1. Melt the chocolate in tea

The easiest way to add chocolate to your tea is to melt it directly in a cup of hot tea. It’s a simple and easy way to infuse your tea with a burst of chocolaty goodness. All you need is your favourite black tea and a few pieces of your favourite chocolate. Once you’ve brewed your tea, drop a few pieces of chocolate into your cup and let them melt. Cover your tea while steeping to prevent the temperature loss. Stir to create a smooth and creamy texture. Always add chocolate when the tea is still hot, but once you’ve taken out the tea bag or tea infused. Use approximately 10-20 grams of chocolate, depending on how rich you want the flavour to be.

This method works great with milk, white or dark chocolate. Use it with malty and strong black tea such as breakfast blends with a splash of milk. You can also add a sprinkle of cinnamon to your chocolate infusion for an extra kick of flavour. Do not use lighter teas as they will get lost when blended with chocolate.

Chocolate flavour strength: 4-5

2. Make a chocolate tea blend

When making a chocolate blend, start by choosing a high-quality loose leaf tea as your base. Black tea or rooibos will both work well, as they have bold flavours that can stand up to the chocolate. Dark roasted oolong teas, dark roast hojicha or even pu’erh teas are a wonderful choice too. Then, select a chocolate that complements the tea. Dark chocolate pairs well with black tea, while milk chocolate is a nice match for rooibos. Choose small chocolate drops or grate regular chocolate yourself. Then mix it with tea leaves in 1:1 or 1:2 ratios.

The advantage of this method is that you can store your blend for future use and even give it as a gift. It’s also good for using lighter teas, even green teas with white chocolate. However, chocolate may not melt fully, and the amount you will be using per cup of tea will be significantly lower than in the first method.

Chocolate flavour strength: 2-3

3. Add cocoa nibs and cocoa husks to tea leaves

If you want a delicious chocolate tea blend but don’t want the additional calories, try adding cocoa nibs and cocoa husks instead. They will give a delightful scent and flavour to your tea, without adding extra calories. Cocoa nibs are the broken pieces of the cocoa bean, while cocoa husks are the outer layer of the bean that’s removed during processing. They both have a unique and complex flavour profile that pairs perfectly with tea. Try it with black or dark oolong tea or herbal red rooibos tisane. As the flavour will be lighter, you can use some lighter green and white teas too, for example, gong mei white tea.

Chocolate flavour strength: 2

4. Add cocoa powder to tea latte

If you want a truly creamy and indulgent cup of tea, nothing beats a tea latte. Adding cocoa powder to your latte not only gives it a rich and velvety texture but also a bold chocolate. Here’s how to make a delicious cocoa latte at home:

Brew your favourite cup of strong black or red rooibos tea. Add ½ to 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder and a sweetener to your tea and stir. Add milk into a separate saucepan and bring it to a simmer over low heat while continuously whisking with an electric hand frother. Pour steamed milk into tea, stir well and top up with milk froth.

Use only strong and bold teas that are suitable for making tea lattes and always use 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of tea leaves.

Chocolate flavour strength: 3

5. Make a tea mocha

Another similar way to make chocolate tea drink is by adding a chocolate syrup. Tea mocha is a strong tea served with milk with a layer of chocolate syrup on the bottom. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? This tea is perfect for afternoon tea times and any time you need a sweet dessert without too much effort.

The difference between this method and the method number four is that mocha is typically served as a layer of chocolate syrup on the bottom while in the previous method, cocoa powder is simply mixed into the drink.

Learn how to make a tea mocha here.

Chocolate flavour strength: 3-4

6. Use chocolate flavouring extracts

The last and easiest way to make chocolate tea drink at home is to use chocolate extracts. Chocolate extracts are not as common as, for example, vanilla or almond extracts, but they can for sure come in handy. You can use chocolate extracts in two ways:

• By mixing it with dry leaves – this will give a weaker flavour.
• By adding it directly to your tea – this will give a stronger flavour.

The first method is suitable for many teas, even gentler black teas, roasted oolongs, even some green teas. You don’t need to add milk. The second method is more suitable for stronger teas and especially when you are using milk. Flavour extracts are quite strong, so start by using only a few drops. Just a few can transform your regular tea into a decadent drink, perfect for satisfying chocolate cravings.

Some flavour extract already contains a calorie-free sweetener, while offering a true indulgent chocolate flavour.

Chocolate flavour strength when blending extract with dry leaves: 1-2

Chocolate flavour strength when adding extract to brewed teas: 4-5

Chocolate tea recap

Incorporating chocolate into your tea routine can elevate your regular tea breaks into a truly indulgent moment. By using any of these six methods, you can indulge in a luxurious and delicious treat at any time of day. Whether you prefer rich and decadent flavours or lighter and refreshing ones, these chocolate-tea combos are sure to satisfy your cravings. Ready to treat yourself and try it out? Your teatime just got sweeter and more satisfying.

The post Tea Time Just Got Sweeter: 6 Ways to Make Chocolate Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Unicorn Drank

Unicorn Drank is blended with green Sencha tea and white Bai Mu Dan tea, blue pea flowers, cornflower blossoms, mango and strawberries and bergamot flavour. What makes it magical are the colour changing butterfly pea flowers. Drink it pure and enjoy a bluish coloured tea or add some lemon juice and watch the colour change into purple. Contains caffeine.

Price: starting from 3.60 GBP for a taster pack
Where to buy: Camden Tea Shop

2. Unicorn Sencha

Unicorn Sencha may not be a colour changing blend, but it’s playfulness, fruitiness and colour make it worthy of the name. This sencha is blended with rhubarb, raspberry and liquorice root, and it’s sprinkled with white and pink sugar unicorns. Sencha teas are amazing for cold brewing, and because of a liquorice root, it’s already naturally sweet. Contains caffeine.

Price: starting from 1.50 GBP for a sample pack
Where to buy: Black Dog Teas

3. Unicorn Brew

A proper unicorn themed afternoon tea party asks for a proper Unicorn Brew. This tea has been blended with keeping in mind what a luxurious tea party should look like. It’s an herbal caffeine free blend crafted with strawberry leaf, hibiscus, rose petals, sprinkles and edible gold stars.

Price: 27.84 USD
Where to buy: Anita Apothecary Etsy store

4. Unicorn Bliss

Unicorn Bliss has a similar tea base as Unicorn Brew – strawberry leaves and hibiscus, with the addition of apple pieces, rosehips, cornflower petals and three types of candy – sugar pearls, sugar stars and sugar sprinkles. This unicorn tea is caffeine free.

Price: from 5.00 CAD  
Where to buy: T-kettle

5. Magical Unicorn Tea

For classic tea drinkers, a classic unicorn tea blended with pure black tea leaves and colourful sugar stars ticks all the boxes. This tea is made unbroken loose leaf black tea and natural cream and caramel flavourings. Sounds like a yummy breakfast blend, doesn’t it? Contains caffeine.   

Price: from 7.00 USD  
Where to buy: Nerdfelt

6. Magical Unicorn Tea – caffeine free

With the same name but completely different ingredients – this Magical Unicorn Tea is a caffeine-free fruity blend suitable for any time of the day. Blended with apple pieces, rosehips, orange peel, mango, pineapple and carrot pieces and colour-changing butterfly pea flowers.

Price: from 3.00 USD  
Where to buy: Savoy Tea Co

7. Unicorn Tea

Black tea with a chewing gum flavour? This unique tea blend would have a quite an ordinary appearance if there wasn’t for little white sugar unicorns. But the chewing gum flavour is anything but ordinary. In fact, this is one of the rarer tea flavours out there. Contains caffeine.

