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

Soderblandning – a tea from Sweden

If you have ever been to cafes in Stockholm it’s very likely that you have come across Soderblandning or Soder Te which can be also called Blend of South Stockholm in english. This blend, as the name indicates comes from the southern part of Stockholm and is generally very popular in Sweden. 

Soderblandning was first created by mistake in 1979 when a tea shop owner, Vernon Mauris was trying to make a new blend. While mixing, an extra ingredient fell into the tea accidentally and Mauris not willing to just throw the spoiled blend tried it and concluded that it tasted interesting. After improving the taste a bit, he marketed this new blend in his shop under the name “Mistake Blend”. Later used at a street celebration it was renamed Soderblandning in honor of the part of Stockholm where the store was located.

The ingredients of this blend are not officially stated and can also vary slightly between brands. The base is a blend of Chinese and Ceylon black teas with addition of flowers and fruits. Blue petals of cornflower and yellow petals of marigold as well as orange rind are very characteristic for this tea. I have tasted an alternative version of this blend with some small red berries, but it didn’t taste as good as the classic, most common Soderblandning. I have also seen variations with green tea instead of black. Generally the liquor has a dark color and a dominant floral note, but mixed with the fruit aroma it produces a unique and sweet combination. 

Soderblandning tastes best as loose leaf tea, but it’s even available in tea bags produced by Twinings. It is also popular in Japan, probably due to the fact that Mauris would export about 4000 kg of this blend each year to Japan. It’s hard to believe that such an exotic and vivid tea could come from a cold place like Sweden, but if you ever have the chance, don’t hesitate to try it.