Hot Cinnamon Spice

This is exciting to me… I’ve got some on it’s way. I definitely want it spicy!

I have several friends who love this but it is too strong for me. I also don’t like Red Hots, and that is what this tastes like. I liked the green HCS better than the black but it was super sweet and syrupy tasting. It smells exactly like the Penzey’s cinnamon blend.

too strong for me as well. :)

It is pretty potent.
And weirdly enough, when I drink it, I don’t feel like I am drinking tea.
I had two non-tea drinkers drink it and they really liked it.
I enjoy the smell and I keep picturing it as some holiday beverage simmering on the back of the stove at a party.
I have drank it straight twice now (the first time I tried it and again to do this review)I have found that if I mix it with French Vanilla Black by Simpson and Vail I enjoy it much better. It tones it down a lot and makes it taste more like a tea to me.

Oh so true and frustrating that it sticks in whatever you put it in..even worse than Lapsangs.
I’m obsessed with cinnamon so naturally I’m in love with this tea, and I like the idea of mixing it too. I don’t think I’ve ever mixed it with anything.

I enjoy mixing it with a vanilla or apple tea (or all three…and then you have a apple pie tea!)
Once you mix this tea with another tea its flavor does not seem to stick so badly as well.

Yup, warming cinnamon sweet flavor indeed! I’m glad my joy for this one was contagious.

Thanks for being contagious :-)

I should send you a taste of the Market Spice…if you haven’t tried this before, made in Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA…black tea, pure cinnamon oil, citrus rinds and clove…

Oh the Market Spice sounds wonderful! Do you want to do a trade? I have a ton of teas (only a few of the ones that I actually have are listed here on Steepster). I can send you a list of what I have if you’re interested. :)

A friend gave me a sample of Harney’s cinnamon tea… Is this “spice” tea you reviewed possibly the same? I mean, do they make a regular and one with added spice? I was absolutely floored by how it he tea tasted so distinctly as it smelled. It is a delicious tea for sure.

They say cinnamon improves concentration. Good call to drink it during study time!

Hmm, I didn’t know that about cinnamon, Jacquelinem! Good to know!

I actually didn’t know that about cinnamon, but I did notice it with this tea, that’s actually why I went to look it up. Thanks!

gloom, that’s the perfect word for me today. or rather every day lately. I’m also in an office cave. I don’t even feel like making tea :/
this tea sounds hot and spicy :]

It was a nice pick-me-up this afternoon.

I think I started the hot cinnamon spiceism yesterday, and I do hope you find a good home for this tea! one of my winter favourites, which is why I have a ton. :)

Heh. If you had less than a ton, I’d be messaging you to send you what I have left! :) (and thank you for starting the trend, I really needed to try this one out)

Quite honestly, I don’t remember the last time I had a cinnamon heart! I should get on that :P

Cinnamon hearts are the flavor of the season, so I’m glad we’re all busting out our cinnamon candy tea :). And haha missB, I toss my stash around too—that’s Roswell is getting like three ounces of Boston!

I love Cinnamon Hearts, but not in my tea. :) Which reminds me. I should go get some fresh ones at Purdy’s.

I’m super obsessed with cinnamon so this tea’s quite enjoyable to me. I like bold, extreme flavors which this definitely is lol.
I agree with you on rating and sharing your opinion despite knowing it probably wouldn’t be your cup of tea.

I was pretty sure I could skip this one as I don’t like strong cinnamon, and now you have totally convinced me!

Yep, that’s all this tea is – strong cinnamon. period.

I used to love cinnamon, but every tea I have had with cinnamon in it for the last year-ish has made me a little nauseous and I really don’t like them anymore. : ( Jen – If you’re not super into cinnamon, this probably should be a pass!

he hee – I think this is a love or hate tea. I happen to love it (liquid red hots!) but it’s a strong taste and def. not for everyone.

I don’t care for this tea, but I don’t like cinnamon red hots. Almost everyone who has had this tea at my house, however, has loved it and asked me to order them a big bag! I have had to order it for three different people!

I didn’t feel good after drinking this one either. I much prefer a good cup of chai spiced tea than this.

It is so funny that I found this review again. Let’s just say I never knew I liked cinnamon so much! I think some of it has to do with the season (it is now Fall). I was sure I would not like it, but I am pretty much obsessed at this point! Yes, I agree with JacquelineM…it is a love or hate tea.

It wouldn’t make this tea any more palatable if you don’t love the strong cinnamon flavor, but the black tea flavor does step up a bit if you steep this tea for the suggested 5 minutes. Even as a fan of cinnamon I never steep it for under 5 for that very reason.