Price: from 14.95 EUR  
Where to buy: Quai Sud

8. The Lady & the Unicorn

The Lady & the Unicorn tea has no colour changing ingredients and no sprinkles, but what makes it magical is the combination of ingredients – green and white tea, rosehips, floral jasmine and fruity strawberry. Playful but refined, and just perfect for sunny afternoon tea parties. Contains caffeine.

Price: from 14.00 USD  
Where to buy: Jolie Tea Company

9. Unicorn Tears

For magical unicorn-themed tea parties, colour changing teas are a must. This colour changing tea is blended with green tea, rosehips, hawthorn fruit, blue cornflowers and blue pea flowers. Add some lemon or lime juice to change the colour into purple. Contains caffeine.

Price: from 18.00 USD  
Where to buy: Par Avion Tea or Amazon

10. Unicorn Herbal Tea

Vibrant, earthy red rooibos, Tahitian vanilla, cornflowers and safflowers and some colourful sugar sprinkles are blended into a colourful and bright caffeine free Unicorn Herbal tea blend. This tea is suitable for all age groups and for any time of the day.

Price: from 4.25 USD  
Where to buy: Red Stick Spice Co

Blue Pea Flower Tea Ideas

The post 10 Unicorn Tea Blends to Try if You Love Unicorns appeared first on All That Tea.

But there’s a catch (as there always is with tea).

Gunpowder tea is not supposed to be gentle or delicate or have delicate fresh or steamed veggies notes.

It’s supposed to be strong and bold.

And that’s exactly what makes it a perfect choice for making some truly unique drinks.

Why gunpowder tea is so common?

Gunpowder tea is still one of the most common tea in western countries. Many green tea blends contain either gunpowder, chun mei or sencha tea. However, gunpowder is not as common in its country of origin — China. Since the historic times, most tea came from China. Each country where tea spread developed their own tea drinking rituals and habits. Gunpowder was one of those teas that reached many countries a long time ago, and it stayed. At the same time, other green teas were not as common in the west and they started gaining in popularity only a couple of decades ago. But gunpowder green tea is different. Its robust character made it perfect for customisation and preparing using different brewing techniques.

Why is gunpowder tea called gunpowder?

Tea names, especially of Chinese teas, are often unique and very interesting. Gunpowder is one of those teas, too. If you are new to tea, rest assured, there is absolutely no gunpowder in gunpowder tea. The name comes from the shape of the leaf. Gunpowder green tea leaves are rolled into tight little pellets and have a green/grey colour. Some types may have bigger loosely shaped leaves and other will be small and compact.

Other name for gunpowder is zhucha or pearl tea. This is not to be confused with Dragon Pearl tea, which is a completely different type of tea. This tea is often available under two other names – Pinhead gunpowder tea and temple of heaven green tea.

What does gunpowder tea taste like?

Gunpowder is much stronger than many other Chinese green teas. Even though it’s one of the most widely available green teas, its flavour is an exception, rather than a rule among Chinese green teas. It’s strong, dark green-yellow, smooth and full-bodied, with a smoky and sometimes bitter note. Gunpowder tea brewing is not always easy, especially if you want to avoid bitterness. Bitterness is usually more pronounced when the tea is steeped too long. While bitterness and strength may not be as inviting if you want to enjoy your tea pure, this flavour profile is actually great for making many drinks.

Which ones?

5 ways to use gunpowder tea

Some of the most popular ways of enjoying gunpowder tea have a long history and cultural importance. One of them is Moroccan mint tea, a very delicious, sweet green tea with mint.

1. Use it for making Moroccan mint tea

Moroccan mint tea of Maghrebi Mint tea is a type of strong and sweet drink made with gunpowder tea and nana mint (spearmint). Moroccan mint tea is more than just a cup of green tea with mint. It’s made using a special tea pot, simmer instead of brewed, and includes several steps to make it properly. It’s served from smaller glass cups, and it’s both sweet and strong.

Moroccan mint tea tastes great, both hot and cold, although it’s traditionally served hot. It’s common in many countries, and while the authentic mint tea is made from a scratch, there are many pre-made blends that taste great too.

2. Use it for making pink tea

Pink tea or Kashmiri chai is a truly beautiful type of milk tea with a beautiful pink colour. Although the colour is pink, it’s actually made from green tea. Gunpowder is a brilliant choice for making this tea – it goes really well with milk and has a deep and complex flavour that can be enriched with spices. Pink chai is made by simmering green tea leaves in a saucepan, then adding a pinch of bicarbonate of soda. This will change the colour to deep red, and then adding milk will turn it into pink.

Check out the easiest way to make iced pink tea.

3. Make iced tea or sweet tea

Gunpowder is one of the best teas for making a proper iced tea or sweet tea. Because of its strength, it can handle a lot of ice. It also blends really well with many ingredients, especially citruses and other fruits and herbs. When making an iced tea, add double the amount of tea leaves and steep for 5-10 minutes.  

4. Make a green chai

Gunpowder is one of the rare green teas that go exceptionally well with milk and it’s just perfect for making a green chai or green masala chai. You can use it instead of black tea and follow exactly the same steps and till get a super delicious green masala chai. Try doing the same using sencha and you may be disappointed – most of the times it’s too grassy to be blended with milk. Green chai is similar to pink chai except there’s no bicarbonate of soda to change the colour. To make a green masala chai, add your favourite spices, such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.  

Learn how to make Masala chai from a scratch.

5. Cold brew it with fresh herbs

Cold brewing is another thing that you need to try with gunpowder tea. This brewing method changes the flavour profile of green tea, making it less bitter and more refreshing. If you’re not really into sweet or milky drinks, then this is the perfect way to use gunpowder tea. Try adding some fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary or basil too. You’ll get a super refreshing, light and aromatic tea that you can sip all day long.

Not sure how to cold brew the perfect cup of tea? Learn it here.

The post 5 Ways to Use Gunpowder Tea appeared first on All That Tea.

Safflower has its own story to tell.

What is safflower?

Safflower or Carthamus tinctorius L. is a small flowering plant from the daisy botanical family. It has a beautiful yellow, orange or red colour that looks incredibly beautiful in tea blends. It’s much more popular and used in Eastern countries than it’s in the West.

This flower is grown in over 60 countries, with India and China being some of the largest producers. It’s used mostly for making safflower oil, as a dye, flavouring, and as an herbal medicine (1).

You have probably heard of safflower before. Maybe you haven’t used it on its own, but it was undoubtedly a part of some tea blend you tried. In fact, safflower is one of the most popular and the most common floral ingredients in tea blends today. You will easily recognise it by small needle like intense orange-red petals. At first, it may seem like this tea is not doing much in a tea blend except making it look pretty.

But safflower has an appealing flavour and many potential benefits that make this flower more than just a beautiful addition to a tea blend.

Since petals are edible, you can also use them for decorating desserts, cookies and other dishes.

Is safflower the same as saffron?

If you aren’t familiar with both saffron and safflower, these two flowers may look very similar. However, if you take a closer look, you will immediately see the difference. Saffron (spice) is made from dried a dried stigma of the saffron flower, not from the petals. It will always look like a long, dark and intense red thread. In fact, saffron flowers are purple, not red.

