Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2024 Tea #7 – A tea that was a gift
I received this as a gift this year, and I also previously had my eye on it — I think the vendor was at the fair this year. So, a great gift! It’s a great tea too. An decent chai, definitely. Most importantly, the base is robust enough. The base is Assam and Ceylon, so not just Ceylon here, which I can always appreciate. I think I notice at least four types of peppercorns in the blend, which is unique. The spices are spot on. It reminds me a little bit of pumpkin pie, but also it seems to have a hint of vanilla flavor, though there is NOT actually vanilla here. Just my tastebuds thinking so. The second steep really does lean into a squash note — so it seems even more like a pumpkin pie with these spices. I would say it’s an excellent balance of base black teas and spices. Really good stuff.
On another note, I did check out the sale table at the grocery store and they had TWO boxes of two different Celestial Seasonings teas. Though I’m wondering where they were in the store previously, if they made it to the sale shelf. I intentionally was looking for them a week or two ago! However neither box was Nutcracker Sweet, so I did not buy them.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // almost 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep
Flavors: Pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, Spices, Squash, Vanilla
I’ve been looking at the end caps, but no CS gingerbread for me either!