Christmas Tea

Christmas Tea, by Twining's.

I almost didn't review this tea, because I thought I'd already reviewed it. But as it turns out, it was Holiday Chai, not Christmas Tea that I reviewed.

Flavor: I went right ahead and added my additions without tasting it plain first so that may have skewed the results. But I thought this tea was weak on the "tea" flavor- that slightly tannic and hearty taste, even though it is a black tea. It also has a slightly spicy, slightly sour citrus taste.

Suggested Additions: I thought this was a sort of chai-tasting tea so I went right ahead and added a little sugar and a generous amount of milk. As it turns out, its not spicy enough to be a chai. The presence of an orange-citrus taste really doesn't work well with the milk. It didn't come out horribly; I still enjoyed the drink a lot. But my suggestion really would lie closer to the raw sugar or honey end of things. No milk is needed, and raw or brown sugar would add just a tiny bit of spice to the flavor. Put a cinnamon stick in to stir with and you're good to go.

Ingredients: Black tea, artificial flavourings. I do wish Twining's had more natural stuff, but their teas are generally delicious, artificial or not.

Purpose: A friend was making tea and suggested I drink what she was drinking. I declined, thinking I'd tried this one and hadn't liked it. Today, I saw the box sitting there and thought, "I guess I could try it just to remind myself why I didn't like it. As it turns out, I do like it. Although, I should have prepared it differently.