Damn Fine Holiday Blend

Hi, y’all! I’m back-ish! I’m adding the “ish” there since I don’t trust myself to be consistent, but we’ll see.

I had a tea revelation over the past month or so, when I bought a Berkey water filter system. I ashamed to admit that for over a year I’ve been drinking/making tea with tap water. And before that I used a Pur water filter system. To keep this short: Berkey kicks Pur’s butt. Using this super-filtered water (with the fluoride filters), has given my tea new depths of flavor, all the while not leaving as thick a residue on my mugs.

So, I had a tin of A&D’s Holiday Blend from…almost a decade ago?! Probably 7-8 years old. It had never really impressed me. But now, all the harsh notes are gone, and it is a pure delight to drink. I shall miss it when my tin is empty.

And to try and be on here more often, while the inspiration of cleaner water strikes, I am trying to do a sip-down of any remaining tea I’ve stashed away (I’ve moved at least twice since last I wrote here). PLUS I’ve been purchasing more tisanes to experiment with for my evening tea, and I’ve found some really good ones.

I hope all has been well, and that you all have had happy holidays! TG

TTB #4

This was a surprise! The go-to flavor for holiday blends seems to be spiced orange. This one definitely has some spice to it, but no citrus that I could detect. Instead, lots of malty black tea flavor and a bit of smokiness which blended nicely with the spice blend. A bit overpowering on its own, but quite delightful with a splash of milk!

This is nice. Having it with a little cream. It’s rich in flavor, light on the malt, has a hint of smoke and seems like a pretty solid tea. It doesn’t have anything that stands out to me in particular, but strikes me as a nice cup in the morning.

Thanks to the Travelling Tea Box I recieved this evening, I will be trying a lot of caffeinated teas today.

LPT: This makes the best latte ever using vanilla soy milk. Try it, it’s REALLY creamy.

So this is an interesting blend of Yunnan black tea and Indian black tea. I found it had a great malty flavour and tasted a lot like a Christmas blend. Rich, notes of spices (clove), something fruity, and a slight sweetness.

Delicious Yunnan black concoction with perhaps a bit of the Darjeeling peeking through. The Ceylon in this cup totally hid behind the Yunnan, or perhaps that’s all the dry leaf my teaspoon picked up. Or maybe my travel mug tampered with things as I was on the go all day. Ok, ok, it was only four hours but it felt like all day. Damn delicious.

Thank you for the share, Sil, and for giving me enough in the sample to have more of this at home in a proper cup or at least not covered up in a thermos-like container: like the context nature intended tea to be drunk in. Preferably wearing flannel pyjamas.

And hurray that the notice feature appears to be fixed! Yay! Thank you, Jason! We appreciate you.

Thank you for the sample Sil

I can see why this is called holiday blend. It is bready/malty/ and a little fruity. Cocoa notes are present for me way in the background. This would be good to drink during the holidays wrapped up in a warm blanket reading a book. It’s just that cozy…..or should I say damn fine???!!!

Sipdown (127)!

Thank you Christina for the sample!

I made a large mug of this one last night, with a little splash of milk. My little sister and I are binging on movies she hasn’t seen but are “classics” of a sort. We started with 13 Going on 30 and then ended the night with The Truman Show. Today, I’m hoping to get in a combination of 50 First Dates, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Yes Man. All of those are movies you just have to see at least once.

The was a really good tea; I can see it making a lovely everyday drinker. Dominant notes of baked bread, malt, and raisins/muscat (perhaps from the Darjeeling in the blend) with softer notes of honey and plums. It reminds me loosely of Fruit Cake which definitely seems appropriate for a holiday blend. Good Fruit Cake though; with real fruit and not just candied globs of red and green “mystery fruit”.

Very solid tea, with nice layers of flavour! I really enjoyed it.

Many thanks to Lala for sending me a sample of this!

I can see why others like this, but this was far too malty and brisk a black for my taste. I used 1.5 tsp for 12 oz, and steeped in just-boiled water for 3 minutes, and it was surprisingly strong.

I’m sending the rest of this sample on to Roswell Strange since she expressed interest in trying it.

A nice malty yet fruity and slightly bread-y black. Make a good morning cuppa. I had but one cup but I would welcome another should the opportunity arise.

I received a small sample of this from QueenOfTarts, Thank you!. A&D always impresses me with their blends. This is no exception. Fruity, flavorful and a full mouth taste. A yummy morning cup.