January is Hot Tea Month!

In honour of January being hot tea month, I decided to dedicate an entire post to one of my favorite things to collect, tea! When we moved into our condo, Andrew let me have an entire cupboard in our kitchen dedicated to tea. However, the tea stash has often migrated to other secret hiding places of our home (shhh!) and to my office.

Good ol' Red Rose and Tetley Pure Green Tea are my basic go to teas. But I have some flavored and specialty teas I like to drink when I'm switching it up. Here are some of my top choices to share with you as recommendations in case you were looking for something new to try. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Cranberry Pear - David's Tea

Type: flavored black tea, loose

Ingredients: cranberry, black tea, pear, apple, artificial flavoring

Price: $7 for 50 g (other sizes available)

It's a very fruity, mild, black tea. Sometimes when I'm done brewing the tea, I reach into the strainer and eat the remaining cranberry and pear pieces!

2. Green Tea with Mandarin Orange - Lipton

Type: flavored green tea, bagged

Ingredients: green tea, natural flavor, dried apricot, peach, mango, and sugar

Price: Approximately $4 for 34 g (20 bags)

When I first started drinking this tea many years ago, I looked at the ingredient list and was quite surprised that in a tea that boasts mandarin orange flavor, there is no real mandarin orange to be found on the ingredient list. But I got over that pretty quickly as this is one of my favorite fruit-flavored teas green. It has a mild and fruity taste to it. I stockpile boxes of it each time I find it on sale, and I would protest if Lipton ever stopped making it.

3.  Cream of Earl Grey - Tea Desire

Type: flavored black tea, loose

Ingredients: black tea, bourbon-vanilla bits, rose petals, jasmine flowers, bergamot cream flavor

Price: $5 for 50 g (other sizes available)

A great morning tea (but also perfect at any other time of day)! I love the creamy and smooth vanilla flavor of the tea and it tastes even better with a splash of milk.

 

4. Kusmi Rose Green Tea

Type: flavored green tea, loose

Ingredients: Green china tea scented with rose petals

Price: Approximately $18 for 125 g (other sizes available)

I seem to be drawn to rose-flavored teas. This is a tea that tastes great either hot or iced. This is a stronger green tea and if you follow the brewing directions, you will get a fabulous green tea and rose flavor. I usually steep my tea longer than recommended, but this is a tea where one should stick to the 3-4 min brewing time as it does get bitter with further steeping.

5. Momo Oolong Super Grade - Lupicia

Type: flavored oolong tea, loose

Ingredients: Taiwanese oolong tea flavored with white peach, pink rose petals

Price: $13 for 50 g (other sizes available)

This is a tea I picked up in Japan as a result of trying a free sample in the store. I love the light taste and fruity peach flavor and it tastes excellent both hot or iced. I've been rationing this tea but luckily there are Lupicia locations in the US to purchase from.

6. Silver Needle - China

Type: white tea, loose

Price: Since this was a gift that came from China, I'm unsure of how much it exactly cost, but it sells for $24 for 50 g at Teaopia (other sizes available).

This is a very light and mellow tea with a delicate scent, like most white teas due to minimal processing and oxidation. As a result, white tea is high in antioxidants.
 




Won't you join me for a cup of tea some day?