Mary’s recent tasting of Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel inspired me. I figured if she could have a Chanukah tea in May, there was no reason I couldn’t have a Christmas tea. So, here I am, sipping on Lupicia’s Jingle Bells, a black tea scented with fresh grapes and fruity champagne (different than their old Jingle Bells tea which was citrus and yogurt from my understanding).
Grape is not a flavor you find too often in teas. I mean it does show up here and there but more times than not fruitier teas tend to lean more towards citrus, berries, stone fruit, orchard delights, or even tropical offerings. Grapes are just far less common, though each Christmas Lupicia brings out this blend and it is delightful.
While other companies focus on more traditional Christmas flavors like orange and spice or cranberries and spice or peppermint blends, Lupicia serves up something unique.
To me, this blend tastes like grape juice mixed with a bit of black tea. Very strong on the artificial grape flavor but with a bit of briskness/astringency from the base. Interestingly enough, that astringency actually works here as it promotes the champagne quality, adding a little bit of a citrus note without being overly citrus in flavor. For me, this reminds me of when I was younger and my mom would give me grape juice or sparkling grape cider on the holidays and let me pretend it was wine/champagne.
This tea is hard to describe but accurately named. It is something unique during the holidays that provides a welcome change to the more prevalent holiday flavors.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
A Black Tea Inspired by Ireland. . . . #SimpsonandVail
Dunmore East Black Tea from Simpson & Vail was inspired by a small fishing village in Ireland called Dunmore East. It’s on the southeastern coast in County Waterford and is a beautiful village and very popular as a vacation destination known for its fishing and water activities, beaches, fabulous restaurants and cafes, music, and breathtaking scenery. Simpson & Vail created Dunmore East Black Tea to honor Cyndi’s wonderful memories of holidays in the village visiting her friends.
Cyndi is part of the Harron Family – the Family that is running Simpson & Vail. Simpson & Vail has been a well-known tea company since 1929. Prior to that it was known for being a Green Coffee Merchant established in 1904.
Dunmore East Black Tea is a delightfully bold blend of teas. With a golden cup, a malty flavor, and a slightly fruity aftertaste this is a sure WINNER if you are a black tea fan like I am! Simpson & Vail mentions on their website that Dunmore East has become one of their favorite blends! They suggest starting the day with this hearty black tea blend and claim it’s enjoyable with milk or sweetener but also perfect without! I completely AGREE with the WITHOUT option! It’s fine and dandy as-is and straight-up! Just the way I like it! YUM!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Dunmore East is a small fishing village on Ireland’s southeastern coast in County Waterford. This beautiful village is very popular as a vacation destination known for its fishing and water activities, beaches, fabulous restaurants and cafes, music, and breathtaking scenery.
This delightfully bold blend of teas, with a golden cup, a malty flavor and a slightly fruity aftertaste was created to honor Cyndi’s wonderful memories of holidays in the village visiting her friends. This tea has become one of our favorite blends! Start the day with this hearty black tea blend, enjoyable with milk or sweetener but also perfect without!
This tea blend pairs well with chocolate, spiced desserts, cheeses, eggs, pastries, meats and more.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sensiblyscript’s Tasting Notes on Passion Berry Jolt by Tiesta Tea. . . .
I steeped 1tsp tea for 4 min. in one cup of water at 200-205 degrees, which produced a cup of tea with a nice dark amber color. Though there’s no berry coloring, there’s plenty of berrylike fragrance. The tea leaves themselves are attractive, with marigold and cornflower petals providing some nice color contrasts.
The berry smell blends with the black tea fragrance surprisingly well. (On a side note, I’m glad they used a high-quality black tea for this blend, as I tend to tire easily of “black tea” bases that have no actual tea flavor so that all you can taste is the flavoring.)
First sip: Not too astringent or acidic, which is nice. There is a bit of astringency, though. The berry flavor I’m finding in this tea is a bit friendlier, somehow, than most berry flavored teas I’ve tried. Perhaps a bit smoother? I’m sensing a rich, strawberry-like flavor here, and maybe a bit of raspberry as well. Maybe that’s why it’s less astringent and acidic than other berry-flavored teas that are heavy on the raspberry and blueberry. (It turns out that the strawberry-like flavor must have been from the “natural passion fruit flavors” in this tea. I guess I’m just not that familiar with passion fruit.)
