Continuing with our 12 Days of Christmas countdown, today I was excited to scratch off the label and see a flavored green tea. So if you are following along and don’t want to be spoiled on what today’s tea is, you might want to stop reading here. You’ve been warned 🙂
The 8th Day of Christmas Tea is. . . ..Buttered Spiced Rum Green Tea.
Today was a day where I drank a lot of black teas so to see a green tea was such a great change of pace. This tea had all of the aroma of a typical chai with a soft overlaying sweet layer. Steeped up per the parameters indicated on the back of the pouch, I let the tea cool for the 5 minutes recommended and took my first sip.
As much spice as I picked up from the dry leaf, I was happy to see that the spices weren’t overpowering and the tea itself had an incredibly lovely sweet touch. I’m assuming that is the Buttered Rum part coming to play. The green tea base just adds to the sweet buttery feel that this tea really exudes.
All in all, a wonderful tea that reminds you of a chai without having those strong chai flavors. Basically a chai for non chai drinkers like myself. I love the fact that the tea base is green tea too. Just calms those spices down so they don’t smack you in the face at the beginning of every sip.
Here is the official tea description and Mad Musings. I write my review before looking at the official description.
Tea Description: Hot Buttered Rum is a traditional winter drink – something that will help warm you up when it’s cold outside. As I’ve often mentioned, I’m not much of a drinker of alcohol – tea is my drink of choice – but I still enjoy the idea of a warm, soothing cup of hot buttered rum – so I decided to create a tea that brought those flavors to life while still enjoying my favorite drink.
I chose a buttery Chinese Sencha as my base because I felt that the natural buttery tones of the tea would highlight the ‘buttered’ part of the buttered rum. Then I added a few spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. The spices aren’t overwhelming because I wanted a gentle, warm spice flavor but not something that would overpower the flavors of creamy butter and rum. A couple of the recipes that I found online for Hot Buttered Spiced Rum called for orange zest – instead, I added some dried orange segments. The orange flavor is delicate here, just a touch of orange to brighten the cup. As I already mentioned, my goal was to highlight the buttered rum flavor so I didn’t want those flavors overwhelmed by other profiles in this blend.
The result is a gentle, warm, soothing beverage. Something that makes me want to curl up next to a crackling fire and read a good book. This one’s really nice!
organic ingredients: green tea, oranges, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg and natural flavors.
This one required a little bit of tweaking for me to get it just the way I wanted it. The first time I tested it, I wasn’t getting enough of a buttered rum flavor. Oh, I could taste them, but they seemed to be lurking somewhere in the distance. The second time I tested it, the buttered rum flavor was a little more dominant which made me happy, but I wasn’t getting enough from the spices. So I added a few more spices to the blend before I tested it for the third time.
Now that’s the stuff!
I managed to get a nice balance between butter and rum here – and it ends up tasting a lot more like the candies (you know, the popular candies with the hole in the middle?) – like, imagine if you were to liquefy the candies and add that liquid to a cup of green tea – yeah, that’s the flavor I’m getting here. I haven’t really had a hot buttered rum recently (I seem to remember being offered a sip of the drink once when I was young but it either: a) not memorable, or; b) I was either drunk or well on my way to getting there so I don’t remember what it tasted like. I was a bit more of a drinker in my youth than I am today.
The orange is delicate but it develops as I continue to sip. Now that I’m more than halfway finished with my cup, I’m picking up on just a little more orange. Still not a dominant flavor – it’s still much more there than it was at the start and I also notice a hint of tangy citrus lingering on my palate in the aftertaste.
The spices are not strong – this isn’t meant to taste like a chai – but they’re definitely there.
Overall, I think that this drink comes together really nicely. It’s warm and cozy – like something you might want to sip after coming in from the snow. Something soothing and calming and really pleasant.
To brew: Give the pouch a gentle shake to make sure that the spices are incorporated throughout the blend. I used a rounded teaspoon – with Chinese Sencha, it might be easier to use a regular teaspoon from the cutlery drawer rather than one of those ‘perfect’ teaspoons because the leaves are long and spear-like and they don’t fit very well in that perfect teaspoon measuring spoon. Steep in 12 ounces of hot water (heated to 180°F) and let steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Strain and let cool for about 5 minutes. Enjoy.
I personally think that this tea is better hot rather than cold so don’t let it cool too long! Also, a small dollop of honey will accentuate the spices in a very pleasant way so I highly recommend it!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below to see what is.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holiday Tea Alert! Holiday Tea from Harney & Sons!
The holidays have begun. Christmas music has begun creeping into the edges of our collective unconscious. I haven’t yet heard the dreaded “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer”, but it’s only a matter of time.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Harney & Sons
Description
Holiday Tea spiced with citrus, almond, clove and cinnamon has become a year-round favorite black tea. Delicious hot or iced, it’s a wonderful addition to a holiday table, served piping hot on a cold winter morning, or anytime you crave a holiday-inspired brew. Kosher
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sri Lanken Chai (AKA Chai of Sri Lanka) from Chash Tea
I received a small sample of Sri Lanken Chai (AKA Chai of Sri Lanka) from Chash Tea and was pretty curious about it. It was an herbal chai.
