I am decupboarding this one as I finished it today! I was experimenting, and I am hoping someone on here can help me because it was NOT a success.
I made a big batch of this tea, added cinnamon, cloves, and a tiny bit of nutmeg, squeezed a Clementine orange over it, and threw the peel and fruit in to simmer. I also added sugar.
This is very nearly good, yet almost undrinkable at the same time. It smells good and the sip is almost good but there is a really weird aftertaste. It was somewhat drinkable other than that while it was hot but as it cooled it was pretty terrible!
I wondered if this is bitterness coming from the orange peel?
Does anyone have a great recipe for a mulled tea that can be simmered low and slow in a crockpot? Other than the old standby of instant tea, Tang, and cinnamon?
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The oils in orange peel can be bitter, yes. Also, if you used a lot of the white pith, that will add bitterness. This may not help, but I had a chai hot toddy while on vacation. It was chai tea with a cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, two spirals of very thin lemon and orange peels and of course rum and tuaca. :) Perhaps using a vegetable peeler to get the peel would help. I may be completely wrong, here, but I think I have also read where the squeezing of the peel releases more of the bitter oil? Maybe get your peel off before squeezing the juice?
I think you are right. I did squeeze it and then toss it in the pot. I thought I had some orange extract but when I took the bottle down from the shelf it was empty. I should have used orange zest or just some orange juice concentrate. I wonder what it would be like with brown sugar?
Just wondering aloud…could you start with an apple juice or cider base, then add your tea and spices?
Maybe! I have never made mulled anything so perhaps I should start there. I wish I had thought of just adding the cinnamon dolce syrup I made a while back. That probably would have been tasty.
The oils in orange peel can be bitter, yes. Also, if you used a lot of the white pith, that will add bitterness. This may not help, but I had a chai hot toddy while on vacation. It was chai tea with a cinnamon stick, 4 whole cloves, two spirals of very thin lemon and orange peels and of course rum and tuaca. :) Perhaps using a vegetable peeler to get the peel would help. I may be completely wrong, here, but I think I have also read where the squeezing of the peel releases more of the bitter oil? Maybe get your peel off before squeezing the juice?
I think you are right. I did squeeze it and then toss it in the pot. I thought I had some orange extract but when I took the bottle down from the shelf it was empty. I should have used orange zest or just some orange juice concentrate. I wonder what it would be like with brown sugar?
Just wondering aloud…could you start with an apple juice or cider base, then add your tea and spices?
Maybe! I have never made mulled anything so perhaps I should start there. I wish I had thought of just adding the cinnamon dolce syrup I made a while back. That probably would have been tasty.