Santa's Gingerbread Holiday

This is one of the teas the Sil & I got in a box from Awkward Soul, thank you! It’s been hours since I drank it, & all I can really say is that I enjoyed it. I underleafed a bit, but that’s ok, cuz there’s enough for me to try again, & then I’ll forward the rest of the sample on to my Steep Sister.

yum, this tea is good even when it’s not a holiday! Santa’s gingerbread holiday aka Gingerbread Cookie tea.
I added some g. rock sugar while steeping to encourage more of that cookie taste!
Ugg, I’ve have been to jiujitsu for like 3 weeks. Vacation + sick time. I’m gonna suck! I went in Honolulu, but I didn’t do much. Here’s to tea energy keeping me alive!

I would like to thank Andrew at Simple Loose Leaf who provided me with a $50 credit to use towards their subscription service. This was the third tea that I was sent in my six month plan.

This tea didn’t immediately wow me, in fact, I found it a little lacking at first. It had a subtle creamy texture, likely from the Irish Creme flavoring, but the Assam base seemed to mask the flavor of the cloves, ginger, and cinnamon. I was disappointed because I really expected those to be the dominant flavors of the tea, they certainly are in the gingerbread I make. Despite this, there was one thing that really blew my mind, especially since it’s something I find lacking in most gingerbread teas. I could taste a molasses-like flavor in this tea and it wasn’t even listed in the ingredients. Are you wondering why this is important? Molasses is one of the key ingredients in making gingerbread cookies, without it all you have is a nice spiced cookie. I really enjoyed the deep earthy flavors of this tea and its strong resemblance to mild flavored molasses. This fact certainly changed my opinion of this tea, but it wasn’t the only thing.

Had I reviewed this tea several weeks ago when I first received it I might have written something completely different about it, but there is something special that changed my opinion. I received a tin of cookies in the mail as part of a holiday swap, they were the most delightful tasting gingerbread cookies I’ve had in awhile. And guess what, they tasted just like this tea. They also tasted completely different than the gingerbread cookies I make myself. This is where personal bias really comes into my tea reviews. Sometimes I have an idea in my head of what I want a tea to taste like, but am disappointed when it doesn’t resemble the idea I have in my head. As a writer it can be very difficult to distinguish between what is bias, what is fact, and what is opinion. I try to be as honest as possible in my writings regarding all of these things and honestly, I really enjoyed this tea. I think it is a great addition to my already full holiday line-up. 

Check out the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2013/12/3/tuesday-tea-santas-gingerbread-holiday-simple-loose-leaf.html

If you’re considering an order with Simple Loose Leaf use coupon code NSYSELECTION25 to receive 25% off.

I had this tea some time ago so forgive my lack of specific details! I do know that i really was fond of it. I thought the gingerbread flavour was quite authentic and tasty. I only had enough for one cup so I wasn’t able to try it cold-brewed. This is more of a hot tea anyway, at least in my mind. I may have to seek this one out when the weather gets colder. :)

So like, when I think gingerbread, I don’t just think ginger. I think like ginger, cinnamon, pastry, doughy. Ya know?
But feels like most of these gingerbread teas are just ginger. It’s like tea companies take the “ginger” in “gingerbread” wayyy too seriously. I’d hate eating their gingerbread cookies for Christmas. 0_0
This one just tasted like ginger. Was hoping for more :(

I’ll bet this would taste delicious with some brown sugar in it to add a bit of molasses! But, unfortunately, I’m at work and lacking in such delicacies. Despite this, it’s a nice tea. The dry leaves smell almost overly sweet with ginger spice and I’m happy that didn’t translate to the cup. It brewed up into a dark almost coffee-brown and the liquor has that telltale ginger and cinnamon spice smell. This tea seems…surprisingly light. I expected more umph. There is a bit of creaminess, but that is upset by a slightly astringent afterfeel flavored by spice. A great pairing with shortbread cookies, I’d imagine.

I drank this because I heard it was the last day of winter today and that means it should be the end of winter teas!

It was ok, but didn’t grab me. Maybe it would if I had it 3 months ago.

nom nom nom. this one is pretty tasty. I don’t think i’d order it again, or maybe just one a year sort of thing but it’s a pretty good gingerbreadish sort of tea. This is another one from terri from awkward soul :) I have a feeling that the base in this one would turn bitter if brewed for too long as it reminds me of that sort of tea. However, this was certainly a tasty cup!