Apple Peel Tea

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Apple Peel Tea is a gentle, flavorsome drink that feels like a warm hug. Cinnamon, coconut sugar, and cloves balance the sour Granny Smith apples for a sweet and tart sip that will wow your tastebuds! {Paleo or Vegan}

Apple Peel Tea is what happens when you bake several batches of Paleo Cinnamon Apple Crisp and look around your kitchen, covered in apple cores and peels, and wonder, surely there are recipes to use up these scraps, right? The second born grabbed the iPad and did a search to find the answer. And, boy did she ever! We settled immediately on making a tea. For inspiration, we started with Food52’s Apple Peel Tea by Micki Balder. 

Together the second born and I played around with just how much water to use. Because, surprisingly or not, the amount of water you use in the tea impacts the flavor. We settled on a lighter touch, adding more water than the original recipe called for. We also traded out the brown sugar for coconut sugar. And we settled specifically on sour Granny Smith apples, although you can definitely sub other apples in their place. If you DO decide to sub another apple variety, then start small on the coconut sugar. Apples that are already sweeter in nature may not require as much sugar to get the same result. Add a bit of sweetener once your tea is ready if it’s still too sour or earthy for your tastebuds’ liking.  

Apple Peel Tea is no-fuss and all calm. It doesn’t require perfection. Just you and a handful of ingredients. Are you ready to discover it, too? Because, if you’re like us, your life will never be the same. Only just a whole lot better!

Apple Peel Tea ingredients

• Granny Smith apple cores and skins. You can, of course, pull five apples from your pantry and get started peeling and coring. Or you can do what we do and make Paleo Cinnamon Apple Crisp first and use the leftover apples from that tasty treat in this recipe. Alternatively, you can grab those five apples now, make this tea, and THEN use the leftover apples in that same crisp. Look at us living wildly!
• Water. This ingredient gets its own mention? Oh my goodness, yes. Because why? Because the amount of water you use will determine how intense the flavor is. I like to use about five to six cups of water for a lighter, gentler tea. But you could also use four cups of water for a slightly more concentrated flavor.
• Coconut sugar. A few tablespoons. It dissolves well in the hot liquid without much effort.
• Whole cloves. About two. But you can use more or fewer, depending on how strong you want your tea to taste.
• Cinnamon sticks. I use one, but, like the cloves, you can adjust the quantity to preference.
• Sweetener. If you’d like to sweeten your tea, then add a dollop of 100% pure honey, 100% pure maple syrup, or agave nectar. You could also skip these and increase the amount of coconut sugar used. It’s all up to you!

How to make Apple Peel Tea

1. Combine water, apple peels, cores, coconut sugar, whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour. Remove from heat and pour the tea through a mesh strainer.
2. Serve in heat proof mugs and add sweetener, if desired.
3. Refrigerate leftovers for up to a week.

Recipe side notes

• You might wonder whether it’s okay to use ground cinnamon and ground cloves. Because you’re the one making the tea, you can use whatever ingredients your heart desires. The reason we focus on whole cloves and cinnamon sticks for this tea is to prevent a gritty texture. The simmering time is also long enough to extract the spices’ flavors for a delicate, comforting beverage. If you do want to use ground spices, then consider pouring your tea through a mesh strainer one extra time before sipping.
• If you’d like to use other apple varieties, then definitely do! We won’t stop you. One word of caution, though, is to add the sweetener slowly. Some apple varieties are naturally sweeter than others and may not need as much coconut sugar to get the same tasty flavor. Unless, of course, you want that super-sweet vibe. In which case, by all means!
• You can sweeten your tea with 100% pure honey (paleo), 100% pure maple syrup (paleo or vegan), or agave nectar (vegan), if you’d like. I drizzle a little into the mug while the tea is still hot. Or you can skip all those and just up the coconut sugar when you first start the recipe. Old habits die hard for me, so I always drizzle a dollop of honey into the mug.
• Enjoy this tea warm or cold. To reheat leftovers, slow simmer in a saucepan until the beverage is warmed through or microwave for a minute or two.

More warm drinks to soothe the soul!

Here are additional drinks that are all about comfort. I call them hugs in a mug!

• Lemon Ginger Tea
• Vegan Golden Milk
• Cinnamon Orange Tea

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild! I’m glad you’re here. 🩷

Apple Peel Tea

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Apple Peel Tea is a gentle, flavorsome drink that feels like a warm hug. Cinnamon, coconut sugar, and cloves balance the sour Granny Smith apples for a sweet and sour sip that will wow your tastebuds!  {Paleo or Vegan}

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: Varies
• Category: Beverages (Non-Alcoholic)
• Method: Stovetop
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• Peels and cores of 5 Granny Smith apples
• 5–6 cups of water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Sweetener, optional (See Notes)

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Instructions

1. Combine water, apple peels, cores, coconut sugar, whole cloves, and cinnamon sticks in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one hour. Remove from heat and pour the tea through a mesh strainer.
2. Serve in heat proof mugs and add sweetener, if desired.
3. Refrigerate leftovers for up to a week.

Notes

• Yield will vary, depending on how much water you add and how much water is lost to evaporation. I usually end up with about 4 1/2 – 5 cups of tea when starting with 5-6 cups of water.
• If you’d like to use other apple varieties then add the coconut sugar and any other sweeteners slowly. You may not need as much with sweeter apples, unless you specifically want a sweeter tea.
• Whole cloves and cinnamon sticks work best in this recipe. However, if you want to use ground cloves and cinnamon, then you definitely can. Plan to pour the tea through the mesh strainer at least one extra time so you don’t wind up with gritty tea.
• You can sweeten your tea with 100% pure honey (paleo), 100% pure maple syrup (paleo or vegan), or agave nectar (vegan), if you’d like. I drizzle a little into the mug while the tea is still hot.
• Enjoy this tea warm or cold. To reheat leftovers, slow simmer in a saucepan or microwave for a minute or two.