An Original Blend for our 12 Teas of Christmas box for 2020!

A delightfully different dessert-y tea created just for the Holidays! 

I've never actually had a Spiced Rum Raisin Cake. I've had Rum Raisin ice cream. I've had Spice Cake. So I knew the flavors I wanted to develop with this blend & I'm happy to report that all the flavors I wanted to taste within this cup are present: Sweet raisin-y flavor with a touch of rum. Warm spices. Lovely cake-y notes. YUM!

This tea starts with an organic blend of black teas: Assam, Yunnan & Ceylon. Then I added a bunch of organic Flame raisins & some rum essence (don't worry, it's alcohol-free!) & cake essence. Cinnamon, Ginger & Nutmeg. 

The sip starts with notes of cinnamon & raisin - with distinct black tea notes. Next, I pick up on notes of cake & brown sugar (reminiscent of a cinnamon coffee cake!) The rum & ginger appear about mid-sip. It's really quite a lovely cuppa! 

Large pouch is approximately 50g

organic ingredients: black teas. raisins, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg & natural flavors

Confession time: I really wasn't planning on creating this tea when I went into my tea studio. When I arrived, though, I realized that I lacked the necessary ingredients to create the original 'cake' blend I had planned for the first tea of Christmas so I needed to improvise. With Covid-19, everything - all my ingredients & supplies, etc - are delayed by weeks & sometimes months - so I knew that I would not get what I needed in time to create the tea I had planned. 

I was a little sad at first, but as I'm sitting here, sipping on this tea, I'm actually quite happy with what I came up with in the moment. This is FABULOUS! So sweet & tasty! A perfectly delightful cuppa for the holiday season!

to brew: Give this blend a gentle shake. The spices will settle to the bottom, as will the raisins. Use 3g to 12 ounces of nearly boiling water (205°F). allow to steep for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. strain. allow to cool for 10 minutes.

A bit of sugar will bring the cake-y notes forward (it is a dessert tea, after all.) It's still really good without the sweetener, but a teensy bit of sugar makes this taste more desserty.