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Our buildings & grounds director (a tea guy himself) brought me a little variety box of four different Twinings holiday teas. (I have enough Winter Spice now to get me through three winters ;) Two I have tried previously; this one is new to me and is very pleasant on a chilly morning. The cinnamon and clove are mellow and fresh (vs. bitter, dried-out spice cabinet dregs) and I’m getting some orange rind as well. Another reviewer likened this Christmas tea to Constant Comment, only a bit milder. That hits the nail on the head.

Although my kids’ curriculum writing gigs have led me (pre-plague) to Nashville at least once a year, I had never heard about Nashville Tea…until my best TN buddy sent me a thoughtful little variety pack and advised me that it’s actually based in Columbia TN, where she lives. All the more reason to return!

This reminds me of some kind of hot, wassail-y, deep-dish spiced berry dessert you’d serve on the Christmas buffet table. The “caramelized” essence given in the description is what you smell first, the cranberry and pomegranate are what you taste first, with one spoonful of rock sugar to tamp down the tartness, it still has a lot of liveliness and sparkle from the remaining ingredients (orange zest, anise, a little hibiscus among others).

Tea and Cocoa Day rundown: for my little tribe that was brave enough to sample what I brought, English Tea Store Ginger Peach was a winner, Bigelow Sweetheart Cinnamon not too far behind, and this year’s sixth grade lapsang souchong descriptor was “tastes like barbecue!” Two liked it straight up (one “sort of;” one definitely) and Taste Tester #3 said it was awesome with sugar.

I wanted an early wake-up call today, but not the one I received at 5:30 a.m.: a cat doing, um, what you don’t want cats to do on the carpet. Thus, two large mugs of unleaded PG Tips and Partridges later, I’m switching to lower caffeine options early in the day. (Sorry, I always feel honor-bound to explain external tea motivators.)

With that totally unnecessary verbiage out of the way…I would never have expected peach and mango paired with peppermint. Several interruptions kept me from starting the cup fresh and hot, so at slightly above room temp, the peppermint comes through first with the fruit behind it. Two completely different streams of thought, but they play together nicely. Nothing notable about the green tea, just a light, almost invisible carrier for the main ingredients.

AJRimmer, is this the kind that has some vanilla rooibos in it as well? Whether it does or doesn’t, I am especially thankful for the sample you sent my way!

First thing I noticed: It most definitely smells floury like Aunt Nancy’s homemade pie. She set the family gold standard of pecan pies with local pecans the size of your thumb. When I was little (6-ish), my big brother (14 years older) and I had a deal: We’d share a slice; he’d eat all the pecans and I’d get the goop and the crust, which we all know is the best part.

Steeped straight with no add-ins, there’s plenty of pecan flavor and scent (especially with bag left in the cup) but not a lot of syrupy goop. I think I may be able to fix that next time with a little milk.

I think most of us who have reviewed Winter Spice have concluded it’s milder than its moniker would lead us to believe. Even so, the chamomile-apple blend is a nice nightcap. Last night, I added a couple teaspoons of cider mulling sugar that was gifted to me and “nice nightcap” turned into “oh, mercy, this is just plumb delicious.”

I’m still nowhere near the end of the bag of this Keemun Congou…in previous reviews I think I was more polite and complimentary than I really feel about it. Definitely has the burlap and leather thing going on, but the burlap and leather were left out in the rain too long, know what I mean?

So this morning, I tried it half-and-half with some generic bulk China black (Frontier Coop) to cut the sharpness. That helped a little, but I need to work with the proportions a little in the future … somewhat like Monica’s “Mock-olate” recipes on Friends. I’ll let you know if my hair starts falling out.

Placing a note here, as I’m pretty confident this is a Metropolitan Tea blend that’s marketed by multiple shops; in this case, Bates Nut Farm in southern CA—shared by a work friend.

With that said, there’s something firing in my synapses that makes me think I’ve tried this many years ago (pre-Steepster). There’s an Assam base, some blackberry, a little less maple—almost hard to catch, and a “mystery green tea” that keeps the berry/maple from getting too sappy and murky. And also makes it a tiny bit finicky to steep. I think that’s what the synapses are remembering—some bitterness from too-hot water.

But today, I think I hit the parameters correctly, and it’s pleasant. No unwelcome sweetening added; just hints of fruit and syrup with a little crispness.

Numerical ratings don’t work for me—one must be consistent to play the rating game and I am far too wishy-washy and moody. One of the few teas I ever bothered to rate, and 100 at that, was Fujian Congou by Nature’s Tea Leaf, now long gone. I wrote rambling rhapsodies about its toast-and-cocoa goodness.

However, after tasting my first cup of Old South Meeting House, I was deeply tempted to start messing with the “Drag Me” bar. The Congou part of this blend is strong enough to take me back to that old favorite, and I have had my nose in the mug all morning like a horse with a feedbag. It smells like Ry-Krisp crackers and tastes like toast made from homemade wheat bread.

Thanks to Michelle for the special treat!