Monday 10 February 2014

Christmas Thanks ... A Christmas Cake Flavoured Tea

Authors note: For Christmas 2014 Christmas Thanks has been rebranded. It's now called Christmas Afternoon and is now in a gold caddy.

It seems a little odd to be sitting here in February thinking, and writing, about a Christmas product. But, Twinings Christmas Thanks blend deserves to be spoken about, as it really is rather special.

I have spoken of my friend Elena before. I often get to hear about teas from her. She lives in Italy and is a keen Twinings fan. So when she emailed me, in November, and asked if I had tried the Christmas Tea, I was really rather ashamed to tell her I hadn't. So, springing into action I ordered myself two of the Christmas teas.

The first of the Christmas tea's I'm reviewing is Christmas Thanks. It's a strong black tea that is blended with the flavour of Christmas Cake.


This was one tea I couldn't wait to taste. Christmas Cake flavour? Really? Now, that is different. I was not disappointed.

Christmas Cake tea was only available in loose tea form and came in a wonderful caddy. If you look at the reviews for Earl Grey and Liquorice Allsorts Tea that I've produced on here you'll see that Twinings developed a wonderful theme for all of their Christmas products. It seems to be the branches of a Christmas tree with the ornaments adorning it made up of teapots and teacups. Very pretty indeed.

Upon opening the caddy the aroma of the tea is very powerful, and it really does smell of Christmas Cake. Closing your eyes and inhaling the lovely scent, you can't help but think of a lovely, moist, Christmas cake, filled with fruit and topped off with snow white icing. It's indulgent, and the aroma pulls you in, making it irrisistable. You cannot refuse to make this tea. Your drawsn in and before you know it your warming the pot and measuring out the tea.

As you can see, it's a dark tea, with the leaves being fairly small.


I brew this tea for three minutes as I find that it's the right amount of brewing time to have a subtle brew. However, you can brew it up for five minutes if you want a rounder, stronger taste.

When brewed the tea forms a wonderful amber colour.


I am curled up on the sofa writing this and I'm instantly taken back to Christmas afternoon. I'm full up after a lovely dinner watching the Christmas movie and having just enough room for a slice of Christmas cake. This tea is full of flavour, and even though the taste of Christmas cake is strong, you still receive the punch that you get with black tea. It's fantastic and very tasty.

I was actually surprised at how much this does resemble Christmas cake. I've tried other drinks before which claim to taste of food items, but never been convinced, until now, of course.

This is a very full tea. In fact, I'd say it really is almost like a dessert in a cup (and this isn't the only tea that Twinings make that is like a dessert in a cup, but more will be revealed later!).

It would make a perfect after dinner drink. It's light and refreshing, but at the same time interesting enough to serve for your guests.

I wasn't at all disappointed with this tea. It met my expectations and more. It was different and quirky, but not in a gimmicky sense. But, I think if you were to serve this to guests it would make for a great talking point!

As well as making wonderful tea, Twinings is doing something really different. It's focusing on seasonal goods (such as Christmas and Valentines) and it's doing it amazingly well. The Christmas theme for 2013 was absolutely stunning. From beautifully decorated caddies to Christmas ornaments. From tea's to biscuits. I have noticed that they really did Christmas fantastically well.

I cannot wait to see what ideas they have come up with for Christmas 2014. Here's hoping they do a mince pie flavoured tea. Now that would make me one happy lady!



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