Pukka Wild Apple and Cinnamon: Taste, Brewing and Serving

Pukka Wild Apple and Cinnamon: the spiced cup for winter

The name suggests something sweet and puddingy, yet the cup itself is drier and a little savoury, with the ginger arriving late. Treat it as a warm spiced drink for the winter table rather than a sweet fruit tea and it makes far more sense.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

Pukka Wild Apple and Cinnamon: the spiced cup for winter, in summary: Four flavours in a set order: cooked apple, warm cinnamon, late ginger and a thread of orange. It is organic and caffeine-free, wants five minutes or more, and takes honey or lemon well.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

The name suggests something sweet and puddingy, yet the cup itself is drier and a little savoury, with the ginger arriving late. Treat it as a warm spiced drink for the winter table rather than a sweet fruit tea and it makes far more sense.

Four flavours, in order

The name lists the whole design. Apple is the base and the sweetness, and it reads as cooked fruit rather than fresh juice, as dried apple always does. Cinnamon follows as warmth rather than heat and carries most of the aroma. Ginger is the slowest to arrive, building at the back of the throat through the second half of the mug.

Orange plays the smallest part, a fine line of citrus that keeps the apple and cinnamon from merging into a single sweet note. It is built like a dish, with a lead, a warm middle and a bright element on top. There is no tea leaf anywhere, so the cup is caffeine-free because of what goes into it, not because of any process.

Brewing for the ginger

Five minutes is the least it needs, using water that has just boiled, and more time only helps. A short brew gives apple on its own; the ginger has to be coaxed out of the root by heat and time. Because fruit, bark and root carry no tannin, a bag left in the mug becomes fuller rather than bitter.

Cover the mug for the first couple of minutes, since cinnamon and orange both lose their aromatics to the steam. Twenty bags in forty grams is two grams a bag, which fills a mug well, since dried fruit and cinnamon bark take up a lot of room for their weight. Milk adds nothing here and dulls the orange; a spoon of honey or a squeeze of lemon suits it far better.

Where it belongs

This is a November and December drink. It is the warm, spiced mug for the guest who is driving home from a winter party, and it never pretends to be mulled wine. It smells of the season as soon as the water goes on. It works mid-afternoon too, and since it contains no caffeine, it can be made late in the evening without a second thought.

Anyone expecting a sweet fruit tea should simply stir in some honey. Food should follow the spice: a caramelised biscuit, a butterscotch crunch or dark chocolate with ginger all pick up the cinnamon and that late ginger heat, while a plain oat and fruit biscuit keeps company with the cooked apple.

The packs we stock

Pukka Organic Wild Apple & Cinnamon Herbal Tea with Ginger and Orange 20, 40g (barcode 5060229011046)

What to eat with it

Lotus Biscoff Sandwich Cream Biscuits, 150g: a caramelised biscuit that sits well with the cinnamon, with a cream filling for the sweetness the cup does not have.
Border Butterscotch Crunch Organic Biscuits, 135g: butterscotch sits naturally with cooked apple and brings it to the tea table.
Border Dark Chocolate Ginger Organic Biscuits, 150g: doubles up on the ginger and adds dark chocolate for a richer winter plate.
Nairn's Gluten Free Biscuit Breaks - Oats & Fruit, 160g: oats and fruit that echo the apple without adding more spice.

Elsewhere in the Pukka range

The full range is on the Pukka brand page.

FAQ

Is apple and cinnamon tea caffeine-free? This one is. The blend holds no tea leaf, so it never contained any caffeine.

How long should I brew Wild Apple and Cinnamon? At least five minutes with freshly boiled water, covered. It needs that time for the ginger to come through.

Can I add milk? You can, but it mutes the orange and does nothing for the apple. Honey or a squeeze of lemon suits it better.

Why does it taste less sweet than it smells? Because the apple tastes cooked rather than fresh, and the ginger turns up late, the first sip can seem drier than the aroma promises. Honey fixes that if you want it.

Is it organic? Organic is stated in the product name. Look on the box itself for any further certification marks.

Curator's note: Keep a box in for December, when someone always wants something warm that is not tea, coffee or wine. A spoon of honey and a spiced biscuit on the saucer and they are happy. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Pukka Wild Apple and Cinnamon: the spiced cup for winter

Field	Detail
Brand	Pukka
Packs we stock	40g
Category	Organic Tea Bags
Caffeine	caffeine free
Tastes of	Cooked apple, cinnamon, late ginger, a thread of orange
Occasion	Winter afternoons and the Christmas table
Add	Honey or lemon, not milk