Safflower is sometimes called a fake saffron or bastard saffron, and can be used as a spice too, as a replacement for saffron. However, it’s made from whole petals and while they also have a needle-like shape, they don’t look like threads. Besides, saffron is very strong and aromatic, and safflower is much lighter. Their flavour profile and scents are different too. Saffron has a beautiful complex and intense scent, while the scent of safflower may not be as inviting, although it’s strong as well. It has a much stronger herbal note that’s closer to floral teas than it is to spices.  

And last, saffron is one of the most expensive spices. Thankfully, you will only need a tiny amount to add lots of flavour and colour to your tea. With safflower, you’ll need to add much more to achieve a strong flavour. However, it’s also much more affordable.

Safflower health benefits

Safflower may provide many potential health benefits. Surprisingly, it shares many of them with saffron, even though they are two completely different plants.

This unique flower is used as a home remedy for treating anxiety and depression. (2) It may provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties and improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s disease. Seeds may provide benefits too, such as improving osteoporosis (3) and they are mostly used for making safflower oil, not the tea. However, it’s important to note that more studies are needed to confirm safflower’s potential. One of the primary uses besides helping with anxiety and depression is promoting blood circulation (4).

Safflower side-effects

Since safflower may act as a blood thinner, avoid it if you are taking blood thinners and similar medicine.

Interestingly, saffron may provide the same benefits – help with anxiety and depression and could have the same blood thinning side-effects as safflower. Avoid both of them during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

In rare cases, there’s also a possibility of an allergic reaction. If you are allergic to daisies or chrysanthemums, which belong to the same botanical family as safflower, you may be allergic to safflower too.

Can you make tea with safflower?

Absolutely! Both petals and seeds are edible, but it’s the petals that are used for making the tea. You can make a pure safflower herbal tea or blend it with other ingredients. This flower is great for making caffeine-free floral iced tea too.

Safflower tea is easy to make. You will need a freshly boiled water, an infuser or a disposable paper filter, and a cup. If you are using a teapot, choose the one with a removable fine-mesh strainer as safflower petals may be tiny and could easily slip through.

How to make safflower tea?

To make safflower tea, you will need pure dried petals and hot water. Bring fresh water to a boil and steep one teaspoon of dried flowers in a cup of water for 5 minutes. Strain and serve. This tea doesn’t need any condiments, but goes well with a teaspoon of honey. You can serve it hot or iced, both will taste delicious.

It blends well with:

• chamomile, another calming and soothing flower with sweet flavour
• rooibos tea, caffeine-free herbal tea with sweet and earthy flavour
• orange, try brewing it with fresh or dried orange slices
• green tea, usually slightly stronger teas

What is safflower tea good for?

How much you can benefit from any herbal and real tea will depend on many factors, including the quality of the tea, the way you make it, how you store it, what you consume it with, etc.

While it’s difficult to control all these factors, you can choose how you store the tea and how you are making it. If you are looking to enjoy the benefits of one herb, then pure tea may often be a better option than blends. Teas blended with only a few safflower petals will not provide strong (or any) benefits. With most blends, you likely don’t need to worry about side-effects either. However, some blends have more than just a few dried petals.

Pure safflower tea may be extremely refreshing. It’s great for slow sipping too. When introducing any new herb into your diet, it’s important to do it slowly, especially if you are drinking it purely for its potential benefits. In that case, always consult your doctor and make an informed decision.

What does safflower tea taste like?

Safflower tea is very easy to drink. The flavour is slightly floral and sweet, without any heavy or bitter notes. It has the honey-like sweetness of chamomile tea, with light aromatic saffron-like notes. Flavour is different from the scent, which may appear overpowering, so don’t let that prevent you from trying it. It doesn’t need any sweeteners or condiments either. This tea will taste great even when it cools down, so you don’t need to worry about drinking it immediately.

A very light and non-intrusive flavour make it a brilliant choice for many tea drinkers, even if you are very specific about which flavours you like. If you love chamomile, you’ll love this tea too.

Which condiments to add?

Safflower tea is not bitter. However, if you want to add some condiments, try honey. Honey is a wonderful choice for floral teas. You can serve safflower tea with a splash of milk too or use it for making floral lattes.  

Does safflower tea have caffeine?

No, this tea is caffeine free. However, since it’s often used in different tea blends, check the list of ingredients to see if any of them contain caffeine. If you are using pure safflower tea, you don’t need to worry about the caffeine content. This tea is suitable for any time of the day.

You can blend it with other calming herbs, such as hop flower and chamomile.

Final thoughts

With a beautiful orange-red colour, safflower is one of the prettiest edible flowers in the world. It’s also one of the prettiest ingredients for tea blending. But these flowers are much more than just pretty – they taste absolutely delicious and may provide antianxiety properties too.

Sources

(1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/244486074_Safflower_Carthamus_tinctorius_L

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8853973/

(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7344433/

(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7344433/

The post Safflower – a very common, but mostly unknown ingredient in tea blends appeared first on All That Tea.

This guide will show you:

• how to pair green tea with milk,
• which types to choose,
• and give you some ideas on unique drinks to try.

Can you put milk in green tea?

The simple answer is yes, absolutely! The longer answer is that you can, but it’s often not as straightforward as adding milk to black tea.

There are a few good reasons for that.

First, it’s the flavour. Green tea is usually not served with milk, mostly because it often has a vegetal green flavour. The flavour profile of milk simply does not go very well with the grassy notes of most green teas, especially steamed types. That’s why you’ll never see deep and grassy sencha served with milk.

Next, it has a much lighter texture and body than any black tea. Adding even as little as a splash will often mask the flavour of green tea and leave you with a glass of hot water with some milk.

And the third reason is potential health benefits.

Is green tea healthy with milk?

Many tea drinkers avoid adding milk to green tea fearing it could decrease the benefits of EGCG. EGCG is the most important catechin in green tea, and the reason green tea is considered super healthy. It’s responsible for a myriad of potential health benefits.

While many sources claim that adding milk to green tea is not a good idea, studies are still inconclusive. Some suggest that the bioavailability of catechins is reduced (1) with milk, while other suggest that milk may actually help preserve antioxidant activity (2). This basically means that we are still not 100% sure and the best way to enjoy your green tea is perhaps the one you enjoy the most.

If you want to explore drinking green tea with milk, there are many tea types you can try.

Choosing the best green tea for adding milk

It’s crucial to choose the right tea type for making green milk teas. Most green teas are too light to be mixed with milk, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them. One of the easiest solutions is to add more tea leaves and make a stronger infusion.

But first, let’s see how to choose the right type of tea.

In general, green tea can be divided into two main categories – steamed and pan-fired. Most steamed teas will have a fresher and more vegetal flavour, while pan-fired teas will probably have a nuttier note. There are roasted green teas, too, which are typically a subcategory of steamed teas. Because of their unique roasted flavour and dark colour, they will almost always go well with milk.

Find everything you need to know about green tea in the Ultimate Green Tea Guide.

So, how to choose the best tea?

Tips for choosing the best tea

1. Consider the flavour notes: Look for green teas that have a natural sweetness or nuttiness, as these flavours pair well with milk and avoid teas with grassy, vegetal flavours. Roasted hojicha tea has an intense roasted note that goes well with milk and so does genmaicha, a popular Japanese green tea with toasted rice.
2. Check the colour: Some green teas will always be very light, such as Dragon Well or even lightly steamed sencha. While Dragon Well may actually go well with milk, it’s quite light, so the flavour may easily get lost. On the other hand, gunpowder and many Indian green teas have a darker yellow green colour and usually go really well with milk.
3. Experiment with blends: Green tea blends that contain other ingredients, such as spices, chocolate, vanilla or coconut, may go really well with milk. They are usually blended with gunpowder, chun mei of hyson green teas that are strong enough to pair them with milk.
4. Choose powdered teas: Matcha is perhaps the most popular type of tea for making milk teas, and it’s a type of green tea. But other tea powders are available too, such as hojicha and genmaicha.

