Hello, fellow tea lovers! As winter comes to its official close (next week!) I thought I would share what teas I’ve been enjoying this season.
I received the Teavana Holiday Favorites Gift Set (not pictured and no longer available as a set although some of the teas are available individually) as a Christmas gift and thoroughly enjoyed each of the four 2-ounce packages of festive loose leaf teas it included. In fact, that set was mostly what I drank for all of January and part of February until I ran out! It included four blends: Orange Chocolate Sweet Spice (herbal infusion), Spiced Apple Cider (flavored rooibos), Pumpkin Spice Brulée (flavored oolong), and White Chocolate Peppermint (flavored rooibos), my personal favorite of the four. These blends were the perfect winter compliments!
I’ve more recently been enjoying a couple of other teas I had on hand in my collection. I am still absolutely in love with the Numi Moroccan Mint. It is the perfect nighttime tea for me, with a wonderful sweetness and the calming effects of mint. For a morning cup, I look forward to the Paromi Tea Cinnamon Chai. I had picked this up at my local Whole Foods last fall after sampling a bit in store. It is a rooibos chai blend, so it is caffeine-free, but still packs the spiced punch of chai (which is traditionally a black tea). I love the focus on cinnamon, as well. The tea has a nice natural sweetness to it and is so warming on a chilly morning.
I love honey in my tea and have been smitten with Stakich Royal Jelly Enriched Raw Honey for months now. I love raw honey and especially a more creamy formula. This local brand provides the perfect spoonful to swirl into a hot cup of tea.
The other teas I have been drinking in the past month and a half are from Tealeaves. One of the perks of being vocal about your great love of tea is that sometimes people decide to send you some! Tealeaves reached out to me at the beginning of the year and asked if they could send me some of their quality loose leaf blends. I had heard of the brand before from seeing it offered in hotels, restaurants, and spas I’ve frequented over the years. I thought they were just a commercial provider as I’ve never seen their teas sold in stores, but you can purchase directly from their website. They very kindly sent me three blends. Mocha Spice is “an ideal java substitute” herbal tea for coffee lovers out there. It tastes just like a spiced mocha to me, especially with a bit of honey and a drop of milk mixed in. Old Blue Eyes is an herbal blend of the warmer flavors of “sweet vanilla and warm caramel” mixed with the fresher flavors of fruits and herbs. It is a delightfully lighthearted tea that is perfect for an afternoon cup. My personal favorite of the three they sent is Namaste, which is described as “minty, sweet, with subtle creamy, vanilla finish.” Apparently I really love rooibos and mint mixed together, especially when there is an additional sweet note such as vanilla (or white chocolate as in the case of the aforementioned Teavana tea). These quality teas are both beautiful and unique and I have been greatly enjoying them. I also very much like the packaging of the Tealeaves tins, which offers a double lid to ensure freshness.
Image sources can be found at included products links.
The other perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of tea other than honey is a great mug. I am very fortunate to now have two of the highly coveted Emma Bridgewater mugs in my collection. Don gifted me with the beautiful Big Love mug (on the left) for Christmas after listening to me fawn over them online for months. A viewer very kindly sent me the Hearts mug last month. I am one lucky duck! I’ve been drinking tea almost exclusively in these two mugs this entire season! They are absolutely beautifully crafted, high quality ceramic pieces that feel so nice in hand. I can’t speak any more highly of a mug!
Check out my coordinating video to hear more of my thoughts on these teas:
Tealeaves also sent me one their tea samplers and I thought it would be nice to share it with one of you. The Tea Time Winter Giveaway will run until Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 6 PM CT. The giveaway is open internationally. All entrants under the age of 18 must have parental permission to enter. The winner will receive both the Tealeaves 8 Whole Leaf Pyramid Teabag Sampler and Bee Mug pictured below:
You can enter by following the directions in the Rafflecopter widget posted below (check out this blog post for more information on entering Rafflecopter giveaways). I’ll announce the winner on THIS blog post and contact them directly through email, as always. Good luck!
*** GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED ***
Congrats to Lorraine L. on being selected as the winner of the Tea Time Winter Giveaway!
The Poll Results for *What’s your favorite kind of tea?* out of 1102 entries:
Black (344) 31%
Herbal (319) 29%
Green (260) 24%
Rooibos (119) 11%
Oolong (52) 5%
I don’t like tea (8) 1%
I would love to know what your favorite cup of tea is lately if you care to share 
* Post contains affiliate links. This is not a sponsored post. Tealeaves very kindly sent me the teas I shared in this post, including the one I am giving away, with a clear understanding that in doing so they would not expect a review or mention from me unless I genuinely wanted to share. All other products shown were either purchased by me or given as gifts. All opinions are genuinely my own. *
