Hot Cinnamon Spice

This tea has been my saving grace through the past two days of late-night studying. I’ve always been a big fan of this tea. There’s something unique about the spice in it that can revive you for that little bit extra that you need to get through the day. It’s the perfect combination of spicy and sweet!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves with large pieces of dried orange peel and cinnamon bark covered in a powdery cinnamon dust.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of spicy cinnamon with a hint of orange. Tea liquor aroma is of warm spicy cinnamon.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium golden brown color.
-Sweet citrusy and spicy cinnamon flavor and finish. Aftertaste is of warming spiciness.
-Best with milk and the smallest amount of sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A warmly sweet and spicy cup!

Fair warning, I did not and would not pick this for myself. This came with my Vanilla Comoro order of “forever” ago and I am finally plucking up the courage to try it. Dry, there is a LOT of dust that I am blowing away and the scent is overwhelmingly cinnamon, like cinnamon hearts with cinnamon on top. I used to think I liked cinnamon but recently cinnamon has been a very unpleasant tea taste for me.

I let it steep two minutes and it is a fairly dark brown with a weird green tinge (that could be the mug’s fault) and a very dry cinnamon smell. Like cinnamon sticks, maybe. I can already feel the cinnamon on my tongue and I haven’t even taken a sip yet. First sips are true to smell. My tongue feels dry from the cinnamon and it lingers, as if I’ve eaten some powdered cinnamon or sucked on a cinnamon stick. I feel as it a bit of milk would improve this but I’m in switchboard with no milk to be found. It is a very dry feeling…if you don’t mind that (or you LOVE cinnamon) this will be great for you. I’m neither of those, unfortunately.

I wish the black tea would step up a bit and mask this horrid cinnamon. And I wish I had some whipped cream to eat and take the taste off my tongue (did I mention that this taste LINGERS?) I feel as though I could get a second steep out of this bag but since I don’t even want the first I will be throwing it out. Reminiscent of David’s Tea’s Saigon Chai but without the other spices to tame down the cinnamon.

I wasn’t going to rate this because I went into it knowing I wouldn’t like it, but I’ve decided that shouldn’t matter. If only people that like a tea rated it, there wouldn’t be any balance. I don’t feel particularly interested in finishing this cup, but I feel relieved that I have finally given it a try and no longer have to see it floating about my drawer and haunting me.

i decided on this tea because i wanted something conforting as i have started walking on my bum foot now and it is alot of work lol. as im pouring my tea into my steeper basket im getting harassed by my cat :) i love when shes being social because shes VERY skittish and has anxiety issues. she was very interested in what i was doing so i let her sniff my tea and she let me know she didnt like it with a stinky face and become quiet :( (shes VERY vocal) i guess shes not a fan of cinnamon lol.

on to the review :)
well….this is interesting. and much different than adagios cinnamon tea. i assumed it would be like adagios so i added cream and sugar. its spicy…i didnt expect that. i enjoy the spice it makes it more interesting than adagios. more cinnamon-ie lol i am enjoying this fully :) my fiancee keeps saying this tea smells like fireballs lol i agree. this is my first Harney & Sons tea and their store/tea house is a 30 min drive north of me so i may be making a drive in the near future

Well, this was a dud for me. I tried a teabag sample, and I love the teabags and the hermetical packaging of that sample, but this is just not for me.

I can only detect the “cinnamon” on the tea, not the tea and not the advertised cloves and orange. Just cinnamon in tea, not a good thing. And I got to admit, to myself foremost, that I am a cinnamon snob. I did not know such a thing existed, but apparently I am one. I used to dissociate the “chewing gum” cinnamon flavour from “real” (to me) cinnamon flavours. And then I found out the reason why, turns out chewing gum uses what is the prevalent “cinnamon” in the USA annd that is a whole different spice (cassia) than the stuff I call cinnamon. (Real cinnamon to me. Ok, wikipedia calls it ceylon cinnamon. It is different seriously). And besides the fact it fails the expectation and that anything flavoures too strongly with cassia will always remind of cinnamon chewing gum than “real” cinnamon, I got to admit that I do not like cassia much on its own, tastes sort of thin and aggressive to me.

This tea being just so one note, and that note being cassia (Not cinnamon! wish we could unleash the pedantism of the european comission on them), this tea was really not meant for me.

Pretty much tastes like the liquid form of a medium strength “hot ball”…not really that wonderful…but I am sure it could be used for seasoning something…just not a serious black flavored tea…oh yeah…not much black tea flavor at all in there, just a heads up.

Today was a great day for tea!

I received a sachet of this to sample with the Cranberry Autumn and it smelled so good that I had to have it tonight. Good thing I don’t have a sensitivity to black tea, as I’ve just had two cups of it back to back!

I LOVE this. How is it sweet when there’s no sugar?! It’s just a hint, granted, but it is enough. The spice is ALL cinnamon but I love cinnamon so that’s okay. It is very warming, which is perfect for tonight, and it smells pretty much like Big Red gum (yum!).

I may need to get my hands on more of this….

Wow, this tea is sweet and a delicious way to end the evening. I enjoyed a sample courtesy of Batrachoid. Thank you so much for including this in our swap. I am impressed at how well flavored this is. I must order more of this. I think my local Barnes and Noble carries it in sachets, but I’ve heard rumors that it isn’t quite as flavorful in the sachets. Loose may be the way to go.

