using one). If the jar should crack, the
boiling water will go down the drain, not all over you.
Pour the boiling water aggressively into the jar until the contents
rise to just below the rim. This should effectively stir the cinnamon
into the water. If you notice any pockets of dry cinnamon sticking to
the bottom sides of the jar, you can use the bamboo shish kabob skewer
to knock them off. The cinnamon should initially foam up and float to
the top. DO NOT STIR! Stirring makes the resulting "tea" cloudy.
Add the remaining water slowly, letting the foam on the top settle so
that it doesn't run over the top. You can use the skewer to break some
the the bubbles on the top to speed up the process.
Let the jar sit in the sink until cool enough to handle. At this
point, you can place the lid on the jar to keep dust or other foreign
objects out. When cool enough to handle, place on the counter to cool
to room temperature. This will take several hours. When room
temperature, place in the refrigerator to cool and let things settle
out over night. By morning, most of what was floating on the top will
have fallen to the bottom.
The next day (or even the day after), pour off the water portion and
save in one of the mineral water bottles. Discard the "grounds" on the
bottom.
Optionally, you can run the water portion though a coffee filter to
remove more of the solids that are still floating around. You will
have to use your ingenuity to find a way to support such a filter. I
was able to obtain the plastic filter section of a discarded coffee
maker. This has ribs on the bottom that allow the liquid to pass more
easily. I set this on top of the water bottle, and pour the "tea" into
the filter. This setup is admittedly precarious, so you will have to
make use of what you have on hand or can find. I am not a coffee
drinker, but I imagine that using a coffee maker for this purpose
would result in the taste of cinnamon being present in future coffee
made in the same machine, so I don't recommend it. The filtering
process is slow, and will probably take 3 or 4 hours since the filter
clogs quickly.
You can also save the "grounds" in the canning jar in the refrigerator
for one or more days. Sometimes they settle, yielding more "tea" that
can be poured off.