A perennial favorite for the holiday season, our organic and Fair Trade Certified Holiday Spice Black Tea pairs bold organic Indian tea with generous doses of orange, cinnamon and clove flavor! Despite the generous flavoring, the brisk and coppery qualities of the black tea really come through. Like all of our flavored blends, our Holiday Spice Black Tea uses only the highest quality organic loose leaf tea, essential oils and botanical ingredients, ensuring an excellent cup every time!
Ingredients: organic Indian black tea, organic orange peel, organic cinnamon, organic clove, and natural orange cinnamon spice flavor
What are Flavored Teas?
Our delicious flavored teas use the same top-quality organic tea that we offer in our unflavored varieties, but are blended with pieces of real fruit, spices, flowers, and 100% natural flavors. When blending our teas, our goal is to create a cup that balances the taste of the tea with the flavors of the additional ingredients so that neither one overpowers. All of the natural flavors we use are either extracts taken directly from the botanical ingredient, or extracted using 100% GMO-free grain alcohol as a solvent. You can rest assured that none of the flavors used in our blends are synthetically or artificially derived, and do not use artificial preservatives.
Steeping Instructions
At Arbor Teas, we believe tea should be brewed to suit your personal taste. We’re happy to make recommendations to get you started, but don’t hesitate to experiment! When brewing your tea, your main considerations are tea quantity, water temperature, and steeping time. We recommend black teas to be steeped for 3 to 5 minutes in water heated to a full, rolling boil. For the best flavor, use fresh water whenever possible, and avoid overboiling. Try not to steep your tea longer than necessary, as you’ll extract undesirable bitterness from the leaves. If you want a stronger brew, don’t steep longer, just use more tea. And don’t forget to re-steep your tea leaves to get the most out of your leaf!
"This is great to bring to holiday parties and brew some up for a caffeine boost after big meals when you have a long drive home! I wouldn't normally think of orange as a holiday flavor, but paired with cinnamon and clove this makes a lovely holiday treat. "
Sarah
"This tea smells so yummy in your cup. I find that I brew a lot of it during the holiday season!"
Health Benefits
Like all true tea, black tea offers many potential health benefits. Research has found that tea (Camellia sinensis) can have many positive effects on human health, including improved cardiovascular function, cancer risk reduction, improved immune function, improved oral health, and help with weight management. Tea is also full of polyphenols, which are a class of antioxidant that help your body maintain homeostasis and balance your stress levels. Black tea specifically has been found to regulate blood sugar in diabetics better than other types of tea, according to a study done by the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
For more information about the health benefits of black tea and other types of tea, and for direct sources of the above information, check out our Tea Health Benefits page!
Please note: the information above is for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I bought a sample of each of Arbor's black teas and my friend and I have been having regular tea parties where we taste the teas and figure out which ones we want to be full sized bags of. It has been really fun - I recommend it. Anyway, since it's the holiday season, we usually buy some kind seasonal dessert (like cookies or pumpkin pie) to drink with our tea and this tea tasted delicious with holiday desserts. I drank some of it the next day with my breakfast and it was good but in my opinion this tea really shines when drunk with holiday desserts. I think this tea would be the perfect way to end a holiday meal - it's just strong enough to counteract the soporific effects of turkey and wake you up for the drive home. Definitely a tea to have on hand during the season to serve with cookies and other seasonal treats as well as at the end of big holiday meals.
4
Decent spiced tea
Posted by Anthony Zambri on 5th Nov 2022
Picked up a sample to try and it's pretty good. The orange is more of an orange soda type flavor than a real orange and I don't get much cinnamon but it's still decent. Similar to the grocery store brands orange spiced offerings but organic.
5
Perfect, organic, warm and spicy!
Posted by Christina on 20th Nov 2021
I didn’t feel that the orange was too strong at all. Maybe they modified it? Either way, it gives me a nice, warm morning and afternoon alternative to my Assam tea or Chai. Great alone or with milk and honey. Would buy again.
