Twining's Special Christmas Edition Tea: Liquorice Earl Grey Silky Pyramid Bauble

Each year Twinings release special edition tea's for the festive period. In 2012 we had delightful blends such as Vanilla Chai. This year, came Christmas Cake flavoured tea (which was scrummy and which I'll review later!) as well as the Christmas Blend.

But in 2013 Twinings came up with a innovative idea - tea that came in baubles that could be used later on as a Christmas decoration for your tree.

The baubles came in three flavours: Liquorice Allsorts, Jasmine Pearls and Mint Humbug. I was lucky enough to win one in a competition. Due to the huge interest in the baubles, I wasn't sure what flavour I had won, so when the parcel arrived, it was like Christmas day.

I opened the box and was delighted to find I had won a Earl Grey Liquorice Allsorts bauble. It was the flavour I really wanted to try (I'm not keen on mint tea!).

The packaging, as with all of Twinings products was lovely and very stylish. The box was sturdy and came with a lovely silky bow on the top.

Once I managed to open the box which was tricky, I took the bauble out. It was heavy. Not too sure what the actual bauble was made of but it felt weighty and smooth. I unscrewed the bauble and found the tea wrapped up securely within the bauble. The tea was part of Twinings new brand of silky pyramids and there were eight teabags inside the bauble.

Upon opening the packet I could immediately smell coconut, and the tea really did smell, and taste of Liquorice Allsorts. (The round, pink sort with the black centre that you find in Bassetts Allsorts).

The tea is designed to be taken without milk or sweeteners, and you really do not need either as the tea is sweet enough.

As the tea was brewing, the scent of coconut was very strong indeed. There was no mistaking at all which tea I had won!

Although it said to brew for 3-4 minutes, I decided after tasting that the blend didn't need anymore then three minutes. Any longer then it became slightly bitter and the coconut flavour took over completely, and you lost the taste of the liquorice.

The liquorice flavour had a mild kick to it, and you can taste almost as a aftertaste, but the overall flavour is the coconut.

The tea was smooth and was a lovely dark mahogany colour.

After I let it cool a little, I took my first sip and the flavour of coconut was mild, in fact far milder then the aroma led me to believe. It was not a over powering taste at all, and I could still pick up the taste of the black tea even through the coconut.

It was an extremely pleasant cup of tea, and the Liquorice Allsorts flavour is available all year round as part of Twinings silky pyramid range. It's really worth trying this tea, especially if you like the flavour of coconut. I do know that Twinings sell coconut tea abroad, however, it's not available in the UK, not even through their international range, so if you like coconut then give this tea a try.

After I had finished the tea, I hung the bauble on my Christmas tree. (Find a picture below). It's a unique ornament that I will use in future Christmases, always remembering this unique blend of tea.