Mulling Spice Packs

Cooler fall weather calls for warm beverages with hints of cloves, cinnamon and orange. And when you warm a batch on the stove, the whole house smells glorious. With these mulling spice packs ready to go, you can make fall magic at a moment’s notice.  

To mull: To warm and flavor a beverage with spices.

To mull: To ponder at length. 

Have two definitions of the same word ever been so well matched? 

There’s something transporting about the scent and flavor of warmed orange, ginger and nutmeg. And since hot drinks will not tolerate a rush, the stage is set for long and slow pondering.  That’s the scene-setting power of mulling spices.

To get mulling spices together takes a little effort. And that’s probably why we don’t break out the mulled cider or tea or wine every night. That’s why these spice packs are genius. Make up a batch once a week and you can enjoy a long, zesty ponder whenever you want. 

Gather your ingredients

This recipe makes about 10 spice packs using CoffeeSock infusion filters. You can also keep the mixture loose in an airtight container and heap into the filters as needed. And the spices here? Our favorites! Swap them out for your favorites to make it your own. 

  • 5 cinnamon sticks

  • 4 whole star anise

  • 4 whole nutmeg

  • ¼ cup chopped dried orange peel (Here’s how to dry citrus peel)

  • ¼ cup chopped dried lemon peel

  • 2 tbsp allspice berries

  • 2 tbsp whole cloves

  • ½ tsp black peppercorns

Make your spice blend

  • Place the cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg into a large reusable zip-top bag. You can also use a cotton bag or place them carefully under a clean kitchen towel. 

  • Use a rolling pin or mallet to crush the spices until you have a chunky mix. You don’t need to go too hard here, you’re not trying to pulverize it. 

  • Mix the crushed spices with the roughly chopped citrus peel, allspice berries, cloves and peppercorns. 

  • At this point, you can either place the whole batch in an airtight container or parcel out 2 tbsps of mix into 10 reusable infusion filters or tea bags. 

To make a mulled beverage

For a gently spiced flavor, add one spice packet per 5-6 servings of tea, cider or wine. Since cider is already sweet, you wont need extra sweetener, but you’ll add a little sweetness for mulled wine or tea.

Mulled cider

  • Pour ½ gallon of apple cider into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer.

  • Add one spice pack and simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to a couple of hours. 

  • Ladle into mugs and top each with a little extra ground cinnamon or nutmeg. 

Mulled tea

  • Brew 6 cups of black tea, like orange pekoe is good here, as is English breakfast or earl gray.

  • Add the brewed tea—the tea leaves discarded—to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. 

  • Add ¼ a cup of honey or your choice of sweetener and stir to dissolve. 

  • Add one spice pack and simmer for  at least 30 minutes and up to a couple of hours. 

Mulled wine 

  • Pour one bottle of red wine into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Malbec or Syrah works well here. 

  • Add ¼ a cup of honey or your choice of sweetener and stir to dissolve. 

  • Add one spice pack and simmer for about 30 minutes.

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