Two Fall Harvest Tea Recipes: Apple Pie Tea Latte and Hot Spiced Cider Tea
The first cool evening in San Antonio is not really cool, but we pretend, and I put the kettle on anyway. If you came looking for an apple tea recipe because you want fall in a mug without driving to a coffee shop, here are 2 you can make at your own kitchen table.
Both start with 1 loose leaf sachet and finish with what is already in your kitchen: milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, a jug of apple cider, half an orange. No espresso machine, no syrup pumps, nothing to strain.
The short version: 2 fall drinks, 1 sachet each, under 10 minutes.
✓ Apple Pie Tea Latte: steep 1 sachet in 4 ounces of water, add 4 ounces of hot milk, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, a pinch of cinnamon.
✓ Hot Spiced Cider Tea: steep 1 Fireball sachet in 4 ounces of water, add 4 ounces of hot cider and an orange slice.
✓ Steep strong. You add liquid after, so a normal cup goes thin.
What you need for this apple tea recipe
Two sachets and 5 pantry items. The teas do the spice work, so you are not building a mulling blend or simmering a pot for an hour.
| Tea | What is in it | What it does here | Caffeine | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Pie | Black tea with cinnamon and nutmeg over baked apple | The latte. Sweet and dessert-like, holds up to milk | Yes | $6.50 for 4 sachets |
| Fireball | Black tea with orange peel, clove and cinnamon | The cider tea. Bold enough that cider does not flatten it | Yes | $5.00 for 4 sachets |
From the pantry: milk of some kind, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, apple cider, and an orange if you have one. Both boxes hold 4 sachets, so 1 of each gives you 8 cups to play with. If you want to know why a tea with no sugar in the tin can taste like pie, I explain it in my post on dessert teas that taste like apple pie, candy and mint chocolate.
How to make an Apple Pie tea latte
Steep 1 Apple Pie sachet in half a cup of boiling water for 5 minutes, then add the same amount of hot milk, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. That is the whole recipe, and it takes about 8 minutes start to finish.
- Boil the water and pour it straight onto the sachet. Black tea wants a full boil, and pouring while it is still boiling is the step most people skip, as this guide to brewing tea points out.
- Use 4 ounces of water, half what you would normally pour, and steep 5 minutes. It will taste too strong. It is supposed to.
- Warm 4 ounces of milk while it steeps, in a small pan or 45 seconds in the microwave.
- Froth it if you want the coffee shop look. Fill a jar no more than halfway with the warm milk, screw the lid on tight and shake for 30 seconds, one of the no-equipment methods in this guide to frothing milk without a frother.
- Stir 1 teaspoon of brown sugar into the hot tea until it dissolves, then pour the milk in and spoon the foam on top.
- Dust the foam with cinnamon, and grate a little nutmeg over it if you are feeling fancy.
Two things separate this from a sad beige cup. Steep strong in a small amount of water, because milk is not a flavor, it is a dilution. And stir the sugar in while the tea is still hot, not after the milk, or it sits on the bottom of the cup and mocks you.
If you are a milk-in-first household, go right ahead. That argument has outlived every teapot I own, and I do not referee it before 9am.
How to make hot spiced cider tea with a Fireball sachet
Steep 1 Fireball sachet in half a cup of boiling water for 5 minutes, then top it with half a cup of hot apple cider and float an orange slice on top. It tastes like a cider stand and a spice cabinet had a very good idea together.
- Heat 4 ounces of apple cider in a small pan until it steams. Do not boil it hard: that cooks off the apple smell doing half the work.
- Meanwhile, steep 1 Fireball sachet in 4 ounces of boiling water for 5 minutes. Again, strong on purpose.
- Pour the hot cider into the tea and stir once.
- Add an orange slice, and a cinnamon stick if you have one. Taste before you sugar it, because cider is already sweet and Fireball is already spiced.
A word on what you are pouring in. Apple cider is unfiltered, unsweetened juice from crushed fresh apples, which is why it is cloudy and tastes more like an apple than the clear stuff, and Ohio State University Extension covers the difference and the food safety side. Unpasteurized cider in a jug carries a warning label, but the FDA does not require that label on cider poured by the glass at an orchard or a market, so ask before serving children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Grocery store cider is almost always pasteurized.
And before you ask: there is no alcohol in Fireball. It is named for the heat of the clove and cinnamon, not for what is in your uncle's cabinet. It is the blend I am known for, and it feels right at home on an alcohol-free table.
