This delicious festive tea blend, with its spicy, minty, sweet rich flavour, is a great homemade gift. Serve with milk or a slice of clementine for a special treat.
A friend brought me some fantastic fancy tea from the USA that was unlike any tea I’d had before. It had sprinkles in it! And chocolate! And it was utterly delicious. There was only one problem – the teeny tiny size of the box it came in…
Time to DIY
I simply had to find a way to replicate this drink. Partly for myself, but partly because I figured that this delicious festive tea, with its spicy, minty, sweet and rich flavour, would be a terrific (and simple to make!) homemade gift. Packed with a china mug, a lovely teapot or infuser, maybe some home-baked biscuits – I for one would be delighted to receive it!
Elevenses
I love to have a cup of this festive tea for my elevenses. The black tea gives a gentle nudge of caffeine, and the mint and spices are both reviving and comforting. It’s a bit like chai only perkier. I like it with milk, but black with a slice of clementine or orange is delicious too.
Festive Tea Blend
I had a fair idea of what needed to go into my festive tea blend – black tea leaves, peppermint, spicy pink peppercorns and cloves, chocolate… But I was finding it hard to get all the ingredients in one place.
Fortunately, I found the Steenbergs website. They have been selling a vast range of fair-trade and organic herbs, spices, teas and other essentials since 2003. They were able to provide all the elements for this wonderful tea blend, as well as some handy little empty tea-bags to fill with it!
Festive tea – just measure and mix
As you can see, the ingredients are straightforward and your only job is to measure and mix. The peppermint gives a bright, fresh flavour. The pink peppercorns add spice and also look gorgeous. The chocolate chips give depth and loveliness, and the sprinkles add festive fun, and make the tea sweet and delicious. It looks so pretty when it’s all mixed up!
Not quite a duplicate
This fancy tea isn’t exactly like the one I was given… it’s better! It captures the warming, fragrant, spicy sweet flavours of the festive season in a wonderful hot drink that slips down a treat. Brew up a pot of this, put your feet up by the fire, relax and enjoy. Bliss.
Make it your own
It’s very easy to customise this delicious tea to suit your own tastes and preferences. Some suggestions include:
- Prefer a less sweet tea? Skip the sprinkles and use fewer chocolate chips.
- Want more citrus? Add some strips of dried orange or lemon peel to the mix.
- More spices? Add pieces of cinnamon stick, whole cardamom pods, or chunks of dried ginger root.
- Not so into mint? Use less, leave it out, or substitute for something else like verbena leaves or chamomile flowers.
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📖 Recipe
Festive spiced tea
Ingredients
- 25 g large-leaved loose black tea e.g. orange pekoe
- 10 g dried peppermint/loose peppermint tea
- 5 teaspoon dried orange blossoms
- 5 teaspoon whole pink peppercorns
- 2 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1½-2 teaspoon small dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
- 3 teaspoon multi-coloured sprinkles/hundreds and thousands
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.
To brew
- Allow 1½-2 teaspoon of the tea blend per cup. Place into an infuser, personal tea filter or tea pot, and pour over boiling water. Allow to brew for 1-2 minutes before serving.
- Serve with milk to taste, or a slice of clementine or orange for a really festive flavour.
Nutrition
More lovely homemade gift ideas
For more terrific homemade foodie gifts, take a look at this list of the best homemade gift ideas. Or if you have cloves left over, see how to make a clove etrog here.
Disclaimer: I was sent the ingredients for this recipe by Steenbergs. I was not required to write a positive review of them and any opinions expressed are my own.
Dee Griffiths
Fab blog, and awesome prize
Kim Styles
What a beautiful giveaway! and a great blog
Helen
Thanks Kim 😀
Tracey Peach
I’ve never tried tea blends before what a great idea!
Helen
Thanks Tracey. They’re so easy, look great, and make lovely gifts. Perfect!
efwalt
Why have I never thought of making a tea blend before?! I know a lot of tea lovers and think a personalised blend would make a fantastic gift. Great idea!
Helen
Thanks! I think there are lots of ways to customise blended tea. I suspect Kipper’s teachers might be getting some in a few weeks time 🙂
lucyparissi
I love Steenbergs – the only rosewater I will use. Brilliant stuff. A homemade tea blends sounds like a brilliant gift – would love to customise a blend for the holidays.
Helen
Haven’t tried the rosewater but the herbs and spices are wonderful! And so many other interesting ingredients on their website – easy to get carried away…
Monika
Sometimes I do my own linden flower tea but never thought of mixing spices to create my own blend! The Steenbergs tea set looks like a great Christmas gift!
Helen
Blending the tea was really easy and fun – although I had to mix up several batches before I got it right.
littlesunnykitchen
I love Steenbergs, I’ve tried some of their tea blends and they’re really really good!
Helen
Yes, I’m quite envious of whoever wins the gingerbread chai 🙂