Hot Cinnamon Sunset

I can’t figure out if I thought this was a green tea or I just accidentally hit the green tea button on my kettle this morning. Either way, I ended up steeping it as a green tea based on that button pressing error. Oops.

Once I started drinking it I was honestly glad I made the error. Holy cinnamon! That’s about all I could taste because it really wasn’t enough time to steep the black tea, although I might not believe there is black tea underneath all this cinnamon.

There is one more sachet, so I’ll be using it and steeping it like a black tea and seeing how that goes for me. Or maybe I’ll try to get my boyfriend to drink it since it’s cinnamon.

Also I probably should have realized before that Harney sachets are always 12 oz cups so two in a 16 oz travel mug would have been tongue torture if I steeped it right.

PS this is note 1000!!! woooo~

As suggested by Cofftea, I’m doing a side-by-side comparison of this tea (also courtesy of Doulton ~ thank you very much!!!) and the NecessiTeas Cinnamon Bear. The parameters are similar – same amount of tea (except that this one is in a tea pyramid as opposed to loose leaf, but I cut open the pyramid so that I could brew it the same as I did the tea from NecessiTeas), same temperature (boiling water) and same steep time (3 minutes). So, really, the only difference here before tasting is the pyramid. The NecessiTeas wins a couple of points for being loose leaf, on the other hand, Harney wins points for having excellent customer service (which is pretty darned important in my book). I added a tea spoon of raw sugar to each cup.

Honestly, I can’t notice any significant difference between the two. If I were to do a blind tasting, I don’t know that I could pick out one over the other. But this one has a higher score on it than the Cinnamon Bear only because well, I’ve never had to wait three weeks for an order from Harney before, and they always send me a free sample with my order.

I haven’t been around Steepster lately, as you may have noticed. The weather turned blisteringly hot seemingly overnight (don’t they have spring here?) and I just cannot cope. I’m not as fond of iced tea, so I’ve been drinking less and less tea. My job is keeping me spectacularly busy as well. I hardly have any free time, but I do have more money to my name than ever before (I don’t mean to brag, just simply to tell you how strange it is to buy stuff without feeling guilty). It is burning a hole in my pocket, just itching to be turned into tea leaves and teacups and teapots. I’ve already converted a large portion of my paychecks into books – I now need another shelf.

Thank you Doulton for sending me this tea a while back. It’s stormy and not nearly as hot today – only 74 degrees – so I don’t think I’ll suffer heat exhaustion if I enjoy a cuppa. Hopefully.

The aroma is that of an apple pie baking in the oven. This storm has both my dog and myself on edge, so the first sip felt like sinking into a warm, cinnamon scented bubble bath.

Doulton has made me a liar! This is really hitting the spot, so I’m not going to be able to have just one cuppa today… I made myself another pot and this time took it with milk, just as an experiment.

Either absence (of tea, in my case) really does make the heart grow fonder or this is an exceptional tea. The milk adds a whole new layer. It is now like eating a cinnamon bun but without feeling like one is simultaneously developing type two diabetes. Thank you, Doulton, for helping me to remember what it’s like to take a metaphorical chill pill in the middle of my day.

This one courtesy of Doulton! Thank you!!!

I am having such a busy Monday morning! When I saw this nice tea sachet in my tea drawer here at work, asking nothing of me but to put some water in my kettle, I knew it was a Hot Cinnamon Sunset day!

I had a very bad experience with a hot cinnamon tea (not Harney’s) when I was brewing all teas at 5 minutes no matter what, and putting milk and sugar in all black teas. I had brewed up the most sickening bitter hot sweet milky disgusting thing ever, so I knew this was to be taken without additives, and steeped with a light hand.

At three minutes and taken plain, this is DELICIOUS!!! I love cinnamon, and this is a spicy, lively, cinnamony delight! Invigorating! People say “red hots!” as the flavor for this tea, and I would agree – but a less sweet candy flavor to me. I went for a second infusion at 5 minutes and still got a nice warm spicy cup of tea. Not sickening or cloying at all. This really hit the spot this morning.

