Holiday Tea

This is the perfect winter tea. It’s delicately spiced but not overly so, and I just want to curl up with a mug of this while reading a book in front of my (non-existent) fireplace. It’s so delicious.

Oh. My. Goodness. This tea reminds me of the time I spent in Exeter, England around the holidays last year. The flavor, to me, is highly reminiscent of mince pies (in a good way!). The dried orange peel also adds a bit of a citrus-y note, and reminds me of the orange spice tea my brother and I used to drink before I got into fancier loose leaf teas.

Overall, lovely, warming tea for any time of the year.

Usually, I’m impressed with Harney & Sons. And because today is New Year’s Day, and the end of the holiday season, I decided to try this blend. At first, I smelled the cinnamon, and something else which I cannot quite name. I steeped it for three minutes, and realized that the brew was quite weak. I gave it several more minutes, and was satisfied with the color. As for the taste, I was not too impressed. I did not like the aftertaste at all, and it reminded me of chamomile. Other than that, it tasted naturally sweet, and was not at all bitter (that itself deserves a thumbs up). This is the first Holiday blend I have tasted from any company. I’m glad I tried it, and Happy New Year everybody.

This is a perfect tea for a cold, gray day. It has a near perfect blend of spice and tea, not too overwhelming. It makes me want to curl up under a blanket, hold the cup close and snuggle.

Lovely cup with a nice balance of spice, almond, and vanilla. This tea could easily become my go-to blend during the cold winter months.

I like this tea a lot, but it’s a very strong spice-flavored tea. It’s finish is black, but the orange, clove, and almond are strong, so I have to be in the right mood for it. If Christmas had a flavor, this would be it. It is good alone or with sweeteners and milk.

Like Harney’s Cranberry Autumn tea, this is great when the weather gets cold. The citrus, almond and spices blend well, but you will be tasting more spice than anything else. But it’s a great, festive tea.

This tea is packed with Christmas spice flavors: Cloves, cinnamon, orange, vanilla and almond. When I smell the brewed tea, the cloves, cinnamon, orange and vanilla are all about equally strong while the almond flavor is more subdued. On the palate, the orange is more noticeable and is together with the cloves the two most prominent flavors. The cinnamon and vanilla are definitely there too. The almond is still the most difficult flavor to detect. For some reason, I get a chocolatey flavor from this tea even though it does not contain any. It must be the combination of all the different flavors that makes it smell and taste chocolatey.

The Chinese black tea base is medium-bodied and not that brisk compared to an Indian black tea. The black tea base is the same in terms of body and briskness as most of Harney’s other flavored Chinese black teas with the exception of their Earl Grey blends which I find to have a stronger body than their other flavored black teas.

On the back end of each sip, there is a a very subtle warming, spicy feeling similar to ginger or black pepper which builds up as you drink the tea.

This is an excellent Holiday inspired flavored black tea blend with lots of spices, orange and vanilla flavors and is sure to get you into the Christmas spirit, although I like to enjoy this tea at other times as well but especially during winter. It’s a great tea to have with breakfast on a cold winter morning.

Dry leaves, appearance:
Black tea leaves with bright red/orange safflower petals and pieces of orange rind.

Dry leaves, aroma:
I get more orange and vanilla in the dry leaves than in the brewed tea. The cloves and cinnamon are also quite noticeable. The almond is probably the least prominent smell. The dry leaves somehow smell chocolatey to me. The smell of this tea reminds me of a Danish Christmas cake called “honningkage”, literally “honey cake” in English, which contains some of the same spices that are in this tea.

Liquor:
Medium to dark brown.

Packaging:
HRP tin of 30 sachets.

Shae’s ADVENT CALENDAR, December 6

A tea preapared in a teapot.
“Martin, prepare some Christmassy tea."
I wanted in that time prepare this tea for myself, but I don’t mind preparing it for everyone. My brother, sister-in-law and my 1 year old niece came to visit us.

I notice mostly chocolate from the pouch, bit of almonds and cloves.
Brewed (3 heaped teaspoons per that pot, I still haven’t found out the volume) and steeped for 4 minutes approximately. I was afraid being too strong, but it is again just right, as aroma is almonds, but not in marzipan way thankfully and taste it is some mild battle between almonds and oranges, and during the sips I notice both. The base is though weak, bit on chocolate side. A Keemun? Maybe…

I liked this tea, maybe bit more on the spicy side it would be better, but at least it isn’t offensive at all. Thank you Shae that I could try this tea.

PS: I got a tea bag in same design as their green-red tin in my collection, but somewhere buried from the exhibition I held last year. But I am sure I have it!

Photo: https://flic.kr/p/2kdYVqR (the gift is my CuppaGeek Advent, the image on the right is postcard called December by Czech artist, pouch and envelope is from Shae and my tea spoon is already well known (from Bird and Blend))

I hated the rooibos version of this, maybe because I had to suffer through four whole ounces, and also I spilled some on a rug, and it got really moldy and stinky, and I had to throw the rug away… anyway the black version tastes much better to me. It’s a little orangey and interesting. The black tea is good. No problems with this version.