Oh the weather outside is frightful . . .

So a perfect time for some Harney & Son Hot Cinnamon Spice Latté . . . Decaf, of course. 

Snowing gently outside, amazing tea inside, perfect night. 

Tea Review -- Chado Tea's White Christmas

A while back, I was gifted a whoooooole lot of Chado Tea.  This met with dubious interest from me, because a) I'd never had Chado and b) most of the selections were caffeinated, and I rarely drink caffeine.

One, however, really piqued my interest -- White Christmas.  A white tea, I wouldn't have to worry too much about the caffeine.  And the smell -- oh, the smell, when you open the bag, is like walking into a Chrismas antique store.

The Chado Tea website describes White Christmas as Bai Mu Dan white tea, orange peel, almonds, rose petals, cinnamon chips, apple pieces, and cinnamon orange spice holiday flavor.

Now, if you're reading this, a few disclaimers:
I'm pretty much an amateur when it comes to tea.
I like my tea slightly sweetened.
Did I mention I don't know anything about tea other than I like it and would like to explore it more and learn about other options?
I recently moved, so these bags were kept in uncertain storage for a bit  . . . meaning I have no idea if that affected the quality.  So why even try them if I'm not sure it's a fair try?  Well, because I'm not the type to waste possibly good tea, and did I mention they smell amazing?

So, here's the tea, dry -- really quite lovely.  And again, it smells amazing.

Brewed at 185 degrees for 3 minutes.

And the post-brew leaves

The taste was a little underwhelming.  Mostly, I tasted that "spice" flavor.  I would have liked to taste more cinnamon or more of anything, actually.  But, again, to be fair, the storage on this hasn't been perfect.

A tiny amount of sugar brought out the flavors much better -- it was an enjoyable pot of tea and I'm looking forward to brewing the rest.