The Journal · November Almanac
The last apples: orchard teas for crumble weather
In County Armagh the Bramleys are in. Five teas with apple in the cup, and which one to pour with which pudding.
The oven door opens and the kitchen fills with it. Hot apple, brown sugar, butter turning golden at the edges of the crumble, and the windows steamed over against the dark outside.
On the hob, the kettle. In the pot, a heaped spoonful of black tea with apple, cinnamon, ginger and clove, and the steam coming off it smells of the dish cooling on the side. Apple in the bowl, apple in the cup. That is crumble weather.
The short answer
Pour a spiced black tea with apple crumble. Heirloom Orchard is black tea with apple, cinnamon, ginger and clove, so it carries the same warmth as the pudding and has the body for custard. After dinner, go caffeine free with Polar Bear Pear or Cranberry Apple Popsicle. From £7 for fifteen cups.
Apple in the cup, five ways
£7 for 15g, about fifteen cups. All five are buy four, get one free: the five for £28.
Why the Bramley holds its shape
The Bramley is high in malic acid and low in sugar. That is what keeps it sharp under a sweet topping, and what lets it hold its shape when it is cooked. In County Armagh it is picked by hand, from early September to late October, so by now the last of the crop is in.
The Bramley came to Armagh in 1884, as sixty seedlings.
That sharpness is what you are pouring for. The cup beside a Bramley crumble wants warm spice to meet it, or a brighter tartness to match it.
What tea goes with apple crumble?
A spiced black tea, for the classic bowl with custard. Heirloom Orchard has apple, cinnamon, ginger and clove over black tea, so the spice in the cup meets the spice in the dish. After eight, pour a caffeine free one: Polar Bear Pear, soft and rounded, or Cranberry Apple Popsicle, tart and bright.
Every pudding in the apple family has its cup, and this is how we would pour them. There is more on the blend itself in our Heirloom Orchard piece, and more cups with nothing in them to keep you up in caffeine free tea for the evening.
Which cup, with which pudding
Black tea, apple, cinnamon, ginger, clove. For apple crumble and custard. Full in the cup, with the body to stand up to custard. Boiling water, three to seven minutes.
Rooibos and honeybush, cinnamon, apple, pear. For a baked apple with a spoonful of cream. Soft, rounded and gently sweet. Water at 85 degrees, three to seven minutes.
Apple, hibiscus, rosehip, elderberries, cranberry. For toffee apples and tarte tatin, anything with caramel that wants cutting. Tart, bright and red. Boiling water, five to ten minutes.
Apple, hibiscus, mate, rosehip, rosemary. For a slice of apple cake in the middle of the afternoon, with work still to do. Bright and slightly tart, with a deeper green body from the mate. Boiling water, three to seven minutes.
Apple, hibiscus, rosehip, beetroot. For apple pie on a cold night. Deep red, with a wine-like note and no wine in it. Water at 85 degrees, three to seven minutes.
Brewed in glass, so you can watch the colour come.
How to brew apple tea for pudding
Put the kettle on as the crumble comes out, and brew while it rests. One heaped teaspoon per 200 to 260ml of water, then lift the leaves out when it is right. Most take three to seven minutes. Polar Bear Pear and Mulled Glühwein want water at 85 degrees, not boiling.
- One heaped teaspoon per cup. For 200 to 260ml of water.
- Get the water right. Boiling for Heirloom Orchard, Cranberry Apple Popsicle and Willpower Potion. For Polar Bear Pear and Mulled Glühwein, 85 degrees: let the kettle settle for a moment after it boils.
- Brew while the pudding rests. Three to seven minutes for most. Cranberry Apple Popsicle takes five to ten.
- Lift the leaves out. The Easy-peasy Teapot is glass with a lift-out infuser, so the brew stops exactly when you say so.
The almanac for the week
A new moon on Monday, shooting stars all month, and the starlings coming in at dusk. This is what else the week of 9 November holds, from our November almanac.
- The moon. New moon on Monday 9 November: the darkest skies of the month.
- Shooting stars. The Leonid meteor shower is active from 6 to 30 November, and peaks on the night of Tuesday 17 into Wednesday 18 November.
- Starlings. From November to February, murmurations gather at dusk as migrant starlings arrive from Scandinavia.
- Grey seals. The pups are born in a creamy white coat, and shed it at two to three weeks.
- Apples. In County Armagh the Bramleys have been picked by hand, and the last of them are in.
In November's Discovery box
Apple runs through November's Discovery boxes: the last apples in from the orchard. Apple Crisp is in the Green Tea and Fruity boxes, and Cranberry Apple Popsicle and Polar Bear Pear are in both the Fruity and the Caffeine-Free boxes.
Every month, the Discovery Subscription sends five loose leaf teas curated for the season. Choose a taste, Green Tea, Fruity Tea, Caffeine-Free or Surprise Me!, and the Discovery Subscription does the rest, through the letterbox.
The last of the dish
By nine the dish has been scraped to the corners and the windows have cleared.
Rinse the pot. Leave one spoonful of crumble for the morning. It is better cold.
Questions we get
What tea goes with apple crumble?
A spiced black tea is the classic. Heirloom Orchard has apple, cinnamon, ginger and clove over black tea, and enough body for custard. For a caffeine free cup after dinner, Polar Bear Pear is soft and rounded, and Cranberry Apple Popsicle is tart and bright.
Is there an apple and cinnamon tea?
Heirloom Orchard is black tea with apple, cinnamon, ginger, clove, amaranth and safflower, with medium caffeine. Polar Bear Pear has apple and cinnamon too, over rooibos and honeybush, and it is caffeine free.
Is apple tea caffeine free?
It depends on what the apple is blended with. Cranberry Apple Popsicle, Polar Bear Pear and Mulled Glühwein are caffeine free. Heirloom Orchard is black tea, so medium caffeine. Willpower Potion contains mate, so it is low caffeine.
How do you brew apple tea?
One heaped teaspoon per 200 to 260ml of water, three to seven minutes for most. Polar Bear Pear and Mulled Glühwein take water at 85 degrees rather than boiling, and Cranberry Apple Popsicle takes five to ten minutes. Then lift the leaves out.
Why are Bramley apples good for cooking?
The Bramley is high in malic acid and low in sugar, so it stays sharp under a sweet topping and holds its shape when cooked. In County Armagh, where it arrived in 1884 as sixty seedlings, it is picked by hand from early September to late October.
Can you drink apple tea cold?
Yes. Heirloom Orchard, Cranberry Apple Popsicle and Mulled Glühwein can be cold brewed, steeped in cold water and chilled for four to twelve hours, or brewed hot with an extra teaspoon and poured over ice.
How much does a cup cost?
£7 for 15g, which makes about fifteen cups. Across our blends a cup is between 30p and 47p, depending on pack size. All five apple teas here are buy four, get one free, so the five come to £28.
Five apples for crumble weather, four of them paid for.
Build your fiveOr start with Heirloom Orchard.
JoJo