I’m a bit out of season to review Winter Cheer from Virginia Tea Company, but today is a grey and dreary day so a cup of tea with “cheer” in the name feels like a good fit.
This blend features black tea, peppermint, and cinnamon. Even in the dry leaf you can smell all three distinct flavors.
Having peppermint and cinnamon in the same blend is like sitting in a snowbank next to a campfire: there are both cooling and warming elements happening at the same time. I enjoy blends that make use of these flavors. Beyond their flavor profiles, both peppermint and cinnamon bring their own type of sweetness.
Peppermint has a creaminess beneath all its icy mint, almost tasting like vanilla. Cinnamon has a more earthy, herbal sweetness, more in line with cloves or licorice.
With both of these flavors set against the robust backdrop of black tea, you get a full-bodied brew with a very tactile mouthfeel, both cooling and warming. This is a fresh take on the “spiced black tea” trend that pops up every fall and winter. The mint and cinnamon together really make this unique and festive.
I’m feeling full of cheer already!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Virginia Tea Co.
Description:
Sit back and relax with your family this holiday season while sharing this delicious, guilt-free tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Candied Yams from Bluebird Tea
There’s something supremely fun about unusual seasonal blends that only come out at the most festive times of year. When I heard about the blend, Candied Yams from Bluebird Tea, I had to get a taste.
So, Candied Yams? I’ve had my fair share of mashed sweet potatoes (yams) and squash with butter and brown sugar, and the sweet, earthy, orange mash is a delicious side to any holiday dinner. (We’ve even forgotten to put the sweet potatoes out during dinner one year, and ate it with spice cookies during dessert, and they were still a winner). No wonder I like the cinnamon and nutmeg alongside the yams in this tea blend.
This tea blend is going for an even sweeter version of sweet potatoes; the kind that were baked in a casserole and topped with marshmallows. Cooking with marshmallows seems like the most nostalgic, American ideal, like putting marshmallows in ambrosia salad. All you need to know is that this tea also has mini marshmallows, and plenty of them to make the tea leaves look festive and the blend taste sugary-sweet.
Beyond the carrot-like yam sweetness, this brew also has a fair bit of tartness, like red cranberry, which comes from the small dash of hibiscus in the blend. This red-berry flavor adds a touch of mulled wine flavor alongside the sweet earthiness and light spice. I figure that if my family can put orange flavored dried cranberries in their Thanksgiving stuffing then this flavor profile makes some sense in this tea.
Don’t worry if you’re more excited about the yams than the cranberries, the yams are the driving force of this blend, most noticeable in the scent and aftertaste. After each sip, I get the sweet and starchy potato flavors, reminding me a bit of carrot cake with walnuts. As the initial sweetness fades on my tongue, the brew has a great, mellow, nutty, taste.
If you’re a fan of weird holiday brews, I’d recommend you pick up a sample of Candied Yams before the sweet-potato-yam season passes. And if you get super inspired, you can even bake a marshmallow-yam casserole to accompany your cup of tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Bluebird Tea Co.
Description:
Always looking forward to those sweet candied yams at Thanksgiving? Wish you had an excuse to enjoy ’em all year round? We hear you! Now you can get into the festive spirit with this Limited Edition holiday tea – it’s Thanksgiving in a cup!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dark Chocolate Peppermint from Art of Tea. . . .
Art of Tea has been one of those companies that I’ve always wanted to try so when they contacted The SororiTea Sisters about reviewing a few of their offerings, I was giddy!
Dark Chocolate Peppermint seemed appropriate for the season so I decided to start with this one. The dry leaf of this blend had a lovely rich dark chocolate aroma that had a note of peppermint in it. I’m typically not a dark chocolate fan but this one even made me drool a tad.
I finished this cuppa off in no tie flat. This tea had a rich earthy tone. After I took a few sips, I checked out the description online and found that this is actually a puerh blend, which is where that earthy note is coming from. Those earthy tones mingle gorgeously with the rich peppermint freshness. This tea is an absolute treat and one that I’ve been enjoying cuppa after cuppa. I noticed there are also peppercorns in the blend but I can’t say that I’m noticing their flavor.
