Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
Our Brandy and Winter Peppermint tea has the fruity taste of a good Brandy with the cooling zing of Peppermint Schnapps. Perfect for an evening Hot Toddy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I know I’ve confessed this before, but I’m not really big on alcoholic drinks. I’ll have an occasional drink, but it is a rare event, but I am certainly no expert when it comes to alcohol.
But I am usually intrigued by alcohol flavored teas. Usually, but I have to admit that I wasn’t terribly excited by this particular tea. Somehow, the combination of brandy and peppermint just didn’t sound like it would taste very good. Boy, was I WRONG. (But don’t tell my husband I admitted that! We can’t have him going around thinking I was wrong about something)
This tea is really INCREDIBLE. The peppermint is really vibrant, it tastes more like peppermint Schnapps to me (which shouldn’t be surprising since it’s mentioned in the description). The peppermint is front and center with this tea, and it tastes very fresh, and I suspect it is the flavoring of the brandy that elevates the peppermint flavor.
The brandy flavor lies just beneath the peppermint, always there, making its presence known but without becoming too aggressive. It is very mellow and calm. It has a fruitiness to it that tastes reminiscent of sweet grapes, plum and tangy currants. There is also a hint of smoked wood flavor to it – not a strong flavor and I found that it was most prevalent in the first couple of sips and now, not so much as I am nearly finished with my cup. The brandy notes lend a very smooth taste to this cup, and evokes thoughts of a brandy that somebody’s rich uncle would keep in a fine crystal decanter for special occasions.
The black tea base is not to be overlooked here, as it is a key element to what makes this cup taste so astonishingly good. It has a bright, brisk flavor to it, but it is not an incredibly bold flavored tea, which leads me to think that it is probably a Ceylon.
Overall, an excellent flavored black tea. This is one that you’ll want to have on hand this holiday season, because it would make a great alternative for someone who wants some of those festive holiday flavors without imbibing alcohol, a fantastic substitution for the traditional “hot toddy”!
Holiday Tea from MarketSpice
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: MarketSpice
Product Description:
Popular all year round, this Chinese Hunan black tea combines the flavorings of Chocolate, Mint and Raspberry. A tea that truly satisfies your sweet tooth!
Taster’s Review:
I was tempted to save this tea review until it was closer to the holiday, but, I decided that I wanted to do it a little earlier, because not only is it a fantastic tea, it’s something that I think you should get NOW so that you have it for the holiday. This would be the perfect tea to serve to your holiday guests!
The scent alone is enough to make your taste buds do the happy dance. Dry, this aromatic tea gives off notes of mint, chocolate and berry. The combination of these three scents is brilliant. YUM! Brewed, the tea has a little less of the raspberry scent, and a little more of the chocolate. In fact, as I brewed this tea, my daughter had a couple of friends over, and they asked if I had baked chocolate muffins! Yeah… that’s what it smells like.
The flavor is more of a medley of these three flavors, as well as the distinctive flavor of the Chinese Hunan tea. The black tea tastes rich and bold. It is a more mildly-tempered kind of tea compared to, say, an Assam, which while it is quite bold and malty (and delicious in its own right), it can be a rather temperamental tea and become bitter quite easily. This Hunan is much more forgiving, and maintains its bold, rich flavor without easily becoming bitter.
And this is a good thing, since you want to infuse this a little longer than you would an Assam to extract the most flavor from the other ingredients as possible. As I said before, the flavor of this tea tends to be more like a medley, like a well-integrated blend of chocolate, raspberry and mint. Each of the flavors seem pretty even in terms of strength of flavor. This is neither too minty, nor too strongly raspberry, nor composed of too much chocolate (although, this chocoholic would argue that there is no such thing as too much chocolate.)
This is such a delightful blend … a fantastic blend to serve whilst decorating the holiday tree, or just enjoying the company of family and friends.
Harvest Apple Spice from Tea Forté
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
A naturally-caffeine free blend with the taste of crisp sweet apples and the luscious warming of spices, for a cup reminiscent of Mom’s apple pie.
Ingredients: rooibos, organic cinnamon, apple chunks, hibiscus, natural apple flavor, clove buds, natural cinnamon flavor, other natural flavors
Taster’s Review:
I’m ordinarily a little hesitant when it comes to rooibos blends based upon my past experience (now it is a few more years into the past than I care to admit to) with this herb. But, to be honest, over the past few years, I’ve tasted more rooibos blends that I’ve truly enjoyed than those that I haven’t. So, why hesitant? I don’t know… it seems to be more or less an automatic response.
This has to be one of the very best rooibos blends that I’ve tried. I can’t really taste much from the rooibos … what little I do taste is a slight woody/nutty character deep into the distant background. Mere hints, nothing too strong, and none of that funky taste I often associate with rooibos.
This tastes so strongly of apples! Like freshly picked apples that have been baked with autumnal spices and served warm. YUM! The thought of such a treat makes my mouth water … just like this tisane does.
