I thought a review of this fabulous holiday tea, entitled simply, “Holiday Winter Tea” from Culinary Teas, would be perfect for Christmas day.

Slightly stronger and spicier than the Sweet Orange Spice I reviewed last night, this spiced holiday blend sure packs a punch!  The cinnamon and cloves are nicely pungent and pretty standard for a spiced tea.  As is the naturally dried orange and freeze-dried orange pieces.  What is unique about this particular holiday spiced tea is that it also includes the more exotic flavors of lime and blackberry leaves which give this tea an unexpected depth of character.

The “Triacetin oil” caught my eye because that’s simply not an ingredient you normally see in a tea.  I found this page, which states:

What is triacetin and why is it used in flavors?

Triacetin, like propylene glycol, is another food grade solvent.  It is used in many oil miscible flavors to dissolve powdered flavor ingredients, such as vanillin and heliotropine.  Triacetin is also sometimes used to improve the stability of “heat stressed” flavors in baking and cooking applications.

From that description, I’m guessing that this ingredient is the reason that all these really delicious yet STRONG flavor oils can be blended into a stout tea that is full bodied without being bitter or sharp.  As a matter of fact, this is one incredibly smooth, mellow cup of spiced tea.

Culinary Teas describes this tea as:

Growing Country: Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Poland
Region: Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula or Uva, Sing Buri, Shandong, Lublin
Shipping Port: Colombo, Bangkok, Qingdao, Gdansk
Grade: OP (Orange Pekoe)
Altitude: 4800 – 7600 feet above sea level
Manufacture Type: Orthodox
Cup Characteristics: Blustery and windy notes of cinnamon abound. Citrus finish.
Infusion: Bright and Coppery.
Ingredients: Luxury black tea, Natural dried orange, Cinnamon, Cloves, Lime and Blackberry leaves, Freeze dried orange, Triacetin oil, Natural flavors.

Information:

‘The sweeping blast, the sky o’ercast, the joyless winter day. Let others fear, to me more dear, than all the pride of May.’
~ Robert Burns (1781).

Sweeping blasts…o’ercast skies…winter; you love it or you hate it. By the sounds of it, Robert Burns loved every frozen minute of it. We can’t say we feel the same way, but we do love all winter warm up beverages. On a freezing afternoon or evening, there’s nothing like curling up in front of a roaring fire with your hands wrapped around a hot mug of spicy winter goodness.

While these beverages have traditionally been wine based, we favor our black tea based Holiday Winter Tea blend. This fabulous blend of cinnamon, cloves, dried fruit, herbs and spices is sure to get your taste buds fired up and your mind dreaming of warmer climes. on the nose, delightful notes of thick spice delight while the cup offers cinnamon, pepper and hints of mild citrus. Joyless winter day? Bring it on!

All of these qualities make this a FANTASTIC multi-layered winter tea, perfect for those blustery cold winter days, and freezing cold moonless nights.

We at the Tea Review Blog would like to wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday this year. No matter where you are celebrating, or who you are celebrating with, may your luck be good and your home stay warm, your stomach stay full and your health not fail.