I often say that Celestial Seasonings rarely surprises me. This is one time they have! I love their Sugar Plum Spice Tea!
I’ve tried this tea both as a hot brew and cold brew and can say that I prefer this tea warmed. It draws out the flavors in a more complimentary way whereas a cold brew makes it sweet, but in an unpleasant way. It’s like sipping on cold sweetened cinnamon water. Not festive or refreshing!
As a hot brew, though, I thoroughly enjoy this tea! I tend to steep this tea at 190 degrees for 5 minutes but am, often, lazy about removing the bag from the cup as I like the continued flavorings the tea imparts so some steeps have gone on for 15-20 minutes. Sometimes it will develop a bit of a tart aftertaste, which I enjoy, but it never makes for an undrinkable cup. I’ve been known to make a new brew with a new bag without removing the prior bag. Sometimes my brew can have upwards of three tea bags in a cup from me not removing the prior brew’s bag. When I notice the brew getting too tart I discard the bags and start the process again. If not obvious, I tend to drink several cups of this tea when I do make it.
Another quality about this tea I enjoy is that it is sweet enough that it doesn’t require me to add sweeteners or milk. On a few occasions I’ll add a bit of sweetener whenever my piled up tea bags create a more tart than sweet taste. Fortunately, this tea is very forgiving so removing the tea bags and adding a little sweetener easily remedies the tart flavor.
Finally, I really enjoy the scents of the tea, too. The fruit scent with hints of cinnamon and hibiscus I pick up on, but, thankfully, the ginger is not. I think the cinnamon could be masking the smell for me, which is good as I tend to not like teas with a ginger flavor or aroma.
Again, this is by far one of my favorite Celestial Seasoning offerings and one that will be a frequent visitor in my tea cupboard.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Fruity, Plums, Sugar, Sweet, Tart