Swaps for milk, sugar, caffeine and ice
Every swap below works with the same 2 sachets. Use it if someone at your table drinks oat milk, watches sugar, cannot have caffeine after lunch, or lives in Texas where October is still warm.
| If you need | In the latte | In the cider tea |
|---|---|---|
| No dairy | Oat milk or another plant milk works the same way. Warm it gently instead of boiling it | Not needed, there is no milk in it |
| Less sugar | Drop the brown sugar, or use half a teaspoon and let the baked apple note carry it | Already sweet from the cider. Add nothing |
| No caffeine | Swap in a Caffeine-Free blend like Rooibos and lean on the cinnamon | Same swap. The cider and orange still carry it |
| Iced | Steep double strength, cool, pour over ice, add cold milk | Steep double strength, cool, pour over ice, add chilled cider |
| A crowd | Steep 4 sachets in 2 cups of water, add 2 cups of hot milk | Steep 4 sachets in 2 cups of water, stir in 2 cups of hot cider |
For the iced versions, brew hot and chill fast instead of brewing weak in cold water. America's Test Kitchen brews black tea strong and cools it with ice water for that reason, so the ice is not doing the diluting. If you are pouring for guests at night and want nobody staring at the ceiling at midnight, I wrote a post on Caffeine-Free teas for guests, kids, and late nights.
Serving these at a fall gathering
Make 1 of each and let people choose, because half the table wants dessert and half wants spice. Set out both pots, orange slices, brown sugar and cinnamon, and then sit down, which is the entire point. Both drinks earn a spot on a Friendsgiving tea party dessert table in November too.
This is how the tea started for me. After a difficult season, what got my 5 kids to stop and talk was a warm cup in front of them and nothing to do while it cooled. Tea makes you wait, and the waiting is where the conversation lives.
The rest of the spiced and dessert blends I pour in October sit together in the Fall Collection. There is no pumpkin blend in my shop, so Apple Pie and Fireball are the 2 that fill that spot. And if you are in San Antonio, The Tea Blossom opens its doors on October 10, and you can let me do the pouring.
The bottom line
Fall in a mug is 1 sachet, a strong short steep, and something warm poured in after. Apple Pie makes the dessert version with milk and brown sugar. Fireball makes the cider version with real cider and orange. Both take less time than getting in the car.
If you would rather the season just arrive, the Tea Blossom Club monthly box is $26 and sends 3 blends, 12 sachets, a cookie, sugar cubes, a recipe card for lattes and iced teas, a game and reflection cards, plus a seat at my virtual tea party on the last Monday of the month. Order by the 12th for October's box. I pick the teas, you put the kettle on. Who will you invite to your table?
Questions People Ask About Fall Tea Recipes
Can I make a tea latte without an espresso machine or a frother?
Yes. Steep the tea in half the usual water so it is strong, warm your milk in a pan or the microwave, then shake the warm milk in a sealed jar filled no more than halfway for about 30 seconds. That gives you foam. Pour the milk in, spoon the foam on top, dust with cinnamon.
What tea tastes most like apple pie?
A black tea blended with cinnamon, nutmeg and apple pieces. My Apple Pie blend is built that way, on a black tea base so it stands up to milk and sugar without disappearing. Dessert-style black teas in general are the ones to look for, because fruit herbal blends tend to go tart rather than warm and baked.
Is this apple tea recipe Caffeine-Free?
No. Both Apple Pie and Fireball sit on a black tea base, so both contain caffeine. For an evening version, steep a Caffeine-Free blend such as Rooibos in the same way and lean harder on the cinnamon, the brown sugar and the cider, which are carrying most of the fall flavor anyway.
Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider?
You can, and it will be sweeter and thinner. Apple juice is filtered and usually sweetened, while cider is unfiltered and unsweetened, so cider gives you more apple and less sugar. If juice is what you have, use a little less of it and add an extra orange slice to bring the brightness back.
Does Fireball tea contain alcohol?
No. Fireball is a spiced black tea with orange peel, clove and cinnamon, and the name comes from the heat of the spice. There is no alcohol in it at any point. It is a good pick for alcohol-free gatherings, because it feels like a grown-up drink without being one.
How much tea do I need to make these for 6 guests?
Plan on 1 sachet per 8-ounce cup, so 6 guests needs 6 sachets, which is 2 boxes. If you are making a pot, steep 4 sachets in 2 cups of water and then add 2 cups of hot milk or hot cider. Make a little extra, because the second cup is when people settle in.