Tea-riffic winter warmer blends

At Smarter, we’re all about celebrating the little treats that life has to offer. For us, the pinnacle of life’s simple pleasures is a warming mug of spiced home brew tea.

In our mind, there are few things out there that can beat snuggling down on the sofa with a flavoursome cup of spiced tea in hand. Just picture the scene - you’ve just got back home, at the end of a chilly Autumn day, to be greeted with a freshly brewed, a piping-hot mug of spiced tea. It’s evenings like these that the winter months are all about.

For these tea recipes, we’ve taken inspiration from everyone’s favourite Autumn spices. We’ve provided our recipe for Cranberry and Pumpkin Spice Tea, alongside a few other tips and ideas that you can use to create your own unique idea of a perfect, deeply aromatic brew. They’re just the thing to provide you with a delicious evening winter warmer.

Autumnal spices are loved by tea drinkers all across the world, and with good reason - whether it be the pumpkin spice blend that is an Autumn-exclusive, or the likes of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger and turmeric that really come into their own at this time of year, these rich spices pack knockout flavour punches.

Rather than slurping back cup after cup of coffee, a much healthier drink to indulge in on your break is a freshly made pot of Autumn-inspired herbal tea. A mug filled with luxurious seasonal spices - what could be a better way to warm yourself up on a winter evening?

Shop-bought tea bags are nice and easy, but we think brewing a pot of your own herbal tea is well worth the extra effort. It’s a wonderful way to take a pause from your busy schedule, take the time to unwind with a bit of self-care and cosy up for the rest of the day.

While all brews provide a delicious treat, each type of herbal tea brings something slightly unique to the table in terms of its health benefits.

Examples of the wonderful properties that come with different tea types include:
Chamomile and lemongrass are naturally soothing, so are perfect aids to a great night’s sleep.
Peppermint tea is the perfect aid to help boost your digestive system (so it might be a good idea to whip up a brew if you’ve had a bit of a stodgy dinner!).
Rooibos tea is brimming with antioxidants, making it a great helper for your general health.
Chai tea makes for a quintessentially Autumnal brew which we can’t help but delight in, especially as its decadent aromas fill our kitchen.

There’s a lot of different teas out there for you to try, and the range of options becomes even more vast when you set about brewing your own home blends. With this in mind, below you’ll find our simple, affordable and super easy spiced tea that’s been inspired by all-things-Autumn.


Cranberry and Pumpkin Spice Tea

Ingredients:
Breakfast tea bags, 2
Water, 600ml, boiling
Unsweetened cranberry juice, 800ml
Sugar, 30g
Lemon juice, 35ml
Pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp

Method:

Place the tea bags in a large bowl, then fully submerge in the boiling water. Allow the tea bags to steep for 8 minutes.
Remove the tea bags from the bowl and discard. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl of tea.
Stir well until the sugar is fully dissolved. Serve piping-hot, in your favourite mug.


The best thing about creating your own homebrew herbal teas is the scope that they provide for experimentation. While this recipe will provide you with an excellent cup of tea, you can also use it as a bench point of ideas, from which you experiment to your heart’s content.

This could involve infusing your tea with your choice blend of berries, herbs and spices. Our favourite Autumnal options include spices like cinnamon and cardamom, fruits like apple, pumpkin or cranberry, and natural sweeteners like honey, caramel, and maple.

You could also try switching out the breakfast tea bags for the likes of fruity Darjeeling or bold Assam, or a decadent berry tea. The world is your oyster - you’ll never have a dull moment in a tea break again!

So, this Autumn, we’d recommend trying your hand at experimenting with herbal teas. Explore the flavours and aromas of all these wonderful seasonal ingredients, and test the endless combinations of blends that you can create at home, all with just a kettle and a bit of imagination.

With this in mind, we’ve got the perfect tool to help transform your home tea breaks into something rather magical. Smarter’s iKettle will be back in stock very soon, which means that homebrewers can get back to making sensational cuppas in style.

With our smart kettle, you can control your tea with ease. Users can select the precise temperature that they would like their water heated to, and have it heated ready for the exact moment that they need it - all through the Smarter app on their phone. Tea making has never been easier.

So, now that the waiting is almost over, have a browse through our online shop, where you can buy one for yourself (we’d advise you make it quick before they sell out again!).