5 Best Christmas Teas to try this Holiday Season

What could be more festive than eggnog and gingerbread, honey latte and spiced cranberries? Make this holiday season the most joyful ever and indulge in drinks full of Christmas spirit! These 5 tea recipes are made to transfer you into a holiday mood instantly and fill your home with festive scents. All recipes are for one serving. Make larger quantities if needed.

What are popular Christmas tea flavors?

To create a truly warming and joyous mood at your home, opt for simple and traditional ingredients. After all, Christmas flavors have never been about novelty and latest trends. From traditional stocking fillers such as oranges, to cranberry sauces, lovely gingerbreads, warming mulled drinks and rich and creamy desserts, some flavors will always be unmistakeably festive. Some of the best Christmas tasting ingredients for your festive drinks are:

• Cinnamon
• Caramel
• Ginger
• Eggnog
• Cloves
• Oranges
• Cranberries
• Nutmeg

Christmas Tea Recipes

1. 1. Gingerbread Turmeric Tea

      Spicy, delicious and warming, turmeric tea is a winter season’s top bedtime drink. This easy to make healthy beverage has anti inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties.[1] To make it into a truly festive delight, spice it up with gingerbread spice mix.
   2. Ingredients:
      • 1 leveled teaspoon of turmeric powder
      • 1/3 teaspoon of ginger powder
      • 1/3 teaspoon of gingerbread spice mix
      • 1 cup of milk
      • 1-2 drops of almond extract (optional)
      • Honey
      Instructions Add milk to a saucepan and place over a low fire. Do not let it boil. When hot, add all other ingredients except honey and stir to prevent lumps. Use a frother or hand blender to create a froth. Never blend very hot drinks. Add honey and stir well. Serve immediately.

   3. Creamy Cinnamon Tea

      If you never tried tea with butter, give yourself an extra treat these holidays. This “Vanilla cookies in a cup” drink is made to make mornings full of energy. Adjust the amount of sugar if needed. Ingredients
      • 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
      • 2-3 drops of vanilla extract
      • 1 cup of milk
      • 2 teaspoons of black tea
      • 1 cinnamon stick
      • 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
      Instructions In a saucepan, melt the butter with sugar over low heat. Add milk, tea leaves and cinnamon and boil until hot. Strain and serve.

   4. Honeyed Latte

      What could bring Santa closer than a warm milk with honey and cookies? This seasonal Hot Honeyed Tea is creamy, rich and full of flavor. All that’s left is to find your favorite cookies and Christmas joy can start.
   5. Ingredients
      • 2 teaspoons of Honeyed Black Tea
      • 1 spoon of honey
      • 2-3 cloves
      • 1 cup of milk
      Instructions Add milk, cloves and tea leaves into a saucepan and boil over low to medium fire for about 5-10 minutes, but don’t let it boil. Remove from fire and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. Strain and use a hand blender until you get a frothed milk drink. Add honey and stir.

   6. Spiced Christmas Eggnog

      When talking about traditional drinks, eggnog is a must. Mixed with black tea, this drink is a must for any afternoon Christmas tea party. This recipe is for one serving. If you make more eggnog, store it in the fridge and use within a couple of days. Be cautious to never use old eggs for eggnogs.
   7. Ingredients
      • 1 heaped teaspoon of black tea
      • ½ cup of water
      • ¾ cup of milk
      • 1 yolk
      • 2 tablespoons of sugar
      • ¼ cup of single or double cream (for a thicker eggnog)
      • A bit of white or spiced rum (optional)
      • Pinch of nutmeg
      • Pinch of cinnamon
      Instructions Bring water to a boil and brew black tea in ½ cup of water for 5-10 minutes. Strain and pour into a glass. Add milk and spices into a saucepan and cook over low to medium fire. Do not let it boil. In a bowl, beat egg yolk until smooth and slowly add sugar. Start adding milk and continue to beat until you get a smooth foamy texture. Place it into a saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes on a low fire. Pour the eggnog into tea and serve.

   8. Spiced Cranberry Green Tea

      Cranberries and turkey may be the best Christmas dinner, but with green tea and a pinch of spices, they make a delightful and refreshing festive drink too.
   9. Ingredients:
      • ½ cup of cranberry juice
      • 1 teaspoon of honey
      • 1 heaped teaspoon of Pinhead Gunpowder green tea
      • ½ cup of water
      • 1 cinnamon stick
      • A pinch of allspice
      Instructions: Bring water to a boil and let it cool for a minute. Steep green tea in ½ of water for 5 minutes. Strain. In a saucepan, mix cranberry juice and spices and cook on low to medium fire until hot. Do not let it boil. Pour tea into heat-resistant glass, add cranberry juice and honey.

Best Christmas Loose Leaf Teas

Don’t have enough time and want to brew an instant cup full of Christmas flavor? Try these loose leaf teas:

1. 1. 1. Creme Brulee Oolong

         A delicious low-caffeine dessert oolong tea Rich, decadent, and earthy. Creme Brulee Oolong starts with a rich and earthy nose that hints at the cinnamon and creme brûlée at the core of this amazing oolong. After you've finished brewing, you'll have a mild and soft display of subtle unprocessed caramel notes and not but a whisper of cinnamon spice. Because of the use of a low-caffeine oolong tea, Creme Brulee Oolong would be wonderful after-supper tea that won’t keep you up at night. You can serve this tea with a splash of milk to fill the flavor profile out, but be careful not to overpower this delicate oolong tea.

Cranberry Cider Herbal

If you are a mulled drink, cozy blanket and holiday movies type of tea lover, Cranberry Cider Herbal is a perfect winter blend. This warm and mulled blend is great for making mulled tea. With subtly sweet cherry, tart cranberry and warm spicy cinnamon notes, it tastes just as festive when brewed with boiling water only.

Cranberry Cider Herbal Tea

 

Apple Cinnamon Herbal

Ever though of rooibos as a festive tea? Meet Apple Cinnamon Herbal, a very different herbal spiced blend. This tea is blended with proper cinnamon chips and apple pieces, enhanced with an earthy and rich red rooibos tea and sprinkled with marigold petals. This spicy and sweet treat is delicious on its own, but you can drink it with a bit of milk, honey or spiced rum – depending on your mood.

Apple Cinnamon Herbal Tea

 

Cranberry Orange Herbal

Cranberries and oranges have always been on every traditional holiday table. Cranberry Orange Herbal is a blend where strong ingredients blend into a perfectly gentle harmony, with neither of them being overpowering. With a rich hibiscus, earthly red rooibos, bold cranberries, and refreshing oranges, this tea is like a much bolder relative of Blood Orange.

Cranberry Orange herbal tea

 

Pecan Praline

It’s hard to imagine festive season without chocolates and nuts. A whole lot of chocolate and nuts! Imagine deliciously tempting pralines with a pecan heart, sprinkled with just a tiny bit of cinnamon and rounded in delicious rich black tea with a cocoa notes. That’s what Pecan Praline is all about - pure deliciousness. This vibrant blend of South Indian black teas with a sweet and nutty scent brews into a soothing and warming cup with notes of freshly baked banana bread and subtle cocoa background, followed by a long-lasting aftertaste.

Pecan Praline black tea

 

1. Holiday Black

   Holiday Black is all about the warmth of a holiday fire and the scents of holiday treats. This warm and rich black tea is blended with cinnamon chips and orange peel. Expect citruses and caramels wrapped in a truly comforting and festive soul.

 

Holiday Black tea

References

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/