I have to get some sachets of Harney & Sons teas for days like these! How cute are these tagalong tins for just this purpose?!!

http://www.harney.com/Hot-Cinnamon-Sunset-Tagalong-tin-with-5-sachets/productinfo/72708/

My dad got a sample of this at work and generously decided to gift it to me: I actually have H&S’ herbal cinnamon blend but it’s pretty much just for the bf as the combination of rooibos and cinnamon makes me sneeze. I brewed this with milk & sugar—unusual and a little weird for a cinnamon tea, yes, but I wanted it to taste like a cinnamon bun!

I was definitely successful on that endeavor. This is smooth & creamy with a strong cinnamon taste that doesn’t make me sneeze! The clove and orange are nice and mellow in the background, and the black base definitely stands up to the strong flavors. I’m definitely going to pick up a few ounces of this next time I visit the SoHo store (along with about 10 other flavors that are on my list…. thank god they let you buy in 2oz quantities!).

Tried this at the Coffee & Tea Festival in NYC…

I love cinnamon. I love when it burns the back of your throat. I love when it feels like it’s sugar & it sweetened your tea. And I love when it’s blended perfectly in your cup.

This tea my friends, is it. Perfect.

Three blends of cinnamon with black tea, sweet cloves & orange peel…..you can smell it already, can’t you? It’s amazing.

I don’t know why I didn’t buy any at the show, but I will have to go to the store on Broome Street to get a tin. I loved the flavor.

This is my absolute favorite tea. This is the first tea that I bought from Harney and Sons. I’ve been a fan ever since. I’ve always loved cinnamon so this was just amazing! It has a very strong taste of cinnamon, orange, and sweet cloves with Black tea. It has such a great taste. I don’t even add sugar because the tea doesn’t need it.The taste is smooth with just the right amount of spices. The aroma is alluring and the liquor is a light brown. I would definitely recommend it!

Another tea I picked up at the Coffee and Tea festival. I had always wanted to try this one, and they were sampling it there when I made it to the booth. It really is fantastic, and I had to pick up a tin!

I got distracted this morning and accidentally steeped this cup of tea for 11 minutes! Yikes! I decided I’d try it anyway, and was pleasantly surprised to find no bitterness whatsoever. The cinnamon obviously takes the forefront here, but the sweet clove is a big player, adding a hint of natural sweetness and flavor. The oversteeping produced a dark mahogany liquor and the aroma is very spicy, though the taste is decidedly less spicy. That’s ok for me, though, because cinnamon can get overly spicy and caustic pretty quickly. This tea is just pure cinnamon bliss!

I bought the little tagalong tin of this, smelled it and went “WOOO!”. It smells like red hot cinnamon candies :D So I was going to save my little tagalong bags for when I’m out and about but I had to have one this morning. I was in desperate need of an urgent wake me up.. and this certainly did the job! It’s a lot more sweet than I thought it would be but it’s still got that cinnamon kick to it. It’s still spicy :] MMMMMM

WHOA holy flavor. I was that shocked, yes. I don’t know where all that sugary sweetness comes from! It is delicious! It reminds me of the Hot Tamales candies that I love. I don’t know what the “three types” of cinnamon are here, but they are magic. There has to be some sort of sugar in this though, it is so sugary and it is consistant throughout the entire cup. The color of the steep is a nice brownish dark orange. As for a black tea, it isn’t too strong, really letting the cinnamon shine.

VERY STRONG! If you are looking for a more mild cinnamon flavored tea, this is not for you! It has a very nice, full cinnamon flavor, but it can be a little overpowering. Overall, a pretty good tea.

Many thanks to Doulton for sending a couple sachets of this along with the Dragon Balls! Since I don’t have a glass teapot yet (it’s on it’s way!) I decided to try this and hold off on the DB until I can have the full experience.

I love the bright, fiery amber of the liquor. It definitely matches the spicy smell of the dry leaf as well as that of the liquor itself. Like fireball candies. The taste isn’t as strong as the smell though unfortunately. It’s spicy, but sweet at the same time and not as full bodied as I’d expected from the smell. Perhaps if I’d used both bags with that 17oz pot…I’ll just have to use a mug for the other one and see how that goes.