That might have worked, but as a rule I would never steep a black tea for that long, so this one was never going to work out for me, sadly. :)

I think y’all are getting the worst of it upstate. You may keep the snow with my compliments :)

I think that we’re a part of the same storm ::Blech:: I’m gonna get all hidey-hole today, brew lots of tea, and pretend that I still live in the southern US and that this is a hallucination ;)

I don’t know for sure but my guess is the “China Black” is Keemun or a blend containing primarily Keemun. Harney refers to it’s “China Black” as Keemun in the description of English Breakfast. Ceylon is from what is now Sri Lanka so if it’s in there it is probably playing a supporting role.

Oops, my geography is off. I’ve never had Keemun on its own so I’m not sure exactly how it takes, but that sounds like it makes sense!

Hehehe, my geography is almost always off, too!

You’re making me question my love of cinnamon. Any tell-tale ways of determining whether you’re being sold cinnamon or cassia?

I suppose a “but they smell/taste so differently” is not too helpful? ;)

Ok, first thing, cassia is usually much cheaper. The “bark” is easy to distinguish, usually those pretty solid, rolled quills of bark are almost always cassia. (and usually not a problem, since they are not meant to be powdered). Real cinnamon strips are usually much thinner, less rolled and not pretty (hence makes sense to sell cassia bark, since it is is usually much prettier for things where you use. Found a pic

http://www.henriettesherbal.com/blog1/pics/cinnamon-1.jpg

on this blog post http://www.henriettesherbal.com/blog/cinnamons.html

ah, and cassia is more reddish usually.

But we usually buy ground cinnamon. And that is much harder to tell apart from look alone. Cassia is usually redder. The real big difference is the taste. Cassia is sharper, spicier (in the piquancy sense, not in the sense of being more aromatic or richer), more one-note to my nose, more overpowering. Though, to be fair, for recipes for savoury things, to combine with garlic or peppers or ginger, I think cassia is better. Cinnamon is just different, I can not explain, like a much creamier scent, much smoother, and much better for anything sweet IMO.

I think maybe the best way is to check out yourself (and if what you love so far is cassia, that is great, you can keep on loving it but now check its cousin in case you also love it ;)). Usually asian stores got it reliably. if google does not fail me, in the USA maybe you can find it sold for the mexican market under its spanish name canela?

I may have to look for it. I checked Amazon for Ceylon Cinnamon as well, and there were a fair number of options to choose from. I’m really quite curious now.

It is worth comparing, and yes, it is one of those things which is different but not really possible to describe how much so.

Out of curiousity, do you have any recommendations regarding a good orange/cinnamon tea? Orange Spice (from Stash) was really my ‘first love’ when it comes to tea. At the moment, I’m drinking the version from MarketSpice, and I’m quite fond of it. But, if there’s something out there that might be better, I’d be more than willing to give it a shot (pretending for a minute or two that I didn’t just order half a pound of it)

If you got a first love when it cames to tea, those often stick!
And I can not really advise any particular, though orange and cinnamon are usually christmas teas. I think IKEA black christmas tea is mostly orange and spices (not just cinnamon). And maybe a few more (but all I can think is mostly european stuff which might be at all easy to find in the USA)

For Orange/cinnamon combination my favourite so far goes to Soderblandning from The Tea Centre of Stockholm http://www.theteacentre.se/p/soederblandning/993 This tea has a combination of honey, cinnamon, orange peel and dried fruits.
Here in Portugal it’s quite usual to drink it together with a glass of Port Wine. I actually bought it in North Portugal (Douro Region) in a special package with a bottle of Taylor’s 10 year old Tawny port.

Obrigada, Teresa, that sounds like a very interesting tea! And I never had tea with Port wine, it is a good idea, particularly if a fruit and cinnamon mix.

I found out Mariage Fréres´ Christmas tea (thé de Nöel) is orange-cinnamon, but I never had it, if I ever do, will write a tasting note.

Hrmmm… I don’t think I’ve ordered a tea I can’t pronounce before…

LOL, sooner or later you will ;) Even just some origins or types, I am not sure I know how to pronounce them. Like the chineses origin in English is sometimes called Keemun, I have seen it written Qimen as well, and I am sure pronunciation is pretty different from either.

Hee – Eu bureaucracy has to be good for something! I’m quite pleased now, as I rushed to check my (organic) cinnamon and it is proper cinnamon, not cassia! (Also discovered another tea that sounds delicious in the comments, of course.)