Candy Cane Green Tea

So I keep looking for Candy Cane Lane at my grocery store cause of all the hype that this tea gets. It’s almost the middle of December and still no Candy Cane Lane. You suck, A&P. And not just because you don’t stock holiday tea. (2nd to worst produce everrrrr) Fortunately, I have a nearby Trader Joe’s and I’ve been assured that this tea is the same. Yaaaay. I love you, Trader Joe’s.

So the packaging is just adorable. A polar bear in a sweater having a hot cup of tea. I want to meet this bear and have tea with him. I’ll bring some smoked salmon sandwiches. And the narwhale is invited too. We could do some holiday decorating. He seems into that sort of thing. In short, the package art indulges my childish imagination.

The smell of the tea reminded of the car freshener my dad used when I was young and prone to car sickness. I had a brief moment where I re-experienced all the times I threw up in dad’s old Lincoln. Then that moment was over and I smelled peppermint, cinnamon, and vanilla. There’s also some mystery smells that I don’t recognize. Together, it all smells kinda crazy.

Then I let it brew for a long time while I had dinner. The flavor is really close to a candy cane, actually. I’m sort of impressed. Then I notice the individual flavors. Nice. The more I drink this, the more I like it. I love the cool peppermint and the smooth vanilla. And the cinnamon works so well here. I do wonder why there’s sugar in the ingredient list. Isn’t the sweetening of a tea left up to drinker’s preference? And gum acacia? Whyyyyy? I’d like this a lot more if not for the last two ingredients. But I totally see myself drinking this when I find looseleaf inconvenient or when I want a peppermint fix. It would probably be awesome with chocolate desserts. Mint chocolate!

Tea of the evening…..

Actually, I am not sure it is this one or Candy Cane Lane from Celestial. They are pretty much interchangeable, and match up exactly ingredient wise. This was the tea that started the tea obsession in my adult life. When they were out of it for the season at Trader Joe’s, I researched by ingredient list which lead me to Candy Cane Lane. (I am guessing that Celestial repackages for Trader Joe’s.) It is funny that they were sampling this out at TJ’s today, and made me decide to drink this one for this evening.

Lightly mint, with a touch of vanilla or something close….. still probably my favorite green, but I am learning to branch out.

4 bags in a 24 oz pot. 185 water for 3 minutes.

I love Celestial Seasoning’s Candy Cane Lane. And, as this is just that tea, repackaged, I love it too.

This really does taste like a liquid candy cane. There’s no green tea to speak of in the flavor profile, and I do wonder why they even bothered with it (vs. a purely peppermint base). Anyway, this is a nice decaf option – especially for the price – if not quite in the same league as Butiki’s Peppermint Patty, my current favorite peppermint blend.

This is the same exact tea as Candy Cane Lane by Celestial Seasonings… it has just been white labeled for TJs. :-)

Before drinking this tea, I wasn’t a tea drinker. After having one sip of this delightful brew, I was immediately hooked. It is so smooth and soothing, with a pleasant cooling sensation soon after sipping. I recommend TJ’s candy cane tea to anybody looking for a gentle, cozy hug of a tea.

I brew this with boiling water for 5 minutes and wait until it’s cooled just enough to drink.

I really like this tea. I discovered it last year and was disappointed when my Trader Joe’s sold out mid December and I had to wait a whole year to get more. It tastes just like someone melted a candy cane in hot water. It is tingly peppermint and creamy vanilla. There is no artificial taste. It is also sugar sweet. I keep expecting to see calories on the label, but it says 0 calories. Usually I don’t like sweet tea, but I really like this one. This is really perfect for the holidays and the best of the grocery store holiday teas.

This is a nice tea for its price tag ($1.99/20 ct). The list of ingredients is quite long (peppermint, vanilla, orange peel, cinnamon, milk thistle, chicory, carob, blackberry leaves…) but what you’re basically getting is a vanilla tea with just a hint of cool peppermint. I’m a little weird about vanilla in tea as it tends to overwhelm everything else, which is indeed the case here. Still, this makes a perfect stocking stuffer. The box art is adorable (be-sweatered polar bear and narwhal with ornaments hanging from its horn) and it won’t break the bank.

Super duper delicious tea that tastes like candy cane! Not mint, no, the flavor is much more complex than that. There is some vanilla and other flavors that make it distinctly candy cane and I am addicted when I want to reach for a teabag!

I like this tea. A lot. Possibly a lot more than I should. Sometimes I feel myself becoming a bit of a tea snob, turning my nose up at bagged tea and stores like Teavana. But every now and then a teabag is just so delicious I can’t possibly give them up altogether. This is one of those times.

This tea is so deliciously minty, slightly sweet, tastes good hot or cold, and can be re-steeped so many times I lose count. It’s great.