Rediscovered this tea a friend gave me for a birthday a few years ago. I’d run out of masala chai tea so this is my current cinnamonny tea… until I run out, at least!

Possibly brewed this a little too long as the colour’s gone quite dark, but tastewise it’s fine. Somehow remember this being a lot more spicy rather than just a wonderful aroma of cinnamon and no corresponding flavour, but then again, I did leave it for a few years… It’s very smooth in taste, though. I like it! It just doesn’t promise a powerful flavour.

This might be my most favourite tea, ever. First, it is foolproof. You can steep it for ever, with hot hot water, and it only ever gets more delicious. You don’t need milk or sugar, but if you add them, equally delicious.
Secondly, it is so cinnamonny and sweet, it is just heaven. Its like DT’s Glitter and Gold with a little more “umph” (sp?!). It also has many resteeps to it. Ooh I love it. It’s really worth it.. Yum..

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been sticking it to the Teavana Man by buying and drinking a few different varieties of satchel/bag teas (no Lipton or store-generic-brand though, I do have some standards left). I love chai teas, but I hadn’t yet gotten around to adding a really good one to my collection at home, instead ‘making my own’ by adding cinnamon and cloves to my Teavana Nine Dragon Golden Needle or just drinking it at work. Well, now I can say I have a more than adequate addition to the stash.

Opening the tin for this tea (which on it’s own is beautiful, the dusky orange color is really nice), I immediately got punched in the face in the best cinnamon-spicey way. I was definitely excited to try it.

I used 195 degree water from my water heater, in a 10 ounce mug, with one satchet. The smell of the tea as it was steeping was fabulous, very much like Hot Tamales, and the taste was just as nice and cinnamon-y. The hint of sweet from the clove and orange peel was perfect, no sugar or honey required. ‘Hot’ is definitely a fitting moniker though, I can still feel the cinnamon burn at the back of my throat. An attempt at a second steeping doesn’t give as much cinnamon flavor, though it is still there—just subdued. First is definitely my preference.

I love cinnamon BUT with their other added flavors I will keep trying other teas for fun but in about 3 years I have yet to find one better. This is ABSOLUTELY delicious and I will always buy this even if I find another I enjoy. PLEASE never stop making this!!!!!!!

Everyone I know loves this tea and tries to give it to me. “I remembered that you like tea, and I just LOOOOVE this, so Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday/etc.” So I always think, “I’ll give it one more try” and then remember everything I hate about it. The thing about this tea is that it takes away from the actual tea experience for me. It tastes like a red hot. If I had any sugar or honey, it tastes like a sweet red hot. It doesn’t go with milk. I cannot influence the tasting experience of this tea in any positive way. While I like red hots, I don’t want to drink them.

I adore everything about this tea. The smell of cinnamon and clove, the bright amber color, and the taste. Like others have said, it taste like the Fireball candy or Red Hots. Very easy to drink and enjoy.

My typical tea- drinking behaviors stipulate that I rip open all tea bags that I purchase and brew the tea loose leaf. This was brewed, tasted, and then enhanced with a drop or two of liquid stevia.
At the suggestion of Erin, I added milk (in my case, vanilla almond milk) to this tea, and it really helped tone the cloves down. I tasted it without the almond milk and it seemed ‘dusty’ tasting, probably from so many spices.
In any case, I’ve never purchased a tea where the main spices of note were cinnamon and cloves, so this was quite a shot in the dark. (And I LOVE cinnamon and cloves, so it takes a lot for me to say it was overwhelming.) It wasn’t bad at all, but it still needs a little something, and I’m not sure what it is.
But, in any case, it’s still VERY cuppable. Certainly not a bad tea!

Much like myself, this tea was far sweeter than expected. With a name like ‘Hot Cinnamon Sunrise’ (or Hot Cinnamon Spice depending on what size you buy it in) I figured it would have a bit more kick to it, but just wound up tasting like sugar water with a hint of cinnamon. Definitely drink this plain, adding milk just mutes what little taste there is completely.