I’ve been on Winter Break, living la vida loca (which for me means drinking black tea at 7, sometimes 8 pm and staying up late watching movies!!! Wild, I tell you). This has been my go-to, especially since the party usually includes holiday cookies. It is flavorful and bold enough still to stand up to my favorite monster chocolate chips (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-big-fat-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie/) without tasting weak (like many of my otherwise favorites have when paired) or competing with the flavor of the cookie (like my flavored teas do). Classic, epitome of black tea flavor!
P.S. – I’m reading a diary of WWII called Few Eggs and No Oranges by Vere Hodgson – an account of everyday life by an everyday Londoner. Tea figures prominently! People were rationed to 2oz tea per person per week in the period I’m reading about right now (early 1940s) (!!!) and they really DO make a pot of tea each time life throws something they need to cope with at them, and they always feel strengthened by their cup of tea! She notes that when something particularly awful happened, the person would need 5 or 7 cups of tea to be a bit restored! It’s so interesting to read the huge roll our favorite little leaf played in the daily life of the British at this time.
http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/books/few-eggs-and-no-oranges/ if interested!
That sounds like a really interesting book!