This is the special edition 2009 Holiday Blend from Design A Tea, featuring black tea, yummy coconut, and a hint of rum.  I was really excited to try this year’s blend, as I really appreciated Design A Tea’s 2008 Holiday Blend, PeacaMint which we reviewed last March.  This year I was able to review their holiday blend in a more timely manner, and since the PeacaMint was so unexpectedly great, I expected good things from this year’s blend.

This is a very mild tea, with subtle flavorings.  The tea itself is a very gentle Ceylon black tea (although as they mention, this blend is also available in caffeine-free Rooibos as well.  The coconut flavoring is the most predominate flavor, and coconut by nature is a very delicate flavor to portray authentically, but Design A Tea does a fabulous job of matching two soft flavors together.  The rum was – to me – even more difficult to detect.  It’s a flavor that I know that the tea would not taste the same without; however, my palate can’t overtly detect it, and it certainly isn’t an overwhelming rum flavor.

I think overall this unique blend of flavors really does capture the very essence of the idea of a “Tropical Snowflake”, ’twere there such a thing!

Design A Tea describes this tea as:

A nice tropical blend of natural coconut and rum flavoring with a Sri Lanka blend of quality black teas.

As I look out the window on those cold Winter evenings… I think of a warm tropical breeze, the smell of coconut, and a “fu-fu” drink in my hand… this’ll be close enough I guess! Also available in Rooibos (caffeine free)- mention it during check out!

Okay, in all honesty… I personally liked last years PeacaMint just slightly better as an overall blend, but that’s not at all to say this tea is without merit.  It’s not a flavor you normally see in black teas, and perhaps the rooibos blend is even better (I hope to try it also soon!) because all of the flavors fit so seamlessly together.

This tea is best served hot as it would be ruined as an iced tea – the flavorings are just too fragile.  I added a touch of sweetener to mine, but not much…this tea is easily overwhelmed, and for the same reason, I do not recommend milk either – UNLESS it’s a dash of coconut milk, which brings out a whole new layer to this tea and makes it an incredible warm “tropical” treat in the midst of a cold winter.