Top 7 green teas to try with milk

1. Hojicha: Hojicha is a type of roasted Japanese green tea that is unlike any other green tea. It has a flavour profile that’s similar to some roasted oolong teas and goes really well with milk. Hojicha has a light or dark brown colour, depending on the roasting type and taste great with both dairy milk and plant-based milk alternatives.
2. Kyobancha: Kyobancha is a special type of roasted Japanese bancha tea originating in Kyoto, with a mellow flavour with sweet and smoky notes. It’s great for making milk teas as well.
3. Genmaicha: Genmaicha is a type of Japanese tea blended with toasted rice. It can contain different green teas, from sencha to bancha or gyokuro, and it can be blended with matcha too. For making milk teas, bancha genmaicha may be the best option.
4. Matcha: matcha is one of the most popular types of green teas that’s super versatile and you can use it to make different milk teas. You can make it with only a splash of milk or use milk only.
5. Gunpowder: Gunpowder is a type of Chinese green tea that has a strong and mellow flavour which may go surprisingly well with milk. You can use it for making a proper pink tea too.
6. Chun Mei: Chun Mei is another strong Chinese green tea that can go really well with milk. It has a light smokiness and some astringency.
7. Jasmine green tea: Jasmine green tea is another delicious type of tea to try with milk. This tea has a stronger smoky green tea base with fragrant floral jasmine notes. It’s an amazing choice for making boba milk teas or lattes.

How to make a perfect cup of green tea with milk

No matter which type of green tea you choose, it’s unlikely to go well with milk if you prepare it using a standard western brewing technique. What does that mean? It means that one teaspoon of tea leaves per cup of water steeped for 1-3 minutes will not give a strong enough tea to pair well with milk. It simply won’t have enough depth and the flavour will easily get lost.  

To truly enjoy the taste, it’s important to brew the perfect cup.

1. Bring fresh water to a boil. The best water temperature for making green tea should be around 70-85 degrees Celsius. Since you will add milk, you can use a slightly hotter water, but not boiling. Keep it at 85-90 degrees Celsius.
2. Measure 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea per cup of water and place it in a teapot or infuser. Steep tea for 3-5 minutes, depending on the type of green tea and your personal taste preferences.
3. Once the tea is ready, remove the infuser or strain it.
4. Add a sweetener (optional).
5. Add hot or cold milk.
6. Serve it hot or over ice.

How much milk to add to green tea?

How much milk you will add will depend on the drink you are making. If you are making a milk boba tea, you can add only a tablespoon or two of condensed milk. If you are making a tea latte, add 50-150 ml of steamed and frother milk, and if you only want to enhance the flavour, a splash may be enough.

Now that you know how to brew the perfect cup of green tea for milk pairing, let’s explore types of milk you can use.

Which milk to choose

Regular dairy milk is a classic choice that adds a rich and creamy texture and goes well with any green tea. Whole milk is usually a better choice than semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, especially if you want a creamier texture.

If you are using stronger green tea with enough depth, condensed milk, evaporated milk, coffee creamer and half-and-half may work well too.

But if you’re looking for a dairy-free option, you can choose from many delicious non-dairy milk alternatives such as coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk, soy milk or oat milk. Nut-based milk will be wonderful for green teas with nuttier roasted notes, and neutral cashew milk will work with most green teas.

Final Thoughts

Green tea may not be the type of tea you’d typically drink with milk, but it can be incredibly tasty. Choosing the right green tea, brewing it properly, and selecting the best milk are key factors in making the perfect cup of green tea with milk. This guide will help you get started and explore the whole new world of unique and refreshing flavours.  

Need more inspiration?

Check out these recipes:

• Hojicha milk tea with matcha milk jellies
• How to make iced pink tea
• Best green teas for making pink chai

Sources

(1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26517348/

(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25154916/

The post Can you drink green tea with milk? Guide to Perfectly Pairing Green Tea with Milk appeared first on All That Tea.

In fact, there are many types that come from many countries.

This type of tea is less common than green or black tea, but it’s far from rare.

These are the 10 things you need to know about white tea.

1. White tea may contain more caffeine than black tea

It’s a common misconception that white tea is the gentlest type of tea in terms of caffeine content. A reason for this is that, when brewed properly, has a very delicate colour and flavour, especially when it contains lots of silver buds.

But studies have shown that white tea may have more caffeine than green tea (1) and even more than black tea.

Another study that compared different types showed that Bai Mu Dan or White Peony may have significantly more caffeine than Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Bai Hao Silver Needle) or Shou Mei teas (2).

2. Some types will never be available in classic tea bags

While there are white tea bags available on the market, not all are suitable for tea bags. That’s because classic tea bags contain tea dust and small leaf particles, rather than whole or even broken leaves.

One of the most popular white teas in the world – Chinese Silver Needle – is a tea made of young tea buds and attached leaves, covered in fine silver hair. This tea would lose all its charm and flavour if it was simply a dust.

However, Silver Needle tea is often available in pyramid tea bags, a type of tea bag suitable for whole leaf teas.

Another reason you won’t find all white teas in tea bags is that teas that are available in classic tea bags are usually the most popular types of teas. That’s why some rare teas will only be available as loose tea.

3. It is produced in many countries

Although the most popular white teas come from China, this tea type is not produced in many other countries as well, including Rwanda, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Japan and Malawi. Many other countries are producing it in small batches too.

The largest producer of white tea is still China, which also has the widest assortment of this tea type, and some of the most exquisite teas in the world. What’s even more interesting is that teas from different countries will have a very different flavour, even if they are produced in the same way. And finally, all this actually makes it not rare as a type, but instead, it’s produced in lower quantities than green or black tea.

4. You can brew white tea with nearly boiling water

This type of tea may look gentle, but it can tolerate high temperatures better than green tea. High quality white teas won’t become bitter when you use nearly boiling water, but don’t over-steep them. Over steeping with boiling water can ruin any tea.

One tea you absolutely can steep in very hot water is Chinese Silver Needle tea. Even at 90 degrees Celsius, it will still brew into a pale and beautifully gentle cup.

5. You CAN drink white tea with milk

Some white teas are suitable for adding milk. Not all are gentle, and in fact, some may have a colour similar to black teas. But it’s not only the colour that tells you if the tea is suitable for adding milk, it’s the flavour too. Choose teas with a stronger flavour and yellow colour, such as Shou Mei Chinese tea or Kenya Rhino white tea.

Read more:

• Can you drink white tea with milk?
• Spiced white tea latte recipe

6. There are many types of silver needle tea

Just like there are many types of sencha green tea, there are many types of silver needle teas. Name silver needle implies a plucking standard and a processing method, rather than just one type of tea.

In fact, many countries are producing silver needle teas, including India, Malawi, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Kenya. The most popular silver needle teas come from China, especially Fujian province and Yunnan.

What does silver needle tea look like? It will contain mostly small buds covered in fine white hair. These buds may be thinner or plumper and bigger, white-green or green-grey. The fewer leaves it contains, the better.

7. It may contain more antioxidants than other tea types

If you want to enjoy the potential benefits of catechins but don’t like the flavour of green tea, this may be a perfect tea type to try. Although the total amount of polyphenols will be different in different white and green tea, they are both a good choice.

