Holiday Collection by New Moon Tea Co
Black Tea & Honeybush / Flavoured
$48.51
New Moon Tea Co has provided me with their Holiday Collection for the purposes of writing an honest review.
First Impressions
I’m always a bit of a sucker when it comes to nice packaging. New Moon Tea Co didn’t disappoint with their kraft box, lovely label across the front. It has a nice presentation that would make it great for gift giving. Inside the box are three teas nestled in a crinkle paper nest: Mint Cocoa (black tea), Honey Bush Cider (honeybush), and Winter Earl (black tea). New Moon Tea Co had gotten in touch with me after my review of Cream of Earl Grey, and asked if I wanted to try out their Winter Earl – one of their popular Earl Grey blends. The other two were a surprise.
Each tea comes in a sealed kraft paper pouch that’s resealable. Winter Earl consists of black tea, vanilla, bergamot, marigold petals, cornflower petals, and cardamom. This Earl Grey inspired tea has a strong bergamot aroma, with notes of vanilla, it’s quite inviting and reminds me of a cream of Earl Grey blend, but with a spice to it, thanks to the cardamom. Honey Bush Cider consists of honeybush, cinnamon, and apple. Honey Bush Cider reminds me a lot of cinnamon, and honeybush. The apple isn’t very strong, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. Mint Cocoa consists of black tea, peppermint and raw cacao nibs. Mint Cocoa has a strong chocolate mint aroma to it, and I find it reminds me a lot of treats during the holiday season. Each pouch consists of enough loose leaf for 15 servings of each blend.
Preparation
Steeping instructions from New Moon Tea Co doesn’t include a water temperature, but I opted to use 100°C (212°F) water for each blend as they are black tea or honeybush bases.
For Winter Earl, New Moon Tea Co recommends a steep of 3 to 4 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 4 minutes.
For Honey Bush Cider, New Moon Tea Co recommends a steep of 5 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 6 minutes.
For Mint Cocoa, New Moon Tea Co recommends a steep of 5 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 5 minutes.
From left to right: Winter Earl, Honey Bush Cider, and Mint Cocoa.
First Taste
Winter Earl steeps to a deep brown. I find it has a very strong bergamot aroma, which is one of the things that I enjoy the most from an Earl Grey blend. The cardamom certainly comes out, and I find it has a nice spice note to it, with the cardamom flavour throughout. It’s almost as if parts of a masala chai blended with an Earl Grey – which is particularly enjoyable as it comes together and does have that warming quality to it from the inside out. The vanilla adds a certain level of creaminess throughout to the cup of tea.
Honey Bush Cider has a lovely golden red appearance. The aroma is primarily the honey bush base, and I can smell the cinnamon. The flavour of the tisane is a mix of honey bush, cinnamon, with the sweetness of apple throughout. It really adds something pleasant, but it wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting for a blend with ‘cider’ in its name. I think adding sweetener would really help it (or even steeping it in heated apple juice to add that spice flavour to it), I stirred in some agave syrup and it helped amp up the flavour. There’s a mild medicinal flavour to the blend, that really lingers on the tongue.
Mint Cocoa smells like mint chocolates, which is pretty much the same as the dry leaf. The flavour of the steeped black tea blend is primarily minty, with hints of the cocoa throughout. I find that the black tea comes through more, there’s a certain level of malty flavour from the Assam black tea blend. It has a bit of robustness that reminds me of a breakfast tea. The cocoa adds a bit of chocolatey flavour, but it mingles in the background and balances well with the peppermint.
From left to right: Winter Earl, Honey Bush Cider, and Mint Cocoa.
A Second Cup?
Resteeping this trio was… interesting. Winter Earl does well for one resteep (adding an additional 30 seconds for one resteep), but I found that the bergamot and vanilla was a lot more mild compared to the initial steep – so if you’re looking for a strong cup of tea, I would stick to the initial steep of Winter Earl.
Honey Bush Cider was one that I found didn’t resteep well, a lot of the initial flavours weren’t present in the first resteep. I’m not a large fan of honeybush, so I will admit that I didn’t really want to resteep it.
Mint Cocoa has a nice flavour profile, and I resteeped it once, finding that both the mint and chocolate flavours do come through on the first resteep – although also weaker than the initial steep. So one steep if you like stronger flavours.
From left to right: Winter Earl, Honey Bush Cider, and Mint Cocoa.
My Overall Impression
I loved New Moon Tea Co’s Holiday Collection. I can see why New Moon Tea Co considers Winter Earl to a favourite! It certainly has a nice bergamot flavour to it, and I love the addition of vanilla. The added petals to the blend makes it pretty to look at. I think I would have enjoyed Honey Bush Cider a lot more if I was a fan of honeybush (but alas, I am not), I think the spice level is great and makes it very seasonally appropriate. As for the third in the trio, Mint Cocoa makes me think of the mint chocolate treats that seem so prevalent during the holiday season. The flavour of the black tea reminds me of a breakfast tea, so I think Mint Cocoa would be lovely as a morning tea during the holidays. As for the trio as a gift set – the packaging is lovely and comes together as a great gift set for friends or family – especially anyone who’s a fan of loose leaf tea. All you need to add to really complete the package would be a nice big mug and an infuser.
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