Fireside Cran-Apple Tea

Warm, tart, and spiced with cinnamon, this cranberry-apple tea is the kind of drink you wrap both hands around on a cold evening. Cranberry juice and cinnamon-apple herbal tea bags steep together into a ruby-red, fragrant brew that smells like fall in a mug.

Brown sugar rounds out the tartness of the cranberry juice without making it overly sweet. It adds a hint of molasses depth that white sugar wouldn’t. Cinnamon sticks go right into the preheated mugs as stirrers and keep releasing their warm spice as you sip.

Since it’s made with herbal tea, this is naturally caffeine-free, so it works for evening entertaining or as a cozy nightcap.

Kitchen Tips

• Preheat the mugs by filling them with hot water while the tea steeps. Pour the water out right before serving. Cold mugs cool the tea down fast.
• Steep for the full 5 minutes with the lid on. Herbal tea needs time to release its flavor, and keeping it covered traps the aromatic oils.
• Adjust the brown sugar to your taste. Start with less and stir in more at the table if needed.
• Use real cranberry juice, not cranberry juice cocktail. The cocktail is already heavily sweetened and will make the tea cloying.

Variations

• Add a splash of dark rum or bourbon to each mug for an adult fireside toddy.
• Swap cranberry juice for pomegranate juice for a slightly earthier, less tart version.
• Float a thin apple slice on top of each mug for a pretty garnish and extra apple aroma.