It’s also not bitter at all, which I appreciate.
While the black tea flavor is present and isn’t overwhelmed by the berry flavor, it’s not super prominent either and doesn’t overwhelm the berry flavor. They exist side-by-side rather elegantly.
When I add milk, it tastes like berries and cream just as I’d hoped. MMMMmmmm! I like it best this way. (Okay, that’s not really a surprise.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tiesta Tea
Description
Ingredients: black tea + natural passion fruit flavors + cornflowers + marigold petals + raspberry bits
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lemon Black from Simpson & Vail. . . . .
The older I get the more I crave lemon flavored teas it seems. Recently we were sent the Lemon Black Tea from Simpson & Vail and I couldn’t wait to try it!
As many of us already know the fruit from the Lemon evergreen tree has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Simpson & Vail noted on their website that while fresh lemons and zest are most often used for culinary recipes, the dried peel is an important make-up of tea blends. Its lemony taste helps add flavor to teas and herbal blends, as well as sometimes helping to mellow the flavor of unpleasant tasting herbs.
I think the Lemon Peel specifically shines the brightest in this flavored black tea – not only to the nose but to the tongue, too! It’s highly aromatic and intensely flavored and I just LOVE it!
This flavored tea blend combines natural lemon oil and organic lemon peel with black teas from Sri Lanka and China to produce a summer taste that is fresh and tart. I was completely delighted when I saw S&V used teas from 2 different regions!
I agree with Simpson & Vail when they say that this deep amber cup with its citrus aroma will uplift your spirits! I know it did mine!
Another thing I appreciate with this flavored black tea is that it has very few Ingredients to accomplish the intense flavor. Those ingredients are…black teas, organic lemon peel, and natural lemon oil. That’s it!
Lemon Flavored Black Tea from Simpson & Vail is everything you would expect in a lemon flavored black tea. And everything you would expect from this great company!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
The fruit from the Lemon evergreen tree has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. While fresh lemons and zest are most often used for culinary recipes, the dried peel is an important make-up of tea blends. Its lemony taste helps add flavor to teas and herbal blends, as well as sometimes helping to mellow the flavor of unpleasant tasting herbs.
This flavored tea blend combines natural lemon oil and organic lemon peel with black teas from Sri Lanka and China to produce a summer taste that is fresh and tart. This deep amber cup with its citrus aroma will uplift your spirits!
Ingredients: black teas, organic lemon peel and natural lemon oil.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Georgia Mr Ramirez’s Hand-Made Black Tea from What-Cha. . . . .
There was a time when I was young, and I was afraid of straight teas. So, it just tasted like, um, tea? Without anything in it? What was the appeal?
I’ve since realized that tea by itself can taste like anything, depending on what type of tea it is, and where it was grown. Like grapes and wine, tea leaves can be altered by circumstance.
So Georgia is a black tea. But it’s also more than a black tea, without anyone having to do anything. Which is kind of crazy.
This tea has heavy-hitting notes of fruit. I’m getting a very sweet raisin.
It reminds me a lot of Sun-Maid raisin boxes my mom used to throw in my lunch when fruit wasn’t on sale.
(Did you know that honeycrisp apples are around $3.99/pound right now? Even crappy apples like Red Delicious can get costly for a family of four. Raisins are a steal, friends.)
I loved those boxes of raisins. I loved how the beautiful Sun Maid lady was in a circle-halo like the Virgin Mary. I enjoyed pulling the stems out of the raisins. I liked their squishy pop. I was super-into digging into the bottom of the box to get the last raisins that were stuck down there. Raisin-scraping was just as satisfying as picking my nose, but socially acceptable. Every box was a project unto itself. No raisin was left behind.
I’d like to thank this tea for bringing back a very cherished childhood memory I’d completely forgotten.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: What-Cha
Description
A smooth fruity black tea with a sweet gentle taste of apricots and prunes and completely free of astringent tones.
Completely hand-produced by Mr. Ramiz, who at over sixty years of age, is one of the most experienced and respected tea producers within Georgia. Mr. Ramiz produces small monthly batches of tea from his own private garden, which rarely exceed 20 kilograms in quantity.
Sourced direct from tea nomad Petr Sič who travels to Georgia multiple times each year in search of the very best teas and works very closely with the producers.
Tasting Notes:
– Brilliant smooth taste
– Sweet and light taste taste of apricots and prunes