Regardless, this tea is one that should be tried by all who enjoys puerh and ones that are curious or wanting to check out puerh blends. I’m not a huge puerh tea drinker but this tea has me wanting to check out other Art of Tea blends and more puerh teas.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Pu-erh Blend
Where to Buy: Art of Tea
Description
Awaken your holiday spirit with this sweet, aromatic blend. Thick and dark once steeped, Dark Chocolate Peppermint joins wintery notes of cooling mint with the taste of smooth, decadent chocolate in an infusion that will fill you with festive thoughts.
Caffeine Content: Medium
Origin: Art of Tea Blend
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
PecaMint from Design A Tea (Also Known As PeacaMint)
Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy:
Design A Tea
Product Description:
“PeacaMint” Tea – Was our 2008 Holiday Blend. A smooth mix of earthy pecan flavor with that seasonal and traditional peppermint hint, makes for a “manly, yet soft” concoction. Blended in a Rooibos base and being naturally caffeine free, this holiday blend is PERFECT for cuddling up on a sofa and watching the snow fall outside your window. Which is always better than watching it snow inside your house I guess!
Tasters Review:
I’m assuming, although I don’t know for sure, that this one did so well, they now offer it full-time! What once started as a holiday blend – seems to have people talking year-round! OR…at least it has ME talking about it year-round! I LOVE THIS Flavored Rooibos!
This has some hearty peppermint on top of a decent amount of pecan and rooibos which makes for a unique combo of flavors! If you have tried Pecan Butter and then had something pepperminty afterwards you might get the idea of this flavor, here! It has ‘just enough…EVERYTHING” for my personal palate! It’s refreshing – yes! But it’s also quite fulfilling, too, like you just had a nice dessert! The peppermint lingers long after the cup is finished.
I think this is just dandy!
Damn Fine Holiday Blend from Damn Fine Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Damn Fine Tea
Company Description:
We weren’t planning to release a Holiday Tea this year. Instead, we thought we’d spend the Holidays the usual way – drinking leftover Carävan and Earl Grey, racing RC helicopters, and ranking slow jam videos. But lo, our designers were possessed by the spirit of the season and knit us these incredibly “tasteful” labels. We couldn’t resist creating a custom blend of delicious tea to stuff into a cozy tin. Sure, they’re a little itchy and the fit is a bit old-fashioned, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
The Damn Fine Holiday Blend is a one-of-a-kind blend of black teas. No, it’s not flavored with anything but pure, delicious tea. It’s full-bodied and bright, tastes great with or without milk, and is especially awesome with cookies. Brew it for four minutes in boiling water.
Taster’s Review:
True to its name, this is truly a Damn Fine Holiday Blend.
While other companies are busying themselves with flavoring their teas with cranberries, cinnamon and other what-nots, the geniuses behind Andrews & Dunham’s Damn Fine Tea (um… I guess that would be Andrews & Dunham, eh?) created a Damn Fine blend of tea leaves that tastes so remarkable, that it doesn’t need flavoring. It has plenty of delicious flavor on its own.
Rich with a trace of smokiness, this is quite a hefty tasting tea. There is a smooth … almost creaminess to the finish that I’m finding absolutely irresistible! There is a toothsome quality to this tea that reminds me of the chewy texture of a fresh loaf of French bread (I love it when I happen to arrive at the bakery when the loaves are still warm!)
It has a whisper of sweetness that is sort of like burnt sugar caramel… sort of like honey… but then again, not quite like either of them. It is intriguing and delightful. I also love the smoky quality of this tea. It is JUST RIGHT for me – I am one that typically does not care for overwhelmingly smoky teas (Damn Fine Tea’s Caravan is an example of one that I found just a little too smoky for more than occasional enjoyment). But this has just enough smokiness to interest me without being off-putting.
I’ve tried several teas from Damn Fine Tea now, but, I think that this one is my favorite. It is truly delicious! And as of this writing, this limited edition of just 200 tins of tea is half gone! I may just have to get myself another tin before it disappears!
