Tea Forte Advent Calendar: Day 19 - Sweet Orange Spice



 I opened this at night and was sooo excited at the mere name of the tea that I saved it to drink as the start of my day the next day.



I love orange in my tea, I love chai spices like clove and cinnamon too - especially in a good black tea.  I had high expectations for this blend.  So after reading the write up on the bottom of the box, I was even more excited.



It was a nice dark black tea base with a lovely orange peel on the mid note and a zesty citrus hint on the end note.  The cinnamon added a familiar warm spice that I often get in holiday blends.  I've had lots of tea with that mix of profiles, and greatly enjoyed them.  The addition of the clove in this blend did some interesting things.  The warmth of the cinnamon was heightened and moved across the middle of the tongue instead of staying at the edges.  The tannins of the black tea were heightened in mouth feel but not in flavor - which is to say that I got the drying sensation on my tongue without getting the bitterness of an oversteeped tea.  It was a unique and interesting sensation.  Once I added some cream, the whole thing turned into a holiday pudding flavour that I could not get enough of.  I even went so far as to do a second steeping on the tea bag so that I could immediately have another cup.


Paired with my shortbread of the day it was a delectable holiday treat!

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