Cinnamon Apple Spice

To celebrate the coming of autumn, my mother made delectable apple turnovers with a delicious sugary glaze.  It was like a hand-held apple pie but somehow even better.  I decided that when I gobbled it down, I would do so properly.  That involved brewing up one of my autumn/winter teas.  You see, there are certain teas that you just can't have year round.  They have to be enjoyed with proper autumn/winter foods and cool weather.  I didn't have the cool weather, but I did have cimmamon-apple-baked-heaven.  Celestial Seasonings is one of those hearbal tea no-brainers.  They're inexpensive, sold in most grocery stores, and delicious!  Especially this one.  They make non-herbal teas as well, but I prefer them for herbals.  Upon opening it, your nose feels like you just entered a bakery on a cold winters day.  It smells warm and inviting like a blanket by a fire.  If you're not a tea drinker but do love apple cinnamon, then this is your new winter drink.  A slight bitterness like a fresh Granny Smith Apple accompanied by a heaping taste of cinnamon, what's not to love.  Similarly to my last review, I do wish that the weather had been cold while I indulged myself, but sadly my freshly baked turnover had a short lifespan so I had to enjoy in the AC while the Florida heat knocked at my front door.  Either way, I did enjoy this quite splendidly.  Here's to cooler night!  Cheers!

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Most proper tea cupboards have them.  Those little random tea bags that you've picked up along your lifes journey or that have been gifted to you, patiently waiting hidden between your boxes of tea for you to remember they exist so you can give them a try.  This one was from my last place of employment before the company closed down and I embraced my life as a housewife.  I have sampled many new teas that they supplied and the ones I didn't get a chance to try, I stashed.  It's almost been a year since I became a full time housewife, and my last employers switched hands about a year prior bringing these new teas with them so it's been nearly two years that I've had this one hidden in my tea cupboard.  I finally decided to budge and give it a try.  

It's a blend of orange rind and sweet spices so I thought perhaps it would taste a bit like Earl Grey.  I was very wrong.  The smell and taste are like a warm blend of orange and chai.  This is such a great tea to drink when it's cold out and you want to warm up while pumpkin candles are burning and the smell of pine from the tree is wafting through the house.  Makes me a little upset that I didn't wait until it got colder out.  I do live in Florida, so who knows when and if that will actually ever happen.  I would compare it to Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai, which is one of my winter wonderland favorites.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one, since it is a Bigelow tea.  I've had very few experiences with Bigelow, but I do know of their reputation.  Some have even gone to such lengths as to say "Bigelow is for people who know nothing about tea", which is a pretty harsh statement.  I would say that Lipton is for people that know nothing about tea, but that's a given.  That being said, while I did enjoy this, and it does taste like my Twinings Pumpkin Spice Chai, I wouldn't be purchasing this since I have my Twinings.  Now if Twinings stops making Pumpkin Spice Chai, then I know where to go for my substitute.