Tea Blog

Every year it seems as if that holiday season sneaks up on us, with each year getting faster and sneakier. By the time you’ve outfitted the kids for another school year, picked the perfect pumpkin to carve, and calculated the poundage of turkey needed to feed the number of relatives who’ll be gathered at your house this year, it’ll be time to hang wreaths and find the perfect little evergreen to decorate. During all this head-spinning rush you could find yourself ill-prepared for those all-important holiday tea times. Time to ask yourself: are you ready?

Stock Up on Holiday Teas

Some teas are specially blended and/or flavored for the holiday season that is steam-rolling toward us. They tend to sell out fast, so you are wise to get your orders in soon. A few examples are:

• Pumpkin Spice Flavored Black Tea — A blend of black teas and South African rooibos, with natural pumpkin flavoring and spicy notes of cinnamon. Perfect served hot with milk and sugar.
• Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea — Part of the Historic Royal Palace line, sweet and spicy and naturally sweetened to perfection with a blend of cinnamon, orange, and sweet cloves.
• Blue Q Pleasant Holidays with Family Tea — Black tea spiced with ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon in individually wrapped tea bags.
• Holiday Spiced Flavored Black Tea — A refreshing, medium black tea with the natural flavors of cinnamon, orange, and clove. Available year-round but especially good during the holiday season. Try it with a little sugar and milk!
• Bellagio Holiday Spice Cocoa — A rich, creamy cocoa that delivers hints of cinnamon, clove, and ginger, for a traditional favorite holiday flavor.
• Stash Christmas Eve Caffeine Free Herbal — An herbal blend is a delicious caffeine-free blend of mint and sweet spices.

Line Up Those Holiday Goodies

Tea by itself is a fine thing. Tea with the perfect holiday goody is even finer. Just like the teas, these goodies tend to go fast, too, so best to make your selection now. Here are a few that are perennial favorites:

• Norfolk Manor Mincemeat — Perfect for baking your own mince pies and turnovers, adding to stuffing, or filling a crown roast of pork. A blend of dried fruits, candied citron, sugar, spices, and vegetable shortening.
• Pumpkin Cranberry Scones — Made with lots of spices, rich pumpkin flavor, and cranberry pieces. Simply add water, stir, and bake!
• Fig Preserves — Made using only the finest figs, picked at the peak of their ripeness gently cooked to preserve their perfection. Excellent with warm scones or toast, and can be enjoyed at breakfast or any time of the day.
• Oharas Farmhouse Fruit Cake — A wholesome country style cake, overflowing with rich, real fruit that tastes as if you’d made it yourself at home. Baked in the countryside of the Emerald Isles of Ireland and sure to satisfy.

Schedule Your Holiday Tea Times

Fitting in a moment to yourself or even with a couple of companions to enjoy a “spot of tea” and a nibble or two can be very tricky. Between work, kids, and holiday preparations, you may not have time to catch your breath, let alone steep and savor a nice pot of tea. But if you schedule things carefully, your chances are a lot better of actually fitting in a tea time or two. Clear away the pumpkin “guts” and sip on a nice pot of pumpkin spice tea, for example.

See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.

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