This hot mulled cider recipe is made with sweet grapefruit and health-boosting dried calendula flowers. Of course, the calendula tea (or marigold) is easy to omit and you get a delicious grapefruit cider full of warming, mulling spices!
So in reality this is two drinks in one; grapefruit cider and calendula tea. They complement each other perfectly with floral notes from the calendula and the tart and sweet grapefruit. I am a lover of ciders and a lover of teas, so this is a perfect blend for me.
A must-try is a classic hot mulled apple cider and apple cider donuts! Regarding tea, hibiscus tea is another floral tea that is super easy to make with just dried flowers with tons of health benefits.
Calendula tea health benefits
Calendula tea has long been popular in herbal medicine for its alleged healing properties. The Calendula tea benefits are many both externally and internally. Apparently, you can rub calendula tea on your skin to heal wounds and burns, or drink it to heal tissues in your mouth and throat.
It is especially this wound healing characteristic it is known for. The antifungal and antimicrobial properties help prevent infection and heal injuries to body tissues and heal your skin.
In addition to this, marigold tea has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant components, which might help things like to fight cancer, protect against heart disease, and ease muscle fatigue.
I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt (probably literally the opposite) to add a bit to our grapefruit mulled cider recipe!
If you can't find calendula/marigold (ringblomst in Norwegian), you can omit it, but you could also use chamomile!
Ingredients
The ingredients list is just a few simple and wholesome ingredients, creating a well balanced sweet and tart cider with tons of flavor without complicating it further:
- Dried calendula flowers - fresh works too of course!
- Honey - to your own personal preference, it also has anti-inflammatory properties!
- Fresh mint - I just love grapefruit and mint, exactly like in this grapefruit mint iced tea
- Cinnamon stick - can't have mulling spices without cinnamon!
- Star anise - mmm that licorice-y flavor is enchanting, don't you think? Or is it just us Scandinavians that are crazy about licorice?
- Blood orange - nothing beats blood orange when they are in season, but regular oranges work too (or clementines/tangerines!)
- Grapefruit - my not-so-new addiction. If you love it as much as I do, try this baked grapefruit for breakfast, grapefruit salad for dinner, and grapefruit mimosa or this grapefruit plum cocktail for after-hours. You're welcome.
- Water - got to have water to thin it out or else it's just juice! Which would be cool too, I suppose.
Mulling spices
So as you could probably notice from the ingredients list above, there aren't that many spices. You could add as many spices as you want, I just thought I'd create a cleaner recipe where the flavors from the blood orange, grapefruit, and calendula were the most prominent.
But a mulling cider recipe needs some mulling spices and of course, I'll add cinnamon, but star anise is so special and delicious.
Other mulling spices I LOVE to use are cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and even black pepper. You could even use a chai spice or pumpkin pie spice in this recipe. Instead of just straining, you should double strain so that you don't get a lot of ground spices while you drink.
How to make it
First we'll make the honey syrup: in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup (250 ml) water, the dried marigold (aka calendula) flowers, honey, mint if using, cinnamon stick, star anise and 2 tablespoon citrus zest (from two blood oranges and one large grapefruit) (2).
Let this come to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes*. Stir occasionally. Strain into a heat proof pitcher (3).
*You can also let this cool completely and infuse for a longer time if you want more flavor!
In the pitcher, add 1 cup citrus juice (from two blood oranges and one large grapefruit)(4). Add boiling water to your own liking, I had about 3 cups (750 ml). Stir and enjoy!
It doesn't get much simpler than that, and who can resist blood oranges during blood orange season, right? If you, however, don't have blood oranges at hand, there's no problem in using regular oranges, or even tangerines or clementines during Christmas. It will still be very much yummy!
This hot mulled cider recipe is best enjoyed with a batch of cookies like pumpkin snickerdoodles or chocolate crinkle cookies!
Did you like this recipe? Here are more drinks to warm you up:
- Chai whiskey toddy with spiced orange honey
- Orange hot chocolate
- Hot mulled apple cider
- Apple cider latte macchiato
- Classic pumpkin spice latte
- Sore throat tea with ginger and honey
- ... or simply check out these 22 cozy fall drinks!
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📖 Recipe
Grapefruit and Calendula Tea Hot Mulled Cider Recipe
Yield:
5 cups
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Cook Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
15 minutes
This hot mulled cider recipe is made with sweet grapefruit and health boosting calendula. Two for one, with both calendula tea and grapefruit cider!
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried calendula flowers* (6 grams)
- ½ cup honey (170 grams)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (optional)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 2 blood oranges (or regular oranges)
- 1 large grapefruit
- 4 cups water (divided, 1 liter)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, add the dried flowers, honey, mint, cinnamon stick, star anise, zest from the oranges and grapefruit and 1 cup (250 milliliters) water. Let this come to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Strain into a large, heat-proof pitcher and add 1 cup (250 milliliters) citrus juice (about 2 blood oranges and 1 large grapefruit).
- Add in as much boiling water as you want, I think 3 cups (750 milliliters) are perfect.
- Delicious to garnish with extra star anise or cinnamon sticks.
Notes
* Also known as marigold (or ringblomst in Norwegian). You can omit the flowers if you can't find them and it will be a delicious mulled cider anyway! Or you can also add chamomile flowers/tea bag!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 39.5gFiber: 2.6gSugar: 36.5gProtein: 1.1g
Nutrition information isn't always accurate, estimate for informational purposes only.
Katie
Thursday 4th of November 2021
This sounds so unusual. I love grapefruit so I can't wait to give it a try.
Katie xoxo
Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice
Sunday 7th of November 2021
I hope you will like it!
Alexis
Thursday 4th of November 2021
The health benefits of this tea are amazing. I've enjoyed sipping on a cup of this in the afternoons during my break from work.
Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice
Sunday 7th of November 2021
Thank you, Alexis, that sounds like a nice break!
Natalie
Monday 1st of November 2021
This sounds wonderful. Refreshing yet so seasonal. I just saved the recipe and I plan to make it tomorrow. Can't wait.
Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice
Tuesday 2nd of November 2021
Thank you, Natalie. I hope you like it!
Ramona
Sunday 31st of October 2021
I love love love grapefruit and this recipe is something I plan on making very soon! calendula flowers are so pretty and I love how they are included in this recipe. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I can't wait to try this out
Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice
Tuesday 2nd of November 2021
Thank you so much, Ramona! I really hope you will like it, calendula is so special!
Leslie Sawmiller
Saturday 30th of October 2021
I love it when recipes that taste as good as this has amazing health benefits as well!
Stine Mari | Ginger with Spice
Saturday 30th of October 2021
Fantastic, enjoy!