Holiday Teas from Carolina Parakeet

Two years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Anderson, South Carolina, to speak at Carolina Parakeet Tea & Gifts. Afterward, I was delighted when owner Donna Siemen wanted to carry my books in her shop, so we've stayed in contact and touched base on several occasions. On a recent Saturday, I "visited" her shop again virtually to speak with customers about The Vintage Christmas Cookbook (which was a new marketing opportunity and one I enjoyed). While preparing for that event, I happened to notice they had boxed sets of gift teas on their website, so I ordered this one, and it came on Saturday.

The blends in this set include Christmas Market, Visions of Gingerbread, Noel, and Oh, Christmas Tree.

I haven't sampled them all yet, but one of the first teas I wanted to try was this Oh, Christmas Tree blend. I love that it's a green tea with the flavors I associate with Christmas, and it's pretty, too, with its orange slices and pink peppercorns. This tea was naturally sweet and had some zip from the peppercorns, and I sipped many cups of this warm, cozy tea over the weekend.

And here's what the Visions of Gingerbread blend looked like after I steeped it. This black tea blend includes apple pieces, cinnamon pieces, freeze-dried yogurt granules, sliced almonds, mandarin sections, whole star aniseed, cardamom, and more. This was another winner thanks to all the spices and fruity flavors, and it definitely tastes like a good Christmas tea should. And the scent of these teas is divine!

I'm so glad I got these new teas to try in time for Christmas, and if you'd like to check out their offerings, too, click here. I hadn't tried Carolina Parakeet's Christmas teas before but certainly plan to remain a customer from now on!