This tea type is often called a beauty tea, because it may contain more antioxidants than other types of tea. (3) It’s is rich in polyphenols, and especially catechins – just like green tea.

Studies showed that these two tea types have a very similar total polyphenol content, which may sometimes even be slightly higher in white tea (up to 25.95 grams per 100 grams, compared to up to 24.7 grams in 100 grams of green tea) (4).

8. White tea will have a longer shelf life than green tea

Properly stored white tea will probably taste good even after a year, and some may keep for years. However, to enjoy the best flavour, drink teas that have very green leaves (like Japanese white tea) or silver-green leaves (like high quality Chinese silver needle) within 6-12 months.

9. And, it can be aged

Not only can white tea stay fresh longer than green tea, but it can also be aged. Properly aged tea will keep even longer than unaged tea. White tea leaves are commonly pressed into brick or disk shapes and then aged. They look similar to aged pressed pu’erh tea. Which teas are aged? Beautiful Chinese Yue Guan Bai tea, Bai Mu Dan, Shou Mei and Gong Mei teas.

10. It doesn’t need to look white

Neither the colour of dry white tea leaves nor the brewed tea needs to look bright. In fact, they may come in different colours – white-grey, green-grey, vibrantly green, dark brown, or as a delicious Chinese Yue Guang Bai, white, grey and purplish. And when it comes to brewed tea, a very fine quality silver needle will look almost transparent. White Peony may have a vibrant yellow colour, and some, like Shou Mei and Gong Mei may brew into a darker yellow-brown liquor.

Final thoughts

White tea is an absolutely unique type of tea. Just like other tea types, it comes in a whole range of flavours, colours and shapes and is usually gentler in flavour than green or black tea. Since there’s more than just one type, if you decide to become a white tea drinker, you’re going to have lots of fun tasting unique flavours. Plus, you may even enjoy some really wonderful benefits.  

Sources

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4787341/

(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6170294/

(3) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123849373000033

(4) https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/171370/4/Healteas.pdf

The post Is white tea rare? + 9 other white tea facts appeared first on All That Tea.

Sometimes, a classic lemon tea is just not enough. Here are the ultimate lemon desserts tea blends you can buy online.

11 Tea Blends Inspired by Lemon Desserts

1. Lemon Curd

You simply can’t go wrong with lemon curd. It’s creamy, has an irresistible lemon scent and flavour, and it’s super versatile. You can use it for making desserts or simply spread it on a slice of bread or scones. Fortnum & Mason knows everything about lemon curd, and about tea too. This blend is a real liquid version of a proper, super delicious lemon curd, blended with gentle green tea, white hibiscus, liquorice root, lemon peel and lemon curd flavouring.

Price: 6.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Fortnum and Mason website

2. Lemon Meringue

Inspired by a lemon meringue pie, this powdered tea latte is anything but a typical tea. It’s blended with herbal ingredients with adaptogenic properties – maca, ashwagandha and turmeric, plus lemon peel. It’s easy to make, can be prepared with or without milk, and even used for making your own sweet lemon treats with benefits.

Tasted – Read more about Lemon Meringue tea

Price: from 5.99 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal powder blend

Where to buy: Tea and the Gang Amazon store

3. Lemon Waffle

There are waffles, and there are lemon waffles. And then, there’s a lemon waffle tea with such an incredible buttery and lemony notes and proper sweetness, it will quite easily become your favourite type of liquid waffle ever. This herbal blend is caffeine free, looks pretty and cheerful, and contains apple and pineapple pieces, lemon verbena, caramel cubes, lemon granules, sweet blackberry leaves and marigold blossoms.

Tasted – Read more about Lemon Waffle tea

Price: from 2.95 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: BRUU website

4. Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon pound cake is a simple cake with a long history and irresistible buttery and lemony flavour. This lemon cake tea blend is made with organic ingredients – green rooibos, an herbal tea with both flavour profile and benefits similar to green tea (minus the caffeine and astringency), marshmallow root, lemon peel and natural flavours.

Price: from 3.00 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Dominion Tea website

5. Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon drizzle cake is a pound cake with an addition of a lemon drizzle glaze. Having a sweet buttery flavour and even more zestiness, this classic dessert is one of the most beloved tea time treats ever. This lemon drizzle cake inspired tea blend is as fresh as it gets. It’s blended with smooth Chinese green tea and a range of lemony flavours – lemongrass, lemon verbena, and lemon pieces.  

Price: from 3.00 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Rosie Lea Tea Etsy shop

6. Lemon Biscotti

Popular Italian crunchy cookies undeniably go well with tea, especially if they are sweet, decadent and zesty. A tea blend inspired by this classic Italian treat features super interesting ingredients blended to give the same distinctive sweet, biscuity and zesty taste – bold black tea base, currants, lemon, tangerine, lemongrass, moringa and blackberry leaves.  

Price: from 1.54 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: The Tea Club website

7. Lemon Cheesecake

A list of lemon treats would not be complete without a proper lemon cheesecake. This sweet and zesty blend contains a whole range of naturally sweet and zesty ingredients, including the rare white hibiscus flower, lemon myrtle, lemon peel, sweet liquorice root and – hazelnut.

 Price: from 10.00 CAD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: HotCups Canada website

8. Lemon Sorbetti

Sorbetti or sorbetto, an icy Italian treat, served as an inspiration for an award-winning blend with a 100% lemon soul. This refreshing, crisp green tea is combined with distinctive lemony and fresh organic ingredients – lemon myrtle, lemon verbena, lemongrass and lemon peel, all rounded up a with natural lemon flavour.

Price: from 18.00 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Tea Forte website

9. Lemon Pie

A classic lemon pie is a simpler version of a lemon meringue pie, with the same delicious flavour, minus the meringue. This lemon desserts inspired tea is a blend of fresh, zesty and sweet ingredients – green tea, vanilla, lemon and crème flavour, sprinkled with adorable lemon sprinkles.

 Price: from 8.85 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Tea Loves You website

10.  Lemon Sherbet

Sherbet, a frozen dairy dessert, tastes absolutely delightful when made with real lemons. It served as an inspiration for a fruity blend of sweet and sour ingredients – apple pieces, rosehips, lemongrass, orange peel and calendula petals finished with a natural flavouring. 100% caffeine free and 100% sugar free and great for making summer iced teas and icy treats.

Price: from 3.50 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: fruit tea blend

Where to buy: Bird & Blend website

11.  Glazed Lemon Loaf

Dessert teas are more often available as loose tea, rather than tea bags. There are exceptions, though. If tea brewing is something you don’t want to spend too much time on, but still want to enjoy liquified lemon desserts, Glazed Lemon Loaf may be the one. It’s blended with green rooibos tea, liquorice root, calming chamomile, rose petals, apples, orange peel and ginger and it’s caffeine free.

Price: from 3.78 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Explore options on Tazo website or buy on Amazon

The post 11 Teas Inspired by Lemon Desserts appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Mulled Wine

When talking about Christmas drinks, it’s impossible not to start with mulled wine. Mulled wine is for sure, the ultimate holiday drink, so it doesn’t surprise it’s one of the most popular festive tea flavours. Teas inspired by mulled wine can be caffeinated and caffeine free, and they are an amazing alternative if you want to enjoy this warming flavour all day long. Mulled Wine from Twist Teas contains all the spices and fruits to make a proper mulled wine any time you want.

