Red Winter Spice From Teapigs - A Moreish Delight

I have to make two admissions here. First of all I don't know a huge amount about Teapigs. In fact, this is the first tea of theirs that I have tried. As I told you in a previous post I've been tea swapping with another teablogger, Rebecca, and she kindly sent me some samples of different tea's from Teapig. Teapigs is a blend that I pass by in the supermarket because they are higher priced then most other tea's, but, as I'll write about later, it's well worth the money.

Secondly, I'm not too keen on red tea (or rooibos tea as it's sometimes known) in it's pure form. It can be very sweet tasting and can taste a bit "off" to me. However, when taken with flavours added, much like green tea, I really enjoy it.

So, the first Teapigs tea I'll review here is their Red Winter Spice. I did try to take photographs but because of the funny light we have in our kitchen, they didn't come out too well, so this is a picture I found on google images (originally from Selfridges website).

Obviously it's a red tea, with cloves, oranges and cinnamon added. Ingredients wise it's very similar to Twinings Mulled Spice, but because the base tea is red and not black it really changes the taste of it.

In addition there seems to be aniseed in the tea, and it reminds me of the old fashioned aniseed ball sweets you used to get (as well as the "Big Red" chewing gum popular when I was young!). It really is a unique tea and I have to say, from the first sip I was really hooked.

As I had no instructions as how long to brew it for I decided to brew for three minutes and it seems just about right. It brews to a really wonderful coppery red colour and it's just awesome to look at let alone taste.

Whilst the tea was brewing my entire kitchen filled up with the smell of spices and it does remind me of Christmas. And, in a odd way, it reminds me of a Yankee Candle that I used to burn at Christmas time!

It's a really warming cup of tea, and it has that comforting feel that many winter spiced teas have. There is nothing nicer on a cold evening to curl up on the sofa with a cup of this tea. The different spices used makes it a really exciting experience for your taste buds. The spiciness from the cinnamon, for example, really compliments the natural sweetness of red tea.
But, although the spices are strong, and stay in your mouth for a while after you've finished the cup, it's not a overpowering tea. Overpowering tea's are difficult to drink but this is enjoyable and I honestly felt that as soon as I had finished one cup I wanted another.

Aside from the wonderful taste, red tea is also caffeine free, so if you want to cut down on caffeine, or indeed, you don't like drinking it after a certain time, then this tea could be the one for you. You still get a good brew, but it wont make it difficult for you to sleep at night.

I noticed from the Teapig website that their "tea temples" (the teabag is pyramid shaped!) are also biodegradable, which is a good thing for the environment.

These tea's are expensive, I won't deny that. According to the Teapigs website, it costs £4.49 for 15 tea temples (thank you Rebecca, your generosity in sending me the tea is even more appreciated!) or you can get a "tester" pack of 2 temples for £1.30.But, you do get a nice, quality brew that is tasty and fulfilling.

It's really good that Teapigs offer a tester service. But then again I think that tea companies have to as nothing seems to annoy a tea drinker more then when they buy a box of 20 or 50 teabags only to find they don't like the blend. Twinings do a pick and mix selection where you can buy individual sachets of their tea, and Clipper do small boxes of 10 teabags with their organic infusion range. This is a really good service to tea drinkers. It's better to waste one tea temple if you don't like the blend rather then 14!

I was really impressed with this tea, and I also have samples of two other of their blends which I will be reviewing over the week. It was a really enjoyable cup of tea, and on reflection, I would pay for a full pack of Red Winter Spice. It's just so different, and really lovely. A excellent mixture of two sorts of flavours.

I can't recommend this highly enough. I thought it was fabulous. Just have to hunt down a supplier now! This is a tea I'd love to try again and again. It's really gorgeous!