Christmas Tea Reviews

Tea and mysteries go together like, well tea and books. With so many specialty Christmas teas out there to drink while reading mysteries, it's very hard to choose what exactly put into your cup. That's why I've picked my favorite Christmas teas to share. Let's count them down in reverse order...

5) Numi Holiday Chai - This is an organic black tea is blended with spices - cinnamon, cardamom, anise and ginger. The flavor is light and you can drink this flavored tea with foods and it isn't overpowering. This is my favorite holiday breakfast time tea because of the caffeine and the subtle taste. That being said, the subtly makes it seem less special and more of an everyday tea. 

Here is my cat Barnum deciding which tea she would like me to drink. 

4) Dream By the Fire - Made by the Republic of Tea, this vanilla flavored tea has light hints of cinnamon. It doesn't have caffeine and like any of the dessert type teas - because of the vanilla, I prefer to drink it by itself. It comes in a tin separately or in the Christmas gift tin with the Peppermint Bark and Comfort and Joy teas. The three teas in one gives you a chance to taste all three teas.

3) Comfort and Joy - A black tea brewed with spices and fruit, this smells like those clove ornaments we used to make with oranges when I was a kid. You can definitely taste the fruit and I do find it truly comforting. Since it has caffeine, I prefer to drink it in the afternoon, but the taste is too strong for me to drink with food. This is my favorite of the three teas in the Republic of Tea Christmas tin. 

4) Peppermint Bark - This is a green rooibus tea with peppermint, vanilla and cocoa. It has all the scent of peppermint bark and none of the calories. I could pipe the scent all through my house it's so good. The taste is more subtle than the scent, which is good. It's an herb tea, so it doesn't have caffeine, which is excellent because I consider it a dessert substitute. 

1) Downton Abbey Christmas Tea - This is my favorite of all the Christmas teas we tried and not just because Mrs. Hughes comes to your house to serve it (she doesn't, but wouldn't it be wonderful if she did?) It's a black tea with hints of cloves, licorice root, apple bits and cinnamon. It has caffeine. This is a limited edition tea that you can get at Cost Plus World Market or on the Republic of Tea website. 

What's your favorite holiday inspired tea?