Curiously, the tea also has apple juice from concentrate ... Finally, I considered how well the tea and the fruit flavors ...

While the tea is a bit muted, the fruit flavors come across cleanly but not overpowering ... Interestingly enough, the top two ingredients are white hibiscus and apple, and while I'm not getting ...

Macerating them with sugar softens the fruit slightly and draws out its delicious juices for a more intense apple flavor in the sharlotka. This apple sharlotka can be made up to four hours ahead.