Price: from 4.00 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: fruit tea blend

Where to buy: Get Mulled Wine tea from Twist Teas website.

2. Mulled Cider

If wine is not really your thing, mulled cider can be a great alternative. This spiced drink is as warming and aromatic as mulled wine, but with crispier and fresher apple notes. Mulled Cider tea from Bird and Blend is an apple-based tea with warming spices and natural zestiness, no caffeine or alcohol, and 100% warming flavour.

Price: from 6.70 GBP

Caffeine: No

Type: fruit tea blend

Where to buy: Get Mulled Cider from Bird and Blend website.

3. Eggnog

Smooth and custardy eggnog is a must for the holiday season. It’s the creamiest of all holiday drinks and incredibly delicious. Eggnog is usually only lightly spiced with nutmeg and can be served with or without alcohol. T2’s Eggnog tea is blended with black tea, hazelnut brittle, nutmeg, sweet blackberry leaves and eggnog flavourings for perfectly creamy eggnog experience in a teacup.

Price: 16 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Eggnog tea from T2 website.

4. Hot Toddy

The best thing on cold winter nights is to snuggle under the blanket. Enjoying a cup of warm drink at the same time makes it even better. This traditional drink is made with whiskey, honey, water, lemon and spices and is usually enjoyed throughout the winter. Hot Toddy tea blend is an alcohol-free tea alternative from Tugboat, made with black tea, and all the spices and flavouring to give the same warming feeling.

Price: from 2.20 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Hot Toddy tea from Tugboat website.

5. Fruit Punch

Seeing a big bowl of fruit punch means it’s time to party. Fruit punch is made with different fruit juices and often a sparkling wine or carbonated non-alcoholic drink, and garnished with fresh fruits. Depending on the recipe, punch may contain a mix of different alcoholic drinks too, but it can be alcohol free as well. A Fruit Punch tea blend from It’s Tea is a festive fruit blend, made with oranges and pineapples, cinnamon rods and mistletoe.

Price: from 1.55 GBP

Caffeine: no

Type: fruit tea blend

Where to buy: Get Fruit Punch tea from It’s Tea website.

6. Glogg

If you love mulled drinks, you will love glogg too. Glogg is a Swedish version of mulled wine, but it can be made with other spirits too. It’s warming and rich and often served with dried fruits. Glogg inspired tea from Kusmi Tea’s an herbal, caffeine and alcohol-free aromatic blend of blackcurrants and grapes, spices, liquorice and natural zestiness from hibiscus, lemon peel and orange essential oil.  

Price: 19.90 EUR

Caffeine: no

Type: fruit tea blend

Where to buy: Get Glogg tea from Kusmi Tea website.

7. Buttered Rum

What could be more indulgent than a hot drink made with butter and spices? Buttered rum is a rich and warming winter drink made with rum, butter, spices, and sugar. Buttered Rum tea from Clearview Tea Company contains no alcohol or calories, only a comforting and rich buttered rum flavour.

Price: 14.00 CAD

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Buttered Rum tea from Clearview Tea Company website.

The post 7 Teas Inspired by Christmas Drinks appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Christmas Stollen

Stollen, a traditional German Christmas cake, is made with dried fruits and citruses, spices and marzipan. It’s technically a bread, made with yeast and shaped in a loaf, but with rich and sweet cake ingredients. Looking for a liquified sweet and fruity Stollen cake? Christmas Stollen black tea contains absolutely all ingredients a Stollen should have – including marzipan pieces, sultanas, orange, almonds and even small cinnamon sticks.

Price: from 1.55 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

 Where to buy: Get Christmas Stollen tea from It’s Tea website.

2. Panettone

Italy gave the world many truly amazing food and drinks, including a delicious Christmas cake – Panettone. Panettone is a bread cake with dried fruits and fluffy texture that can be eaten as a dessert, but tastes just as great for breakfast, too. Panettone Cake tea is blended with black tea, orange and lemon citrus peel, raisins, vanilla and calendula petals and can be enjoyed with or without milk.   

Price: from 7.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Panettone Cake tea from Dessert by Deb website. (Seasonal tea)

3. Pepperkake Traditional Cookies

Inspired by simple yet delicious Norwegian ginger biscuits, Santa’s Baby or Pepperkake rooibos tea contains all the ingredients to warm and cheer you up. Pepperkake or pepper cookies are traditional Christmas desserts from Norway with pepper, ginger, clover and cinnamon. This blend doesn’t contain caffeine, which makes it perfect for late night sipping covered up in a blanket.

Price: from 3.19 GBP

Caffeine: no

Type: rooibos tea blend

 Where to buy: Get Pepperkake Rooibos Tea from Tea and the Gang website.

4. Christmas Pud

Christmas without a Christmas Pudding? It’s never going to happen. This traditional British Christmas dessert is as unique as it gets – it’s made with dried fruits, alcohol, spices and butter (or suet), steamed for hours, matured, steamed again and flamed up before serving. You don’t need to do any of that with Christmas Pud tea. Simply boil the water, steep and enjoy. This fruity and spicy tea is blended with green tea, cinnamon and fruits.

Price: from 4.00 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to get: Get Christmas Pud from Twist Teas website.

5. Figgy Pudding

You don’t need to be English to know about Figgy Pudding. “We Wish you a Merry Christmas” Christmas Carol gave a word-wide recognition to this traditional Christmas dessert. While Figgy pudding is simply just another name for Christmas pudding, Figgy Pudding black tea blend from Capital Teas contains actual fig pieces too, and sour and acerola cherries.  

Price: from 14.95 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

 Where to buy: Get Figgy Pudding from Capital Teas website.

6. Mince Pie

Figgy and Christmas puddings may be world-known traditional Christmas desserts, but it’s mince pies that are the first visible, edible sign of Christmas. These sweet small cakes with a buttery crust are filled with mincemeat, which is a mixture of apples, citruses, raisins a similar fruits and spices. Mince Pie Christmas cake tea contains Ceylon black tea, spices and citruses and fig oil to offer the same feeling, but guilt-free.  

Price: from 2.50 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Mince Pie from Suki Tea website.

7. Salted Caramel Lebkuchen

Ginger is one of the most popular winter spices, and certainly one of the most popular Christmas cookie spices in the world. Lebkuchen is a Germany type of spiced cookie with honey and a special mixture of Lebkuchen spices. Add some salted caramel and here it is – Salted Caramel Lebkuchen, a black tea blend inspired by a German favourite holiday cookie.

Price: from 6.35 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Salted Caramel Lebkuchen from Bird & Blend website.

8. Yule Log

Without signature decorations, Yule Log or Bûche de Noël may look like a random chocolate roulade, but this French Christmas cake has a long tradition. Yule Log is a chocolate sponge cake with cream cheese filling and chocolate frosting. It can be made with different ingredients too – for example raspberries, that taste delicious with a cream cheese filling. This Yule Log Christmas cake tea is blended with Ceylon black tea, freeze-dried raspberries and cocoa husks and nibs to offer a chocolaty deep and sweet liquid treat.

Price: from 4.75 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Yule Log from Biscuit & Brew Tea House website.

9. Fruit Cake

Somewhere between Christmas Stollen and Panettone lies the Fruit Cake, one more festive treat. Fruit cake is a rich cake made with dried fruits too, but unlike Stollen, it comes in different shapes, doesn’t need to be coated with sugar, and it’s richer than Panettone. This Fruit Cake Christmas tea blend is as rich as a real cake. It’s blended with black and oolong tea, spices, citruses and other fruits, vanilla, and even carrots, sea salt, rose petals and maple.

