Cinnamon Orange Spice Black Tea

"The sweeping blast, the sky o'ercast, The joyless winter day. Let others fear, to me more dear, Than all the pride of May: - Robert Burns (1781). He seemed to have loved every frozen minute of it. Not all of us may feel the same way, but we do love spicy winter warm up beverages. On a freezing afternoon or evening, there's nothing like curling up in front of a roaring fire with your hands wrapped around a hot mug of spicy winter goodness. While these beverages have traditionally been wine based, we favor our black tea-based Winter Spice blend. This fabulous blend of cinnamon, cloves, dried fruit, herbs and spices is sure to get your taste buds fired up and your mind dreaming of warmer climes. On the nose, delightful notes of thick spice delight while the cup offers cinnamon, pepper and hints of mild citrus. Joyless winter day? Bring it on!

Only high grown teas from the top 3 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula and Uva are used here. These three high-grown districts produce flavorful teas that have classic 'Ceylon' tea character which is noted by floral bouquet and flavor notes, touches of mild astringency, bright coppery color and, most importantly - perfect for use as the base tea of our flavored teas. Dimbula and the western estates of Nuwara Eliya have a major quality peak during Jan/Feb, whereas Uva and the eastern estates of Nuwara Eliya have their peak in July/Aug. This 'dual peak period' allows us to procure the best for our flavored tea blends several times during the year, ensuring top quality and freshness.

Flavoring oils (and not crystals) are used to give the tea drinker an olfactory holiday before indulging in a liquid tea treat. High quality tea tastes good and natural flavors specified do not mask the natural taste of the high grown tea. (Compared to the use of overpowering artificial flavors, which can be used to mask lower quality tea). Natural flavors do not leave an aftertaste giving the tea a clean and true character. They tend to be somewhat 'soft ' and the flavors slightly muted, but for many this is a refreshing change and one of the desired attributes of our naturally flavored teas.