I’ve been looking for Eggnogg’n for over a month, and found one lonely, crushed box on the shelf at the store last night! Into my cart it went. This morning I was very excited to try it, but had low expectations because I tend to find fancy holiday teas like this disappointing. I’ve tried Pumpkin Spice and Apple Cider from Bigelow in the past, hated Pumpkin Spice and wasn’t fond of Apple Cider. Haven’t especially cared for any of the holiday teas from Celestial Seasonings, either. My love of tea and of holidays has made me forge on, however, and the good reviews for this tea (plus the odd flavor description- eggnog tea?) interested me.
On to the tea itself. The first thing I did when I tore the top off the tea bag’s wrapper was take a deep whiff. Whoa! This stuff smells strong! And not really in a good way. This spooked me a bit. Luckily, after letting the tea steep for 4 minutes (per the recommendation on the box), the tea itself smelled good. REALLY good. I used to occasionally make spiced oat pancakes and top them with a thin maple-vanilla cream cheese icing. The tea smells like that! I took a tiny taste and it tasted good! Even better when I added a bit of sweetener, a spash of milk, and let it cool down a little. I’m not completely sure this tastes like eggnog, which is fine with me because eggnog skeeves me out after more than a sip or two. What I do taste is cinnamon, vanilla, maple, nutmeg, and a little bit of creamy tang (like cream cheese frosting). The flavors are all extremely well balanced. It’s a very flavorful tea, but nothing is overwhelming. I LOVE cinnamon in baking and cooking, but usually think cinnamon in tea tastes different and is too strong. Not in this tea! This one gets 2 thumbs up from me and I really look forward to drinking it throughout the rest of the winter. Hopefully I can find another box, because it will be needed.
