Red Christmas

OHHH Christmas Tea, Oh Christmas Tea, how lovely are your brannchesss (I’m fetching a little on this one, but still.)

You know those smells, those smells that reminded you inexcusably of Christmas. I’m talking those candles you sniff that take you back to the kitchen where all the spices are being used for baked goods and holiday dishes… smells of cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, citrus, brown sugar, yams, butter… OH MY!

This tea is the tea version of said candles or other such scents. It literally oooozes Christmas when I smell it. I am a Christmas lover, my door has a wreath on it November 1, and after November 11, it’s fair game, and I go Christmas nuts. I love the smells, the cool air, the snow (if we’re lucky enough to get any) and the colours of Christmas. It is by far my favourite time of year, that an autumn. OHH Christmas Tea.

Dry Smell: Smells of ginger, cloves, citrus, with a very SLIGHT smell of almost medicinal qualities to it. It takes over your nose and has you close your eyes and just think of the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

Steeped: It smells exactly the same, filling the entire room with the lovely smell of Christmas time. Pine cones, ginger, cloves, gingerbread all wrapped up in one luxurious tea. It’s one I come back to over and over when I want a herbal/rooibus tea that doesn’t need sweetening and is so so so satisfying. It does have a slight medicinal quality to it as well, and I find it’s better straight, as oppose to adding milk. It coats your mouth with a fresh feeling, while warming your insides like you’re sitting next to a fire.

I haven’t tried re-steeping it yet, but I was thinking of trying it today, as the tea is a little on the pricey side (20.00 per 100g) because it’s hoity toity. It’s hands down by far my favourite rooibus tea. No fake taste here, just pure joy. I gulp it down it’s so good, sometimes I have to remind myself to let the taste simmer in my mouth.

Shopping at TWG was slightly annoying because I picked four teas off their tea menu, but the bill rang up like £10 higher than it should have been. I pointed it out to the employee, and they said, “Oh those menus are three years old.” So their teas ended up being pretty pricey, especially considering they were rooibos blends. Anyway, this tea reminds me of Harney’s herbal holiday tea, which is one I don’t enjoy. It has a strange murkiness that’s I guess from the spice combination.