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.
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Recent Comments
"When I was a kid, in the middle of winter, my friend Penny and I eachbought a quart of ice cream, skated to the island in the middle of our lake and ate them. Soooo good and soooo naughty. It keeps us young to be naughty sometimes. I would just go for it an enjoy!"
marlena said, in reply to Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud on August 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
marlena on:
Better Belly Blend from Two Leaves and a Bud
"Well, as someone who has tasted a lot of chai tea, I can attest that this really is not very similar in taste to Chai. Chai tends to focus on the spices, whereas this tea’s focus is on the orange, with the spices being very gentle and more of an accent to the orange."
liber-teas said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:00 pm
liber-teas on:
Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"How fun! I love drinking tea so I love that you have a whole blog related to reviewing them. One brand that I really love that I don’t see on your list is the Portsmouth Tea Company. When I lived in Boston I used to buy lots of their teas and they were oh so unique. They had some really great fruity and floral blends. It’s interesting that..."
Kelly said, in reply to Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea on August 25, 2010 at 11:25 am
Kelly on:
Harvest Orange Spice from Octavia Tea
"Haha!! My co-worker told me that she purchased this tea after having purchased the Matcha Latte at Seattle’s Best, and her and another co-worker purchased this because they believed it was what was served there. She stated to me today that “it didn’t seem the same exactly…it felt like their was something..."
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:55 pm
The Tea Guru on:
Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I’m not absolutely certain, but I believe that this is the concentrate that Seattle’s Best coffee shops use to make their matcha latte. The lattes I’ve enjoyed there were sweet with a definite melon flavor… and I have noticed that they sell other Tazo teas there. If it IS the concentrate that they use… I am..."
liber-teas said, in reply to Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea on August 20, 2010 at 8:47 pm
liber-teas on:
Matcha Latté with Honeydew from Tazo Tea
"I Love this tea!! This flavor is my favorite. I am so addicted to it! Thanks
"
Betsy said, in reply to Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea on August 20, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Betsy on:
Raspberry Earl from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
"Steph: Thank you for your information about the naranquilla. I didn’t find the flavor to be very tart at all – which is what I would have expected from the combination of lime and rhubarb. Perhaps the maraschino sweetened it up a bit and made it much more peach-like. It reminded me a bit of candied apricots or peaches."
liber-teas said, in reply to Easter Tea from Dammann Frères on August 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm
liber-teas on:
Easter Tea from Dammann Frères