Twinings Mulled Spice: Where My Twinings Tea Journey Really Began

I remember very well the first Weight Watchers meeting I attended. I recall the leader explaining to me how the programme works. To those who do not know how it works, quite simply every food and most drinks have a propoints value. When I got home from that first meeting, I diligently worked out the points value of everything. Then, it came to pointing my beloved Cherry Coke. I was appalled. I quickly appreciated that fizzy drinks were out of the question.

As I dislike coffee very much, what was left for me to drink? Well, tea, obviously. So, I was stood in the tea aisle of Tesco's, a real novice, what did I buy. Green tea? White tea? PG Tips, Tetley or Typhoo? I stood there, completely bamboozled. Then, out of nowhere I spotted an alluring box on the shelf. It featured a painting of a girl in a red ballgown. It was so beautiful, and so different, that immediately I picked it up. Mulled Spice? Interesting.

Funnily enough I brought the box, and for some unbeknown reason to me, I put it in the cupboard and didn't try it. So, it wasn't till a few weeks later, after requesting some samples from Twinings, which included Mulled Spice, that I finally tasted it. It was wonderful. And I had a box of this! A couple of weeks later, I made my first purchase with Twinings online, in which I brought the caddy for this tea. And that, is quite simply where my tea journey began!

It may seem a little odd, that I say I fell in love with a tea, but I did.

Sadly though, it was announced at the end of last year that Mulled Spice was being taken out of production, and now you cannot buy it anywhere, bar a few boxes floating around on Amazon. I felt really upset that this blend was being retired. It always sold well, had positive reviews and was a tea drinkers favourite. I felt sure that it was a permanent member of the Twinings family. But, this happens from time to time. So, I guess this is rather a nostalgic post then a helpful one!

Mulled Spice is made up of a strong Assam blend, mixed with Christmas Spices, which I includes cloves amongst other things.

Here are some examples of the packaging that each individual teabag came in.

Mulled Spice was a perfect blend for Christmas. It was the sort of tea that went well with a big slab of Christmas Cake, or even, a tin of chocolates! It had the full taste which comes along with as Assam blend, but the sweetness of the spices was just delightful.And it was an extremely addictive tea, once in which you could become hooked on very quickly indeed.

Unlike most tea's this was one blend that I took with a bit of milk and a spoonful of sugar. The sugar really brought out the wonderful blend of spices. Not to add either milk or sugar meant that you were not enjoying this brew to it's full potential. As by adding milk and sugar, it made a slightly softer tea, and a very comforting brew.

I added a dash of milk and let the tea brew for three to five minutes. The spices prevented the tea from going over bitter when brewed for a longer amount of time. As you can see it made a nice amber colour.

When drinking this blend, I really loved how the flavours mixed in the mouth. You had the strength of Assam, slightly tampered down by the sweetness of the spices used. And the creaminess of the added milk added even more taste. I found this to be a mouth watering tea, and from the first sip, I really loved it!

I think this tea is utterly unique. Nothing will ever replace it. However, Twinings did release another Christmas Spice tea in 2013, Chritmas Cheer, which, although not the same, was very similar.

The one tea that is closet to Mulled Spice is Chai which I really enjoy, and which is, thankfully, available all year round in most shops.

Mulled Spice was a wonderful blend and I'll genuinely miss it. And today, I used my last teabag so I could write this blog! Still, I have now been left with a wonderful caddy which I can use to house other tea's.

But still, Mulled Spice... I'll miss you!