Hot Apple Cider

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one… I had it at a day long meditation class on Saturday. It was better than I thought it would be but might have needed two teabags, it has a very light apple taste and also seems very cinnamon-y. Might be worth buying if you didn’t have to use two teabags because that would make this a pretty expensive tisane.

And this is another with 2 entries!! Funny how I keep finding those. vanilla_bookworm sent me a few bags of this. I had it last holiday season and couldn’t remember if I wanted to get more or not…thanks for letting me have a few bags to decide!!

It steeped for way over 10 minutes. Probably close to 20. I had an applicant come in to explain to me why she was the best candidate for my open position…which we’re interviewing for tomorrow, and she didn’t get an interview (she only found that out today). Oy vey. Time for tea!

So I remember this now. It’s bland. Weak. It’s like a boring blind date one of my guy friends tried to set me up on: with someone who was described as “punctual and available most nights and weekends.” Translation: not much to look at, has no personality, and can pretty much just stare at you. This tea is that guy. No deep flavor, no personality…just kinda warm and there. I mean, if it were paying for dinner, sure, I’d like it a lot more. And after the meeting with that lady, it really ought to be much more comforting than it is.

I think I’ll pass on another tin. Want Apple Cider tea? Go get Bigelow’s.

This SMELLS like Hot Apple Cider – I will say that! The color of the water barely changes, tho. It really doesn’t taste like much. There is a bit of apple flavor and that’s really about it. Not overly impressive. If it only tasted like it smelled I would have no complaints. Oh well.

I thought that I would enjoy this tea more… it smells just like hot apple cider, so I was expecting something much more flavorful. The taste is there.. it’s just, quite soft and not as pronounced as I would have liked. I’m also tasting more of the other ingredients and less of the apple. Good, but not great.

I picked up a canister of this tea last fall. The ingredients looked really good (it was an herbal tea!), it was caffeine free (I could have it before bed), and it smelled SO good when I opened up the canister (just like apple cider!).

However, after trying to steep it several different times, for various lengths of time, etc. I was not impressed. It just seemed to be very weak to me, even after trying to steep it with two tea bags. It just seemed like… something was missing from the taste.

Then I got the idea to try and steep this in some warm apple juice. I stuck a mug full of juice in the microwave for a few minutes, then added two teabags and let them steep for ten minutes and continued to let them steep as I was drinking the tea. Mmmm… Fall and apple cider-y deliciousness in a mug. I found this to be a much better way to drink this tea.

I don’t think that I would purchase this tea again for the sole purpose of making apple cider with it, but I will probably finish up what I have because it is a nice fall treat.

Served: Hot

Notes: i wanted a more apple based flavor, i found it too light. i think i will try two bags per cup and longer brewing times?

Smell: cinnamon, apple, brings to mind apple pie and mulled apple cider
Flavor: cinnamon
Body: light
Aftertaste: cinnamon

Rating: 2/3

Wonderfully flavored fall tea. I really enjoy this tea.

Man. I am at the dregs of my tea drawer and cannot wait for my tea order to arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, I drank this Hot Apple Cider tea that was in the drawer. I’d throw it out but my husband likes it. One teabag steeped for 7 minutes. It tastes like water mixed with a 1/4 apple juice and a little cinnamon. I used to like this and would brew it up and put it in a thermos for ski patrol. I’m guessing that any tea might have tasted good on a really cold day on the mountain. It never tastes as good at home.

There’s actually no tea in it, so it’s more like an infusion of apples and spices. Very tasty, and nice when I want something light before bed. I found it for about half price at Big Y, and I just couldn’t leave it there in good conscience.

P.S. I’ve also discovered that pouring real apple cider over a bag of this tea and heating it up in the microwave produces a very nice single serving of legit hot spiced apple cider without having to mix up an entire pot. A whole pot is great for parties, but not so much when you’re home alone and just want one cup. It may not be exactly the same, but it is a worthy substitute!

Decent apple-y pie spice combo. I have tried this a few times, but I am usually a little disappointed with the weakness of the flavors. Longer brew times help. I ended up using up the rest of my stash in a mix of a long brewed infusion and real apple juice. Also the bags work to spice cider.