Red Hot Cinnamon Black Tea

2021 Homemade Advent Calendar Swap – Day 4
From Skysamurai.

James and I like to open our Advent tea together each morning. Well, I like to open our Advent tea together each morning. I don’t know if he enjoys it as much as I do, but he humors me. He doesn’t normally drink the Advent teas anyway, just has a sip of mine then goes about making some tea of his own.

This morning, he very decidedly said that he wanted his own cup of this one. I was pretty excited about this blend too. If ever a tea smelled like Christmas, this is it. It’s mostly cinnamon, but there’s also that light citrus note mixed with the sweet spices that screams winter holidays. I should have steeped it all together and poured it into two cups, but instead I tried splitting the tea leaf into two baskets. I steeped a full ten minutes since both our husbands apparently prefer long steeps (according to Skysamurai’s note). The tea came out much too light for my taste, but James loved it. The flavor is Big Red cinnamon and while I don’t normally love the spicier cinnamon, it’s so good here!

SkySamurai’s mystery advent tea #12 backlog from 12/25
Onto the last tea!  Scentwise, this looks to be another ultrasweet cinnamon tea… just not as strong as the blend from a few days ago.  The flavor is much the same – milder on every level – less black tea bite, less orange even when the orange has been permeating in the infuser for the second steep, less cinnamon.   I can’t tell there is orange here, but I’m sure that was where this was going… The similar blend from the other day would be tough to compare any other to.  That other tea was EXTREME but extremely delicious.  Steeping this one just makes me want to steep the other one again. :D  My guess: cinnamon orange black tea.  Was I correct? Yes.
This is the end of the mystery advent.  Thanks again, SkySamurai!  I have really enjoyed these mystery teas! They have all been teas that were delicious to me. I don’t know if that is because I am easy to please or you sent me some really special teas (Both?) :D  And I like that I have a little more of each one to enjoy later on.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

There is candy in my tea…. This gave me quite a surprise haha. I had the expectation that this was going to be hot, spicy, and very bold. To the contrary, it is quite the opposite. The cinnamon adds a soothing effect. This is followed by a smooth black woodsy flavor. The last ingredient blankets the drink in an enticing sweetness. The little candies add a sugared coating. This is a very calm sweet drink. The only spice that lays in this brew is only brief, and in the aftertaste. I like this and it did the job in warming me up.

Small Big Traveling Tea Box

I really am a fan of hot cinnamon teas. There is something about them that is just so incredibly cozy and perfect. Usually, the hotter (spicier) they are the better. This tea is definitely a change of pace from that. Instead of being super hot like I expected, it is actually quite sweet. And I really liked it. The cup was full of flavor and that held up resteep after resteep.

Delicious! My husbands favorite tea. He loved the dry smell so he had to try it out and now it’s his favorite. Can be steeped for a long time without getting bitter seems to get sweeter.