Gingerbread Festival

TeaTiff TTB #2

There was a single sachet of this tea in the box, which I took along to my dad’s house to brew on Christmas day. While not quite up to the standard of my all-time favorite Gingerbread Rooibos from Market Spice, this was quite a respectable gingerbread blend! Not too heavy on the ginger and with a nice sweet, buttery cookie note. And the black tea base was welcome after staying up way too late on Christmas Eve!

Most companies get the ginger part right but completely miss the pastry side of their gingerbread/cookie teas. (Yes, this means you, Bigelow Ginger Snappish. Sorry.)

Our H&S friends have nailed both elements accurately. Not so much ginger it burns; and just enough “cookie” to make it believable without being cloying. Nicely done. Thanks, ashmanra!

September Sipdown Challenge – tea from a favorite vendor

After getting started with grocery store hot tea bags long ago, a friend confided that Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice was her guilty pleasure. I decided to get it for her for Christmas, and Barnes and Noble was having a buy one get two free sale on the Historic Royal Palaces tins. I picked up a Royal English Breakfast for us and the rest is history.

Having nice sachets on hand is why the new neighbor, Sandy on here, decided to take me to A Southern Season to be introduced to the world of bounteous assortments of loose leaf, and then it was Harney and Sons Golden Monkey that took me from a tea with milk and sugar person to a sans additions tea drinker. It was Queen Catherine that converted my bestie from a coffee only person to a mainly tea person.

So Harney and Sons is dear to my heart.

I am loving this blend. So often anything called Gingerbread has so much ginger or clove that I really dislike it. This one is perfect.I had it sans additions today with lunch, though it is awesome as a latte. It is perfect to lend a cozy feel to yet another super cloudy day.

I noticed that this steeps up light which got me wondering what the base is. I wonder if tossing a teaspoon of the Queen in would make it even richer. Or a teaspoon of Vanilla Black or Vanilla Comoro? Honestly that sounds heavenly and I am out of both of those, but I expect that won’t be for long, especially now.

I really shouldn’t since Superanna is bringing me some Warm Bread Pudding tea from her vacation in a few days…somebody talk me out of it.

2022 sipdown no. 62

Now on to some sipdowns to clear some things out of the cupboard ahead of the new year!

This sample came from the lovely Cameron!

This one is quite reminiscent of gingerbread actually. The black tea base is unassuming and works really well too. I would consider ordering this one. :)

Wow this tea smells great! Not sure what the black tea base is, but the ginger tickles my tongue and the molasses cookie lingers at the end. Both steeps were delicious and I might need to order this one!

One of my favorites! I try to keep it stocked all year. It’s sweet, indulgent, and has the ginger zip I love without too much spice. The only bad this was that I steeped it in a nordic mug this morning and only used one bag so it was a smidge watery but it gave me an excuse to have another cup!

Firstly this smells delicious right out of the tin, a very realistic sweet gingerbread aroma .. I did a regular brew in a large mug and added oat milk & sweetener as is my preference .. The taste was much more malty than I expected, with just the amount of ginger .. Not overtly spicy and I can’t even detect the cinnamon or clove, so this is not a chai substitute .. The aftertaste is such that it could really very easily trick the brain into believing you’ve just eaten fresh from the oven gingerbread!

Second brew using the same bag was for an extra couple of minutes and still gave plenty of rich flavour ..

I wanted to love this tea and it’s certainly unique and enjoyable enough that I don’t regret my purchase at all, but it’s not an absolute must have so doubt I will order again .. At least not until Christmas ’22, if it returns ..

*My penpals will each get a sample in their next letter/card

Sipdown! (15 | 219)

So happy to get the chance to try this one via a swap, as I was very interested when I saw it on the Harney website, but wasn’t willing to pay $15 to try it.

This is definitely the best gingerbread tea I’ve had. It really does taste like a cookie, and has oodles of molasses flavor to really sell the gingerbread angle. The spicing is light and sweet, a nice mix of ginger, cinnamon, and a touch of clove.

I’m not sure whether I’ll order it or not… It’s a bit on the expensive side and I honestly don’t really crave spiced teas often. But I could definitely see picking some up once fall and winter come around again!