The apple flavor is crisp and sweet with just a slight tartness to it, reminding me a bit of a Jonagold apple. It is certainly more sweet than tart, and as the tisane in my cup cools slightly I notice more of a apple-cider-y kind of taste and texture to it. It feels very smooth to the palate, and the spices are warm without being too spicy-hot. Pleasant notes of sweet cinnamon and warm clove.
There is also hibiscus in this blend – which is definitely not one of my favorite herbals – but, here, the only thing I really notice from the hibiscus is the reddish hue of the tisane and a slightly thicker consistency (contributing to the aforementioned cider-like texture). I don’t taste much of the signature tartness that hibiscus generally brings to the party, and that is certainly a good thing in my opinion.
I received this blend (and several others) as part of the Warming Joy Collection in the Petite Ribbon Box (as shown in the photo above). This would make a most welcome (and delicious!) gift for the tea lover on your gift-giving list, or perhaps a perfectly charming hostess gift for the holiday parties you might be attending.
On the 12th Day of Christmas … from 52Teas
Happy Holidays to everyone!
First of all, sorry this will end up posting a little late. I was up LATE last night doing the final preparations for the holiday morning, and I had figured I’d be up earlier than this! My youngest actually slept until about 9 am Pacific Time! I couldn’t believe it!
Anyway… I was especially excited for today’s tea, because it was one that I hadn’t yet tried! This was the one brand new blend from the box, and from what I understand it will soon be featured as a tea of the week.
Without further mumblings from me… The CHRISTMAS Tea of the Day is…
GINGERBREAD CHAI
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Product Description:
Ingredients: Premium black teas, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, pink peppercorns, natural flavors.
Taster’s Review:
Well, as I said before, this was the tea I was most excited about because I knew it was a new blend. Of the other 11 teas, there was only one of them that I hadn’t yet tried, but was definitely on my on-going list of teas to order when finances allow. (The one tea I hadn’t tried being the Chocolate Chai from Day 2)
Anyway, on to this NEW chai! Wow! It’s really tasty! It really tastes like gingerbread and chai married in one teacup! I can taste the baked cake-y taste in the cup, and I must say that in the time that I’ve gotten familiar with 52Teas blends, Frank (the head zoomdweebie at 52Teas) has improved with achieving the pastry and/or cake-y flavor for the tea.
Not surprisingly, the ginger is dominant in this cup. But, it doesn’t taste over-ginger-y either. That is to say, it doesn’t taste like Frank just got really happy with the ginger root. It tastes like gingerbread, not an overpoweringly-ginger-flavored chai.
The other spices are very well balanced and they carry a full-flavored taste that fills the palate with warm spice. The black tea base is a little understated here but not so much that it can’t be tasted. That’s not a complaint! I like that it doesn’t try to intrude upon the other flavors. The tea is there, it just doesn’t overwhelm the cup.
Because what really makes this chai outstanding is the gingerbread flavor! It really is yummy, I love the cake-y taste! It adds such a delightful dimension to the already delicious chai.
When I had originally ordered this sampler box for myself, my initial thought was “great, I can just order the sampler, and since I will have a small sample of the new Christmas blend, that will be one tea from 52Teas that I won’t need to buy because I will have already tried it!” But, as it turns out, this is one tea that I WILL have to order, because of all the chai teas that I’ve tried from 52Teas, this one is the BEST by far! Gee, thanks Frank. My wallet thanks you too. Yeah.
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope that Santa brought you LOTS of tea to enjoy!
Holiday Fruit & Spice Blend from Mark T. Wendell
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: Mark T. Wendell
Company Description:
A blend of select black tea leaves with orange pieces, bits of cranberry, ginger and cinnamon. A winter season favorite that is now available year-round.
Taster’s Review:
Having recently tried Mark T. Wendell’s Autumn Cranberry blend, I was very curious to see how this one would differ from that tea.
While the two teas are both black teas flavored with cranberry, they are two very different teas. Since I’ve already reviewed the Autumn Cranberry blend, I think I’ll just talk about the tea that I’m sipping right now: Holiday Fruit & Spice!
The black tea base is brisk but not very aggressive. It seems rather content to sit back in the background and just let the cranberry, orange and spices do their thing. It is a mild yet very delicious black tea with a light-to-medium amount of astringency.
The cranberry and orange are very complimentary to each other here. A light tartness from the cranberry and the sweet orange really come together well in this cup. It tastes juicy, bright and delicious.
The spices here are not overwhelming or spicy. Instead, they simply give the cranberry and orange a very seasonal kind of flair. The spices add just a hint of warmth to the cup. What this sort of reminds me of one of those spiced fruit punches that are served at holiday parties… you know what I’m talking about? With the clove-encrusted orange slices floating on top? It has that kind of spice level… not strong, just warm and very agreeable.
There is no bitterness to this tea. I even brewed this and forgot to set the timer — I think it must have been brewing for well over 5 minutes before I rescued it! But still, no bitterness. Just very pleasant fruit and spice flavor.
After my initial taste, I decided to add a drizzle of honey to my cup. It is plenty sweet without the honey, but I like the way the honey enhances the fruit and spice flavors. This is a very nice cuppa – one that would be perfect to serve to friends and family at holiday gatherings!