4
organic holiday spice black tea
Posted by Andrea Weaver on 16th Nov 2020
I ordered sample sizes of the organic holiday tea in the regular and the decaf versions. I thought that both of them had good flavor and pleasant aroma, but ordered a full size bag of the decaf version because I wanted to be able to drink this any time of day, not just in the mornings, without the effect of the caffeine. I can taste the citrus more than I can the spices. It is good that Arbor Teas has sample sizes, and I also like that the website tells where the tea is sourced.
4
Great Holiday Tea
Posted by Debbie Shipley on 8th Jan 2018
This is my first time ordering the Holiday tea... I really like the taste, but it took a few pots to assure me. I was only tasting orange, but I put a few dashes of allspice and cloves on top of the tea and let it steep. Really good :) I also add Cardamom as well sometimes, and to the other teas I brew.... great spicy flavor, not overpowering at all just delicious.
3
Holiday (Not So)Spice
Posted by Kari B on 26th Dec 2017
I was, unfortunately, a bit disappointed with this tea. Instead of the wonderful holiday spice flavor profile (cloves, cardamom, cinnamon) this tea had a more citrus forward flavor that drowned out the spice. I would buy it again with the knowledge that it's less spicey and more citrusy.
5
I want more...and more!
Posted by Jannie from the Northwoods on 22nd Nov 2016
Simply, a delight! Delicious!
4
Tastes like Christmas!
Posted by Unknown on 18th Dec 2015
It's like Christmas in a cup! I always -thought- I liked my tea strong....However I find one half teaspoon dry tea per 10 oz. cup to be plenty strong enough. And brewed at 2 minutes instead of 3 is perfect. Sometimes I cut the Holiday tea leaves with a plain black. The spices can be strong. I am not a fan of clove, but love cinnamon and citrus peel.
5
Yum!
Posted by Janet Binion on 29th Dec 2014
What a tasty holiday treat. I ordered a sample size recently but can see myself getting a large bag next November. This is a great combination of fall/winter flavors.
5
Amazing!
Posted by akbratt on 18th Dec 2014
This is an amazing flavored tea! Every spice is just right. It is a symphony of flavor. I LOVE IT! I will be buying more.
5
Amazing holiday treat!
Posted by Yen -Wen on 15th Dec 2014
I never tried it before but I order in bulk for the first time because of other reviewers' input. yes, they are right about everything! Thanks God I ordered enough when its not available all year around. If you like clean holiday smell in your house, you must try this one! No overpowering stuff like other commercial teas. That's the way should be!
5
simply the best
Posted by Jen on 11th Dec 2013
finally!!!!!!!!
5
Yum!
Posted by Unknown on 3rd Mar 2013
on my calendar to buy when it is available again next year. This was the perfect blend of rich, spicy & fruity. I am also a big fan of seasonal offerings in flavored teas and I appreciate Arbor sticking to that strategy (so don't listen to our begging)--so when I can get it, it is really special!
5
My Favourite
Posted by Laurie K. Feldt on 5th Feb 2013
Get this tea while it's in season and stock up! This is my very favourite tea so far by Arbor Teas. I use this as my breakfast tea every day 'till it runs out. The fruit and spices are very fresh tasting. The black tea is high quality. This tea makes winter in Michigan bearable. Each year I can barely wait for November.
5
Ohhhh so goood!!!
Posted by Catherine Alter on 13th Dec 2012
This is the best holiday tea ever; aroma alone conjures up comfort and the taste is wonderful allowing notice of each individual spice. Wonderful to taste, smell and hold in a hot mug. Good by a fire or outside. Try as an iced tea brew!
5
Simply Glorious!
Posted by Nickel Bushong on 14th Dec 2009
I ordered several of the sample packs of this tea to distribute as Christmas gifts at work. When I opened the box my house immediately smelled like Christmas! My husband and I lasted about a half an hour before we *had* to break into one of the packs and try it. It was even better than it smelled - I'm so glad that I ordered some extras! I can't recommend this tea highly enough especially because it is both Organic and Fair Trade. I'm simply thrilled!