Winter Book Vol I and II

I wanted to feature this product mainly because I was excited about the idea of its look. There is good and bad news.

Good news – Whereas all Basilur Teas tend to look quite tacky, I think for Christmas a little tackiness won’t do any harm. This new Basilur Christmas Tea Winter Book collection comes in tins in the shape of books! And they are almost like fairy-tale books, with beautiful ornaments, golden accents, with a wintery landscape on the cover and they open like a real book. Inside, the tea is packaged in a bag that looks like pages of a book. There are two volumes available, both are Ceylon black teas. Volume I has additions of cornflower, papaya, jasmine and almond flavor. Volume II on the other hand is with papaya, safflower, marigold and sunflower.

For the bad news – these teas are really no good. They are of poor quality, but worst of all the aromas are quite repelling and not well composed. They are certainly drinkable, and the experience is like drinking regular black tea that has a somewhat strange smell, but they are by no means comparable to fine teas. If I had to choose between the two I would go for Volume II, because Volume I honestly smells like a tomato cake.

I have to admit though, that I absolutely love and adore the book packaging – it’s a great idea that could be taken even further.

Warming Christmas Tea

You can buy many different Christmas Tea blends, but sometimes it’s just much nicer and more fun to make it yourself – and it’s also very easy! Christmas teas usually contain a lot of warming and aromatic spices, because these are the things that remind us of christmas most. However, there are no set rules of how much and what exact ingredients you should use – you are free to use your imagination and improvise.

Below you can find some suggestions on how to get started with your tea and some ideas for creating your own blend

Basic Ingredients

• Black tea (ceylon and assam work great, you can use other tea types, however black is the classic version)
• Cinnamon
• Cloves
• Cardamon
• Sugar

Optional Ingredients

• Red wine or brandy
• Cranberry Juice
• Lemon Juice
• Lemon or orange zest
• Apple pieces

I don’t recommend adding all these ingredients listed above into your tea, you should try your way and see what works best, or what is most suiting for the current mood.

Usually you start with the basic ingredients – use a pan to bring water to a boil along with the ingredients, make sure the sugar dissolves completely. Change to medium heat and add remaining ingredients from the optional list. Cook for a while to bring out the aroma of the ingredients and then you’re ready to serve your home-made, hot Christmas Tea!

Teas bring the Christmas Spirit

Strong, warming aromas, sweet scents create a peculiar atmosphere in the air, Christmas Teas have indeed gained a solid position in the world of tea blends, with their distinguished character and a set of common ingredients. Today, Holiday blends are offered by many vendors and they make a great substitute for alcoholic beverages.

Christmas Teas can be easily recognized by a spicy aroma, often a mix of cinnamon, cardamom and cloves and a citrus touch of orange or lemon peels. However, nowadays vendors are more keen on moving away from these traditional ingredients, and choose a more contemporary style to create unusual flavors that will still remind us of the Christmas spirit. Dammann Freres has a Christmas series which offers some exciting and innovative flavors using such ingredients as cherry blossoms, pineapple, caramel and ginger.

Other interesting offerings are Taylors of Harrogate  Spiced CHristmas Tea which is a blend of black Chinese teas with lemon and grange peels, cinnamon and safflower petals or Apsara Winter Tea – a black tea with raisins, apple pieces, red currants, safflower petals and cloves. One thing is for sure, the options are countless and finding a favorite shouldn’t be hard.

Unlike with Indian Chai Tea, Christmas Teas should be generally enjoyed without milk, but a spoon of honey could be a great addition to enhance the flavor and add some sweetness.

Other suggestions

Stash Tea White Christmas – white tea with peppermint and ginger

Stash Tea Christmas Morning – blend of First Flish Darjeeling, Assam, Keemun and Yunnan, Formosa Oolong and southern Indian teas, with addition of jasmine

Stash Tea Christmas Eve – herbal tea with hibiscus, orange peel, rosehips, lemongrass, peppermint, star anise, ginger and cinnamon

Adagio Christmas Tea – black Ceylon tea with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel

Mariage Freres Noel Teas – a fancy selection of white, black, red and green teas

Kusmi Christmas Tea – Chinese black tea with orange, almond, vanilla and spices

Kusmi Green Christmas Tea – green tea with orange, almond, vanilla and spices