It’s always so warming to hold a hot cup of mulled apple cider (or in the UK, known as pressed apple juice*) or wine. Come autumn and winter, I’m on the lookout for this lovely beverage at every market. I also love mulling apple cider at home since the aroma fills the kitchen. I made these mulling spice sachets as stocking stuffers this year, but I couldn’t post them until Christmas had passed, and the presents had all been given and opened!
It’s such a fun project to develop a mulling spice blend. There are so many spices to choose from — the usual culprits: cinnamon, cloves, and allspice berries, of course. And then there are various add-ins: star anise, cardamon pods, lemon peel, ginger, orange zest, raw sugar, and peppercorn.
I played with a few combinations, but ended up keeping my mulling spice sachets really simple. A lot of cinnamon, and a mixture of allspice berries, cloves, cardamon pods and crystalized ginger. My recipe is below, but it’s so simple to create your own personal mixture, so I’d encourage you to do so!
Instructions to mull apple cider and wine are also really simple. Put the sachet in a pot of apple cider or wine, and simmer! Really, there shouldn’t be any excuse not to make mulled apple cider or wine this winter. It’s perfect for brunch, it’s perfect in place of an afternoon tea, and it’s perfect as an after dinner treat.
And of course, I wanted to gift them in jars, so I packaged them up in a manner that allowed the spices to be easily stored.
*Important to note is that in the US, apple cider refers to a pressed apple juice. In the UK, cider is a fermented alcoholic drink made from fruit (often apple) juices. In this post, I use the term apple cider in the US sense, but if you do mull the alcoholic cider, please do let me know how it turns out!
Homemade DIY Mulling Spice Sachets
makes 30 sachets
– 30g allspice berries
– 25g cardamon pods
– 35g whole cloves
– 60g cinnamon quills
– 150g crystallised stem ginger pieces, chopped to smaller pieces if necessary
– 30 tea sachets
Mix the spices together in a small bowl. Fill each sachet with about 8g of the spice mixture.
How to Mull Apple Cider or Wine
1. In a medium saucepan, heat pressed apple juice or wine over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil; then reduce to a simmer.
2. Add in one sachet for every 0.75L-1L
3. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until desired flavor is achieved. Discard the sachet.
4. Serve warm and enjoy!
I just tried your blend when we were frozen in (not snowed in–FROZEN) here in Chicago. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Ah, I’ve been seeing the pictures of frozen Chicago! Stay warm!!!
You have no idea how much it confused me that cider in the US is actually apple juice. It took me simply ages to get it! Still confuses me how it ever came to be called Cider in the US, because making cider is a process that has been going for centuries!
Not sure how that naming difference happened! It took me so long to realize that pressed apple juice in the UK is the closest thing here to American apple cider. I sure did miss the Midwest apple cider this year though.