I am a big tea drinker, and the quote on my mug there is one of my favorites! “While there is tea, there is hope.” And some days, I feel like that saying is so true!
I am generally a black tea fanatic, but I have on occasions had fruit teas. However, they’ve always been a bit of a disappointment – good smelling but cardboard taste. So my number one aim in making a fruity tea was to make sure it didn’t taste like cardboard!
For the tea, I used 3 pink lady apples, but you can pretty much use any 3 medium sized apples.
Then I peeled them so that I could get more flavor out of them.
Then I chopped them into small pieces (again for more intense apple flavor).
Then I boiled a pot of water (approx. 6 cups of water) and dropped the apple pieces along with 2 tea bags into the boiling water. I used PG Tips (it’s a popular British brand sold in the US at Wholefoods, Duane Reade pharmacies, and on Amazon). I love the flavor of PG Tips and have found it to be much stronger than most American brands (in fact, I have yet to find an American brand that rivals it, unless I’m using loose tea). So, if you’re using an American brand of tea, then I would probably use 3-4 tea bags instead. You can also use decaf tea or perhaps even Rooibos tea (let me know in the comments if you make rooibos apple tea!).
I took the teabags out after 1-2 minute (otherwise it’ll get bitter – I made that mistake the first time I made this). Then a tablespoon of cinnamon goes in (it doesn’t produce a strong cinnamon taste – it’s just a hint of flavor)..
After stirring everything briefly, I placed the lid on the pot and left it to simmer on a very low heat for 2 hours. 
Then it’s just cooling it and pouring the liquid into a jug. I topped it with around 2 cups of cold water, but you can mix in the water when needed if you prefer that. I like it as a cold refreshing drink, but it works well warm too – just heat it up in a microwave!
Ingredients
- 3 medium-sized apples
- 2 PG Tips tea bags or 4 weaker tea bags (like Lipton)
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel the apples and then chop them up into small pieces, throwing away the core.
- Pour around 6 cups of water into a pot and bring to the boil.
- Add in the apple pieces and the tea bags.
- Take out the tea bags after 1 minute (2 minutes if you like stronger tea).
- Add in the 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and stir.
- Place the lid on the pot and leave to simmer on a low heat for 2 hours.
- Let cool and pour the liquid into a large jug. Top with 2 more cups of water and store in the fridge.
Kristina September 6, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Wow, that sounds delicious, especially for Fall! I will have to try it!
admin September 6, 2012 at 3:55 pm
Thanks! Definitely perfect for the fall. I’m also planning to try using some other fruits.
Melissa December 10, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Hmmm sounds lovely, I think if I try a little harder I might be able to smell it! Just curious, what did you do with the apples afterward?
Louise December 10, 2012 at 6:58 pm
I threw them away actually (they weren’t so tasty), but maybe they could be used in a pie or something!
Juliet December 11, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I never thought of brewing tea like that! How clever! And I love the apple/cinnamon combination. I know it’s ‘been done’ but have you ever made your own cinnamon & orange tea?? I would love to try that too!
Louise January 3, 2013 at 4:10 pm
Great suggestion – I haven’t tried it yet, but I will!
Allie January 7, 2013 at 11:03 pm
I’m a big tea drinker too but like you, I typically stay away from fruity teas because I do find they have an artificial and card board like taste to them.
I have this on my stove right now and can’t wait to drink it! I would have never thought of making my own fruit tea! Juliet’s idea of making orange cinammon tea is great. I have a bunch of oranges that I know I’m not going to eat so orange tea it shall be.
Louise January 7, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Enjoy Allie – I think I’ll have to make Juliet’s idea of orange and cinnamon tea too!
Allie January 12, 2013 at 9:43 pm
Hi, I wanted to come back and let you know that the tea was delicious! Oh my, so good. I drank mine cold and it tasted like cider. I am making more today…..I want to triple the recipe so that it lasts as I drank my first batch in one day ( I didn’t dilute it much). My new favorite drink!
Louise January 13, 2013 at 4:21 am
That’s great Allie! I really need to try making the orange tea soon.