Candy Cane Forest Black Tea

The 9th Tea of Christmas 2022!

Every year, I want to include a candy cane-ish type of tea & this is that tea for the year 2022. This candy cane inspired tea starts with a black tea base of black teas (Yunnan, Assam, Gu Zhang & Ceylon). Then I added some refreshing peppermint leaves from my home state of Washington, some vanilla beans, some cacao nibs & shells for just a hint of chocolate & finally, some crushed candy cane bits.

The result is a smooth, delicious black tea that tastes like I stirred it with a candy cane until the candy cane melted & became part of the tea. The mint is crisp, the vanilla notes soften the bite of the peppermint & the hints of chocolate offer a lovely flavor contrast without tasting strongly of chocolate. (After all, this is a candy cane inspired tea, not a chocolate tea.)

So pleasant to sip – it tastes like Christmas in a teacup! It’s also organic, vegan, gluten-free, allergen-friendly & all natural

organic ingredients: black teas, peppermint, cacao nibs & shells, candy canes (cane sugar, brown rice syrup, peppermint flavor & (colored with organic fruit & veggie concentrates [radish, apple, blackcurrant]), vanilla bean & natural flavors

more about this tea: I have a mental checklist with the teas that I blend for this time of year & as I mentioned above, one of those flavors that I want to include is a candy cane-ish tea. They don’t always make it into the holiday box because of limited space – but I usually want to blend a candy cane tea this time of year, whether it’s part of my monthly teas or the holiday box.

This year, I wanted the candy cane tea to also include a touch of chocolate – because . . . chocolate! I like the way the chocolate reveals itself in this cup – it’s not super strong, just a little kiss of sweet, creamy chocolate-y goodness to contrast with the sharp peppermint notes. The vanilla sort of melds with the two flavors – to tie everything together. It all came together beautifully. A perfect holiday tea!

to brew: shake the pouch well before you measure it to make sure the ingredients are blended well. The vanilla beans are tiny & the cacao nibs like to shift to the bottom of the pouch. By giving the pouch a gentle shake – it will redisperse the ingredients so you get a little bit of each ingredient in every measurement.

Use 3g of tea to 12oz of nearly boiling water (205°F) & allow to steep for 3 minutes. Strain & allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before you start sipping. Enjoy!

serving suggestions: I have only tried this tea served hot & because I enjoy it so much, the tea doesn’t cool to a “cold” temperature so I can’t really gauge how it would do as an iced tea, but I imagine it would be delicious. It is amazing as a hot drink, which is why it doesn’t stick around long enough to get cold. I drink it too fast!

I drink this one without any additions & it tastes great. When I add a little sugar (a little less than ½ a teaspoon) – I find that it brings out the chocolate & vanilla notes a little more but not enough to where I prefer it sweetened to unsweetened (In other words: I like it better without). I do like this with a splash of cream, though – so definitely try it as a latte. So good!