Chash Tea states on the product description that as with most chai, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, pink and bruised pepper form the spicy foundation and said that these warm spices need to be softened and that the original Sri Lankan version uses lemongrass, coconut chips and pineapple so they combined the two in their Sri Lanken Chai (AKA Chai of Sri Lanka) from Chash Tea.
Because it was such a small sample I’m not sure if I was able to get all of the ingredients in 1 cuppa. I could clearly see lemongrass, bruised pepper, and possibly a small chip of ginger. When I opened the sample the scent of the ingredients was impressively strong and did smell like chai, lemon, and possibly candied pineapple. The taste was primarily spiced lemongrass. It’s not a bad flavor. It was lacking the notes of pineapple, coconut, and certain individual spices. Having said that the taste is yummy for a herbal chai. I’m curious what the added notes of coconut and pineapple would have been like tho in Sri Lanken Chai (AKA Chai of Sri Lanka) from Chash Tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Chash Tea
Description
As with most chai, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, pink and bruised pepper form the spicy foundation
These warm spices need to be softened. The original Sri Lankan version uses lemongrass, coconut chips and pineapple
The result is a rich and mouth-watering combination
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spiced Mulled Wine from Simpson & Vail- A Black Tea for the Holidays!
When I first sipped this deep red tea, my first thought was, “what a tasty hibiscus blend.” Turns out, there isn’t any hibiscus in this, so apparently my palate has quite a way to go.
This tea ALSO lacks actual wine. Those of you who thought you could have spiked tea on the clock are going to be disappointed. Or, at least, I was. “It was tea, boss! I didn’t KNOW!”
What this tea DOES have is black tea (my bae), beet root (probably the source of the color & flavor), orange (citrus zing!), and malva blossoms (attractive!).
It’s super-rich, and has a sort of hibiscus/cranberry tartness that I really like — and that I associate with red wine. This bite, plus the black tea, gives off the low note that rich red wine does.
If you like wine, you’ll probably like this tea. Heck, I like this, and I don’t even like red wine all that much.
Plus, you won’t get drunk off this. I suppose that’s an advantage if you care about being a productive member of society. You’ll actually get things done instead of napping it off.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Looking for a winter concoction without the alcohol? Then, this brew is for you! The blend produces a reddish cup with a sweet fragrant aroma and taste. The tannic taste is reminiscent of red wine and it is perfectly complemented by the light spice taste and the earthy undertones.
Ingredients: black teas, orange peel, beet root, spiced mulled wine flavoring and malva blossoms.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Buddy’s Blend from Geeky Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Geeky Teas
Tea Description:
Buddy has blended a black tea just for you! With the only other acceptable foods on his list being orange peel, ginger root, cinnamon bark, natural spice, ginger and cinnamon flavor, it’s perfect paired with spaghetti and maple syrup.
It’s only here during Christmas cheer! A seasonal new tradition.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
We are down to the wire! Last few days before the Christmas holiday is here. And what better way to celebrate the holidays with a festive blend from Geeky Teas, one of my personal favorite tea stores.
Geeky Teas is located in California where they combine two of my favorite fandoms- tea and all around geekiness! You’ll find anything from board games, Dr. Who merchandise, geeky fandom teas, and much more! I’ve never personally been there but I’m an avid follower and huge fan of theirs. I’ve used Geeky Teas for gift giving in the past and have always been impressed by Donna’s care and compassion.
Let’s chat about this tea- Buddy’s Blend. Now the first thing I thought of was that this tea was going to be a maple syrup blend or very sweet with the whole candy obsession Buddy has. Not the case at all. This is a black tea with more of a chai feel going on. Cloves, cardamom, ginger root, cinnamon, and other spices. I’m not the biggest fan of chais or blends that have a chai feel but I love Geeky Teas, so I had to check it out.
Brewed up like a black tea, this tea omitted a gorgeous aroma. The ginger really stood out. After about 3 minutes of steeping in water at 212F, the tea was ready to try. The tea itself had quite a nice amber appearance to it. I took a sip and from start to finish, you really do get a mild chai like flavor. The ginger still stands out as the most prominent flavor while the cardamom and cloves take a spot in second place. The cinnamon bark and cinnamon flavor rounds out the sip nicely with a touch of a spiced sweetness. The tea itself isn’t overall very sweet but with a bit of honey or sugar, this tea could really be stellar! I could even see this tea being a wonderful tea to create a latte with. A wonderful tea to start the holiday week off right!
Pretty tasty, tho I think I would like to see Donna’s take on a maple syrup tea. . . .that could be fun and fantastic!
If you haven’t checked out Geeky Teas, please do. They are a wonderful hand blended tea shop.