Price: from 4.00 USD

Caffeine: yes

Type: black and oolong tea blend

Where to buy: Get Fruit Cake tea from Subrosa Tea website.

10. Panforte

Panforte is another traditional Italian Christmas cake, made with dried fruits, nuts, spices and honey. This rich and festive cake comes from Siena. It may be less famous than Panettone, but it’s as festive and deliciously chewy. Panforte di Siena Christmas tea blend is made with white and green tea, and lots of candied fruits and nuts.

Price: from 2.95 EUR

Caffeine: yes

Type: white and green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Panforte di Siena from Schnorr website.

11. Turron

Spain is famous for its delicious nougat sweets. Turron is a type of Spanish Christmas brittle that’s actually available all-year round. This Christmas treat is usually made with nuts, egg whites, sugar and honey. Turron may contain other ingredients too, including chocolate and spices. This Sweet Turron fruity tea blend comes from a Spanish Tea Shop, it’s made with cinnamon and almonds and it’s caffeine-free.

Price: from 9.95 EUR

Caffeine: no

Type: fruity tea blend

Where to buy: Get Sweet Turron from Tea Shop website.

12. Gingerbread Man

Cheerful and fun gingerbread men are an all-time classic. These spicy cookies originate from England and are commonly decorated with colourful icing. A Christmas teatime too, wouldn’t be complete without a gingerbread man tea. This blend from The Tea Crew contains both black and green tea, all the spices, oranges, cocoa and bourbon vanilla.

Price: from 2.99 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: black and green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Gingerbread Man tea from The Tea Crew website.

13. Speculoos

This gently spiced aromatic crunchy cookies are traditional holiday treats in the Netherlands and Belgium. They are crunchier and gentler than gingerbread cookies, but highly aromatic and sweet. Speculoos tea blend contains Ceylon black tea, almonds and speculoos spices, to offer the same holiday flavour, only liquified.

Price: from 5.30 EUR

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Speculoos tea from Mi Gusto website.

14. Marzipan Cookies

Marzipan is a traditional European festive ingredient and an ingredient in many traditional Christmas desserts. But marzipan cookies take the almond flavour a step further. Not only do they contain marzipan, but may contain many other different ingredients too, including chocolate, spices and fruits. Marzipan Cookies dessert tea from Amoda Tea is blended with red rooibos, papaya, pear, spices, and almonds, to offer a festive cookie flavour that goes well with milk too.

Price: 22.00 CAD

Caffeine: no

Type: red rooibos tea blend

Where to buy: Get Marzipan Cookies from Amoda Tea.

15. Frosted Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake is an any-season classic, but warming spices and delicious cream cheese frosting make this cake a perfect festive Christmas treat too. Sprinkled with sugared snowmen and carrot candy sprinkles, Frosted Carrot Cake tea blend from Sisters Tea Company is a truly festive holiday tea without a doubt. It’s a truly unique blend of sweet herbal honey bush tea, green rooibos, white chocolate bits, raisins, carrots and cinnamon.  

Price: from 3.00 USD

Caffeine: no

Type: green rooibos and honey bush tea

Where to buy: Get Frosted Carrot Cake from Sisters Tea Company website.

16. Sugar Plum

Sugar Plum treats are made with dried fruits, spices such as cinnamon, and sugar. This treat may sound simple, but it’s both uniquely festive and delicious. Sugar Plum Fairy tea blend was inspired not only by these sweet treats, but by a Nutcracker ballet too, and blended in collaboration with the Scottish Ballet.

Price: from 3.75 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Sugar Plum Fairy from Eteaket website.

17. Chocolate Fudge Cake

When talking about traditional Christmas desserts, it’s impossible not to mention fudge. Every year Christmas markets tempt with both classic and unusual fudge flavours. While fudge is hard to resist even in its simplest form when made of sugar, butter and milk, a Chocolate Fudge Cake is a true festive treat. A tea blend inspired by this cake is rich too, and blended with Ceylon black tea, cocoa nibs and cocoa shells, fenugreek and liquorice.

Price: from 3.00 GBP

Caffeine: yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Chocolate Fudge Cake from Rosie Lea Tea website.

The post 17 Tea Blends Ispired by Traditional Christmas Desserts appeared first on All That Tea.

1. Christmas Greetings

When you think about Christmas, what’s the first thing that comes into your mind? Is it the Christmas sweets? Gingerbread men? Or maybe it’s spiced drinks? Christmas Greetings tea has it all. It’s made with sweet and earthy red rooibos, caramel and brittle pieces, sugar snowflakes, sugar gingerbread men and pink peppercorn, to greet you with the unmistakable Christmas flavours with every sip.

Price: 6.95 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Christmas Greetings from The Tea House website.

2. Nutcracker Christmas tea

Can you imagine Christmas without a nutcracker and a nutcracker without marzipan? This sweet rooibos blends is made with red rooibos tea, almond pieces, candied papaya and silver sugar sprinkles and sugar stars. It’s a pretty and festive marzipan flavoured blend made to set the Christmas mood from the first sip.  

Price: from 4.75 GBP

Type: herbal blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Nutcracker from Tips & Leaves website.

3. Christmas Cuppa

For every tea lover, a Christmas cuppa may mean different flavours, but there’s one flavour that undeniably says it’s Christmas – it’s orange. Christmas Cuppa from BRUU is a tea blended with bold Assam tea and aromatic orange and sprinkled with rose petals. Who wouldn’t want to wake up to the scent of aromatic sweet oranges?

Price: from 2.95 GBP

Type: black tea blend

Caffeine: Yes

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cuppa from BRUU website.

4. Mulled Wine in Vienna

What would Christmas be without mulled wine? While there are many delicious, mulled wine teas out there, what’s super interesting about Mulled Wine in Vienna Christmas tea blend is that it contains mistletoe too. It certainly adds a spark to one of the most popular winter drinks in the world. Other ingredients in this fruity tea are apple pieces, orange pieces, elderberries, hibiscus, rosehip, and spices.

Price: from 3.95 USD

Type: fruit blend

Caffeine: No

Where to buy: Get Mulled Wine in Vienna from Churchill’s Fine Teas website.

5. Under the Mistletoe

If standing under the mistletoe is what you’re looking forward to the most this holiday season, there’s no need to wait. Under the Mistletoe blend contains mistletoe, pine nuts, eucalyptus, lemongrass and spruce needle oil. Berries and apple pieces accompany these wintery ingredients, to create a very unique, caffeine-free fresh herbal wintery blend.

Price: from 11 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Under the Mistletoe from Umami Tea website.

6. White Christmas

Who doesn’t love a white Christmas? There’s nothing more magical and peaceful than waking up on Christmas day, looking out the window and seeing the landscape covered in snow. White Christmas tea blend is gentle but wintery too – it contains more delicate white tea, a touch of sugary snowflakes, dried pine needles and a selection of warming spices.

Price: 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: white tea blend

Where to buy: Get White Christmas from Rosie Lea Tea website.

7. Red Christmas

No snow doesn’t mean no Christmas. Red Christmas blend contains South African red rooibos tea and all the warming and sweet ingredients to get you into the festive mood – apple pieces, almonds, cinnamon, rose and holiday flavourings. It contains no caffeine, which makes it great for late night sipping.

Price: 14.70 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal blend

Where to buy: Get Red Christmas from Chado Tea website.

