I’m still thinking about the tea that tastes like water if you try your own flavor. To Ralsei, Kris tea tasted like something that relates to the dominant color of their Dark World avatar, same as with Susie. But Susie and Noelle both tasted something they smelled before in association with Kris. Susie, who apparently gets a noseful of their shampoo every class, tasted apple juice. Noelle, meanwhile, tasted cinnamon, which I almost missed the significance of until I remembered what she said about “sleeves that smelled like cinnamon,” probably from all the times that Toriel bakes pies, now that I think about it.
There’s just something so... so people and relationships about that.
Noelle: “Tastes like cinnamon! (What is this aftertaste...?”
This led me to the idea that Kris Tea would be an apple-cinnamon tea.
We continue.
This tea came together amazingly well. Although I forgot to include the cooked frozen blueberries like I had initially planned, I realized I didn’t need them. Including them could have thrown off the balance of flavors of this perfectly good apple cider tea.
I did my research to see how an apple tea could be achieved, and I found plenty of results. Some showcased combining cold tea with apple juice, others involved brewing hot tea with apple and spices. This latter approach was the choice I went with.
Just like with the “Mari Tea” I started out with, I used another cinnamon stick for the Kris Tea. A pro-tip: since cinnamon sticks are expensive, save and re-use them! While I used a different stick for the Kris Tea (to avoid infusing it with the flavors from the Mari Tea), I kept track of the different lengths, widths, and thicknesses so I’d remember which stick was used for which tea, and to use them again to make more of that tea flavor. Since this tea easily became my favorite out of all the teas I made on this adventure, I know I want to make more batches - and I got plenty of apples for it!
Speaking of apples, the apple will take care of sweetening this tea for you, so you really don’t need to add anything to further sweeten it, but if you want to, I suggest a very small amount of brown sugar. There’s just something about brown sugar with cinnamon - it’s one of those perfect combinations, just like apple and cinnamon!
KRIS TEA:
Ingredients:
1 apple of choice, preferably a sweet variety (I used a large honeycrisp - they’re my favorite)
1 large cinnamon stick (save and re-use for more batches)
3 allspice berries
1 piece of ginger, about 1/4 inch thick
4 cups water
2 bags jasmine green tea or regular black tea
1/4 tsp light brown sugar (optional & upon serving)
While waiting for your 4 cups of water to boil on medium-high heat, slice up a large sweet apple and mince it into small cubes. Peel ginger and cut off 1/4 inch thick slice. Get your cinnamon stick and allspice berries ready alongside your fruit and ginger.
Once the water starts to boil, turn heat off immediately and add your fruit and spices. Cover and let it stew for about 30 minutes.
Come back to it after 30 minutes and turn the heat back on to medium-high or even high heat if you want to get it hotter faster. Get your tea bags ready. Bring it close to a boil before turning heat off again and adding your tea, covering and letting it brew for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove tea bags.
Get yourself a nice big heat-proof bowl and a spaghetti strainer because now it’s time to strain your tea. Be sure to remove your cinnamon stick from your pile of strained tea ingredients and let it dry so you can use it again to make more!
While the tea’s still warm, grab a ladle and scoop some up into a cup and serve. Here’s where you can add a touch of brown sugar if you want your apple cider tea even sweeter. Just be careful of making it too sweet! I suggest tasting first before adding any sugar, you may find your tea doesn’t need it!
This tea can also be enjoyed iced, just let it cool and serve over ice.
Store your tea in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Now....whose tea is next? We’ve still got three more to go. I’ve got another cinnamon stick, I’ve got ginger tea, dark brown sugar…yes. It’s a little out of season for it, but, I know just the flavor for our next tea.
