Since I individually wrapped the teas this year, I didn’t need to post the teas with the ingredient list daily, but now that the countdown is over, I thought I’d list the teas that were part of this years 12 Teas of Christmas!
Day 1: Partridgeberry in a Pear Tea (Green Tea) – Chinese Sencha tea pears & lingonberries (aka partridgeberries). Sweet & flavorful with just the right amount of tart to add some contrast.
Day 2: Cherry Chai (Black Tea) – One of this year’s new teas & one of my favorites! CTC Assam teas blended with chai spices (including anise), vanilla beans & of course: cherries!
Day 3: Buttered Cranberry Orange Scones Honeybush – A reblend from Frank’s era, although it was my first time blending it. Organic honeybush, cranberries, oranges, plus a touch of vegan essences to create a buttery scone-like experience.
Day 4: Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish – I just reblended this earlier this year, but apparently, my customers wanted it brought back for the 12 Teas of Christmas box! Black teas, blueberries & a touch of vegan essence to create a luscious blueberry cream cheese Danish experience for your teacup!
Day 5: Eggnog Genmaicha – I’ve gotta make at least one eggnog tea every year (maybe not for the box, but at least 1 eggnog tea for this time of year!) & this is this year’s eggnog creation! Roasty toasty genmaicha blended with nutmeg & a touch of vegan eggnog essence & non-alcoholic rum essence!
Day 6: Peppermint Marshmallow Melting in Hot Chocolate Black Tea – If you’ve been with me since I took over 52Teas, you might recognize this one. I did alter the recipe slightly this time, rather than using the Fujian teas I used previously, I utilized black gunpowder tea, which has a natural dark chocolate flavor to it. I thought it would be perfect with this & I was right! Black gunpowder tea, peppermint leaves, marshmallow root, cacao nibs & shells = YUM!
Day 7: Spiced Blackberry Compote Green Tea – Another new tea for this year’s box. OK, so confession time: I was going to make the blackberry custard tart tea for this day, however, one of the teas that I needed for that particular blend was not available at the time I needed it, so I couldn’t make that according to my recipe, so I decided to make a completely different blackberry green tea! Green tea with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean & of course, blackberries!
Day 8: Dreaming of a Grey Holiday Black Tea – I blended this just after the holiday last year (I was really behind, still am!) Black teas with bergamot, cranberries & vanilla! A lovely Earl Grey variety!
Day 9: Figgy Gingerbread Honeybush – I always feel a sense of pride when one of my teas receive a huge number of votes & for tisanes, this one got the most votes! 🙂 Honeybush blended with freeze-dried figs, ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg. Tasty!
Day 10: Banana Akaras Black Tea – Banana Akaras are African banana fritters. I’ve never tasted them, but they sounded good, so I decided I’d interpret that idea into a tea. Black teas, bananas, nutmeg & vanilla bean, plus vegan essence to create a fritter-ish flavor for your teacup!
Day 11: Vanilla Whipped Lavender Grey Black Tea – Another confession & I feel really bad about this one: I was planning a completely different tea for this day, however, I didn’t have the ingredients I needed for it, so I chose the next most popular vote-getter from the poll & this one was it. So I know I have 2 Earl Grey teas in this year’s box, but I hope you aren’t too disappointed by that. Black teas, vanilla beans, lavender buds, marshmallow root & bergamot! One of my all-time favorites!
Day 12: (Good day & welcome to day 12 – lol sorry, I couldn’t resist! I’m gen X!) Honey Chestnut Oolong Tea – I saved the best for last & seriously, this might be one of the best Oolong teas I’ve ever crafted! So amazingly good! Mei Zhan Rock Oolong grown in the Fujian Province that was gently roasted with a blend of nut-free, vegan essences to create a sweet honey chestnut flavor. Seriously, this is one of my favorite Oolong blends, ever! Delicious!