A friend of mine gave me this tea along with the Autumn Cranberry tea as a thank you for a favor I did for her.
Apparently, my Christmas gift is from H&S too.
She said I could open it as soon as it arrived, I don’t have to wait till Christmas.
Now that is a true friend.
Okay! Now the tea…
This tea smells very holiday-like.
Obviously, Cinnamon is the focus point in both taste and smell in this tea, but I love the fact that the clove and orange are present as well.
Taste is like red-hot candies.
I like this tea…but honestly its mainly for the smell.
One thing that does not thrill me about this tea is that whatever vessel you choose to drink this from will smell like cinnamon red-hots for days to come.
I thought Lapsang Souchong left a taste/smell behind in my go-mug.
But, nothing like this tea!
I have soaked and scrubbed my go mug, but when I first open the lid to add my tea, I still smell a hint of cinnamon.
The other thing about this tea is that it is black tea based, however you are not going to find the black tea anywhere in here.
I was not expecting too, but just wanted to make sure it was known how very pronounced the cinnamon is.
That being said, this tea is perfect for the holidays and to have on hand for company.
I think even a non-tea drinker would like this sweet, cinnamon-y tea.
Overall, a very nice tea to have on a blustery Monday morning.

Thanks again to Jenn for sending me a sample of this. I LOVE cinnamon and this tea certainly packs a wallop. It is like drinking red hots candy! Sweet and cinnamony and hot and spicy all at once. Definitely seems like a winner for moi.

A few minutes later: I’m not sure my stomach is going to agree with my assessment of the tea. I am getting nauseated. Are there flames coming out of my ears?? I feel like I need to lie down and have a glass of water, geez! Downgraded a lot for the nausea factor… boo. I do love the taste of this but if it makes me ill, I’m afraid it’s got to go in the yuck category… :(

Had a cup of this in the afternoon while waiting on people to arrive to pick us up. Talk about a cup of cinnamon hearts. I don’t mind this tea, though I can’t say that I’d want to drink this often. It’s more of a special occasion, I’m craving cinnamon hearts kinda of tea :)

Wow! Hot cinnamon, no kidding! The sample packet gives off a strong Red Hots smell.

It’s only slightly more mellow after steeping. Same general cinnamonny hot smell with a smidgen of black tea trying to smooth it out underneath. There are some funky fuzz balls that must be from the cinnamon that have settled to the bottom of the cup.

The flavor is pretty amazingly cinnamon with nothing to mitigate or obstruct it. It’s surprisingly sweet as well as spicy, sort of candy like in its flavor. I like it much better than just about any other cinnamon flavored tea I’ve had, and it definitely seems like a go-to cinnamon. Not much argument there.

Thanks to Soccermom for this delightful sample…In middle school, kids (mostly the girls) would sit/marinate toothpicks in cinnamon overnight and sell them the next day as candy and kids would sort of suck/chew on them. Why in the world did we do this? I can’t recall and this was not that long ago-early 80s in fact…..So this tea tastes exactly like those cinnamon soaked toothpicks….Yum…I really like this tea and will purchase a tin …

Ewww! Blech! What is this stuff?! This isn’t tea – it’s liquid cinnamon hearts!

I love cinnamon. This is pure cinnamon with a tiny bit of black tea flavor. I’m completely fine with that. haha. As long as you grab this knowing what you’re in for. That being said, I think its delicious. I could see myself craving this one. Thanks Jackie T! This has been on my wishlist to try for ages now.

I received this in a swap either from Alphakitty or Jes sorry I can’t remember who.

This is super cinnamony smelling, like hot, spicy cinnamon, not bakey cinnamon. It steeps up to the same scent. So delicious.

This tea is super sweet. Wow! It would he great if it wasn’t for all the sweetness. As it cooled it got even sweeyer. It had a nice flavour when and if you can get past the sugary sweetness.

Yes!! Red Hots Candy/Big Red Gum/Cinnamon Altoids deliciousness!! If you like cinnamon at all, you must try this. This is sweet cinnamon black tea at its best. There’s a hint of orange and clove that just heightens the flavor. This is so sweet that I think they’ve added sugar or some kind of sweetener—but no?

Either way, I love it and must get a full tin soon! I find cinnamon very soothing and warming in the tummy (I have stomach aches alot), so this is perfect for me.

I LOVE Cinnamon teas and received this in a swap from KallieBoo. I didn’t find it nearly as overly powering Cinnamon as others – honestly I had the opposite opinion and would have preferred more cinnamon. This one was okay but certainly not something I’d order. I think I really prefer Cinnamon Rooibos. Also, lately I haven’t preferred many flavored blacks opting to keep flavored to rooibos and some white and greens.

Thanks Josie Jade!

This might not be for everyone, but it’s insanely cinnamony. A pretty bold afternoon cup. This would be a good one once I return to work – my cubicle would smell nice too.

I picked up a sachet of this tea at Fresh To Order in midtown, but instead of drinking it there, I put it in my coat pocket for later. I’ve tried almost all of their Harney & Sons offerings now.

This seems like a good idea for a cold winter’s night. Even though it’s a pyramid-bagged tea, it still has large visible chunks of orange peel and cinnamon bark mixed in to the not-so-crushed black tea leaves. And the aroma is fantastic. Seems like it’s going to be very spicy, which is great because I hate it when a cinnamon tea is stingy with the spice.

Whoa. This is very spicy, but not enough to burn afterward. The taste instantly makes me think of my grandmother’s house. She always had those decorative cinnamon-scented brooms and they made her whole kitchen smell that way. This tea is like drinking that smell. Plus a hint of orange. And shockingly, I can actually taste the black tea they used as a base shining through. It’s pleasant! I would certainly drink this again, but I don’t think I’d purchase it again… despite its tastiness, it’s a little too plain for me.

I love this tea hot as a dessert tea, but I may like it even more iced! It’s really, really, really good iced. I know that many people dislike this tea because it’s so strong, but just remember to use 1 tsp. of tea for every 10-12 oz. of water. I’m not even a huge cinnamon fan… go figure.