8. Green Christmas

And yet, Christmas is green too. Think of magical Christmas trees, mistletoe and holly. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without evergreen trees and plants. Green Christmas is blended with grassy bancha green tea, orange rind, safflower and sunflower petals, cardamom and pepper. It’s a sweet, fresh and fruity green tea blend with a festive flavour.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Green Christmas from La Via del Te website.

9. Santea Claus

Afternoon Christmas tea parties deserve a special tea blend. This Ceylon black tea blend with fragrant jasmine flowers, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar Christmas trees is colourful and fun – like a proper Christmas tea blend should be. Colourful Christmas trees and a unique combination of spices and jasmine flowers will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face.

Price: from 1.75 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santea Claus from Tips & Leaves website.

10. Silent Night

Silent Night tea is a tea to offer a silent, peaceful night. This blend is made with red rooibos tea, which is naturally caffeine-free, warming spices including cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg and valerian. Both valerian and nutmeg may help promote restful sleep, which makes this blend a perfect choice for a late-night treat. Plus, it contains a pumpkin pie flavouring.

Price: from 10.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Silent Night from DAVIDsTEA website.

11. Christmas Flake

Christmas flake is a pretty and festive blend that includes an ingredient quite uncommon in winter holiday teas – coconut. It’s blended with Chinese and Ceylon black tea, orange peel, almonds, coconut chips, rose petals and cinnamon. Sounds like a delicious breakfast tea, doesn’t it?

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Flake from Colne Valley Tea Company website.

12. Brewdolph Christmas tea

This smooth and delicious tea is spiced with Christmas spices – cinnamon and cloves, Ceylon and Yunnan black tea, orange peel, and two other interesting ingredients – lime leaves and pomegranate flowers. This snowy Christmas tea makes a brilliant choice for festive afternoon tea parties. Available as loose tea and in pyramid tea bags.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 5.14 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Brewdolph from Twist Teas website.  

13. Christmas Charm

A part of the Christmas Charm is that it blends all delicious and common ingredients into a tea to get you into the festive mood. This blend is crafted with dried apple chunks, oolong tea, raspberry leaf, white mulberry, blackcurrant leaf, cloves, black elderberries, orange peel, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cocoa. Spicy, sweet, zesty and herbal ingredients with an oolong base that sounds incredibly charming.  

Price: from 3.25 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Charm from Camellia Senses website.

14. Carol Singers Christmas tea

Carol Singers is a black tea blend with holiday spices – cinnamon and star anis, orange and chocolate chips for more sweetness, creaminess and joy. Blended to make you take a break and simply enjoy the moment by yourself or with your loved ones.

Price: from 1.54 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Carol Singers from It’s Tea website.

15. Christmas Star

It’s not only the oranges that are related to Christmas. Christmas star is blended with green tea, apple pieces, cardamom, aniseed, star anise, cloves and sugar stars. But this unique blend contains two more ingredients – cooling peppermint and mandarin, a small, sweet, delicious winter citrus fruit. If you want a zesty fruit, that’s not orange, mandarin is a splendid choice.

Price: from 1.55 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Star from It’s Tea website.

16. Sleigh Ride Christmas tea

To blend a proper Sleigh Ride tea, you absolutely need to make it fun. And that’s exactly what DAVIDsTEA did – blended a fun and unique Christmas tea blend with no caffeine and lots of interesting ingredients. This Christmas tea blend contains popped rice, beetroot, hibiscus, candied fruits, roasted almonds, cinnamon, raisins and even coconut. A perfect tea for warming up after an afternoon sleighing.

Price: from 8.98 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity tea blend

Where to buy: Get Sleigh Ride from DAVIDsTEA website.  

17. Elf Help Christmas tea

Elf Help is a tea blended for Santa’s Elves, to keep them happy and smile while making sure all presents will be wrapped and ready in time. Fruitcake inspired flavour in a blend made with sencha green tea, black currants, orange, papaya, apple, cranberries and coconut. Need more reasons to smile? A liquid fruitcake should do the trick.

Price: from 4.99 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green tea blend

Where to buy: Get Elf Help from DAVIDsTEA website.

18. Christmas Breakfast

Christmas morning for sure deserves a special breakfast blend. This Christmas Breakfast blend is inspired by gingerbread flavours and contains smooth and robust black tea. With sweet and spicy notes, this tea will say it’s Christmas first thing in the morning. You can drink it pure or with a splash of milk, or even make a proper Christmas Breakfast latte.

Price: 12 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Breakfast it from T2 website.

19. Santas Milk and Cookies Christmas tea

If Santa could choose a tea for himself, it would be Santas Milk and Cookies. This black tea blend smells like freshly baked buttery cookies that are truly difficult to resist. It contains three types of flower petals and sumac berries and goes really well with milk, too.

Brewed and tried – read about it here.

Price: from 4.95 GBP

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Santas Milk and Cookies from Yawn Brew website.

20. Candy Cane Christmas tea

Candy canes are a sure sign Christmas is just around the corner. This fun Christmas tea blend is made to bring that festive feeling not only with its flavour, but with its appearance as well. Candy Cane is an adorable black tea blended with cornflowers and lots of sweet candy cane sugar sprinkles.

Price: from 9.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Candy Cane from Tea at the White House website.

21. Panettone Cake Christmas tea

Panettone Cake is one of the most popular Christmas time desserts. This hand crafted liquified version of classic Panettone cake is made with black tea, orange and lemon peel, vanilla and calendula petals. And it even contains raisins. All the Panettone Cake ingredients are there. You only have to brew it and enjoy.

Price: from 7.00 CAD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: black tea

Where to buy: Get Panettone Cake from Dessert by Deb website.

22. Spirit of Christmas

Spirit of Christmas is an unusual blend of green and black tea, pineapple, berries, coconut and flower petals. It contains cranberries, elderberries and cherries, another delicious fruit related to Christmas. This cheerful blend is great for hot and cold brewing, but it also goes well with milk.

Price: from 2.75 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: green and black tea blend

Where to buy: Get Spirit of Christmas from Sisters Tea Company.

23. Red Truck Christmas tea

Red Truck Christmas Chai Rooibos is a personal Christmas blend, crafted from childhood memories of getting a Christmas tree. It’s as unique as a Christmas blend as it is as a Chai blend. Red Truck is made with red rooibos tea and all the spices chai should have – cardamom, star anise, ginger, pink peppercorns and cinnamon, and a handful of others that give a festive and unique charm including cinnamon imperials, vanilla and rosemary.  

Price: from 4 USD

Caffeine: No

Type: herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Red Truck from Sisters Tea Company website.

24. Christmas Cheer

With three types of tea, the Christmas Cheer is more than cheerful. It’s a fun and unique tea that combines oolong, black and rooibos tea, flower petals, almonds and caramel flavour into a holiday blend that looks exactly like a warm fireplace. All ingredients in this blend go well with milk.

Price: 11.95 USD

Caffeine: Yes

Type: oolong, black and rooibos tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas Cheer from Open Door Tea website.

25. Christmas in Love

Christmas in Love is a unique Christmas tea with calming passionflower and lemon verbena, zesty lemon, rose hips, apple and hawthorn, and spicy ginger and cinnamon. It’s a caffeine free and festive blend for late night sipping during a holiday season to get relaxed and ready for another cheerful day.

Price: 5.90 EUR

Caffeine: No

Type: fruity herbal tea blend

Where to buy: Get Christmas in Love from La Vie del Te website.

The post 25 Festive Christmas tea blends to Try This Christmas appeared first on All That Tea.