Penny Choose: Fruitbroo Apple, Ginger & Spice Hotty

So the other day I was in the supermarket tea aisle, and I picked up a hotty.

They’d run out of my usual favourite non-caffeinated beverage, and I fancied a change so I bought a Fruitbroo Apple, Ginger & Spice Hotty, to be exact. Here’s a quick review of it for you.

It’s a bit unusual, being a liquid fruit tea concentrate. This particular flavour is made with concentrated apple juice, ginger root, cinnamon and spice flavours, and I bought the 110ml size bottle.

That’s approximately enough to make 10 cups of the tea – just add 200ml boiling water to an 11ml serve of concentrate –  although I’m sure some people might drink it in a more dilute form than this, so the bottle could easily last longer.

The concentrate is smooth, so no bits in it or dust at the bottom (which you’d probably get if you made something similar from scratch yourself), and that might be the cleverest bit. I’ll explain why later.

When I first got the Fruitbroo home, I made a cup right away. It was very zingy with ginger, moderately sweet with the concentrated apple juice, and the mixture of cinnamon and other spices was pleasant.

It had quite a kick to it, so it worked nicely as a pick-me-up morning drink without caffeine. Some people might find the zinginess a bit much, it is very spicy.

Then I put it back in the fridge, where it keeps for up to three months, and kind of forgot about it for the best part of January.

What happened next

Then I got the bug that wouldn’t shift, you know the sore throat, sore eyes, cough and sinuses thing that’s been going around. You know the one: not quite sick enough to take time off work, but too poorly to do anything nice in the evenings and weekends. That one.

And that was where this drink properly came into its own. It’s really good when you’re feeling ropey, and I found it really helped with that horrible croaky feeling (thanks to the ginger plus lack of gritty residue in the drink), plus it was a doddle to make up when I was feeling washed out and tired.

Oh, and it gets better. This stuff turned out to be amazing in hot toddy drinks. Yes, I have found yet another innocent item to mix successfully with booze. Bad influence!

So, on to the hot toddy making. Decent squeeze of Fruitbroo Apple, splash of orange juice, 100ml hot water and a slug of brandy. Very soothing and warming, and helps to feel like you’re driving the cold out of your bones on a wintery evening.

Also works with golden or dark rum, me hearties. The best mix so far has been with home infused rhubarb vodka, because all the flavours complement one another so well, but that takes a while to prepare, so I’m guessing most people won’t have that at home.

By the way, if the makers of Fruitbroo are reading this, please let me know if you have other flavours coming out for the Spring and the Summer!

Fruitbroo is available from Sainsbury’s, priced £1.70 for 110ml. Will you be treating yourself?