Smelling the leaves, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be a fan. I realized that the idea of combining orange (which can be bitter) with fiery cinnamon doesn’t appeal to me. This smells like red hots, which smell like Fireball Whiskey, which I really don’t like (my bfs liquor of choice, and after some bad experiences last year, my least favorite). The smell kind of turns my stomach (like I said bad experiences. Let’s just say that I must be really special if I could up chuck all over my boyfriends bed before we were dating, and still have him ask me out).
I absolutely sweetened this, expecting a fiery bitter mess, and I’m glad I did. Sweetened up, there’s still a red hots vibe going on, but it’s in the back and it’s subdued by the sweetener enough to keep me forming dumping the cup. The orange isn’t bad actually.
The aroma when you lift the cup to your mouth to take a sip is all cinnamon, but when it hits your tongue, the first thing you notice is the orange. I wouldn’t say it’s quite juicy, but it’s not bitter either. It’s not till the end of the sip that the cinnamon hits you, and then it sticks around in a lingering after taste.
This tea was doomed for me from the start. I love chais, but not straight cinnamon teas. Due to the bad associate I have with the red hot type flavor, it’s not for me. But that being said, if you like fiery cinnamon, and you like orange, then you’ll like this tea.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Orange, Spicy
He must have really liked you to still want a first date with you after that! <3