sunnykerr

It does have a mulled wine blend, but it's a seasonal thing... so you're out of luck till next year. Sorry!

I was gonna say it tastes similar to their Spiced Apple blend, but that one also seems to be gone.

Basically, it's a spicy blend. Kinda like a chai, but without the black tea base.

MsPerfectionist

i gotta check it out next year.

sunnykerr

I recommend it. It's an oolong. But then I like all the teas that have a bit of spice in them, except for when that spice is ginger.

MsPerfectionist

wow i wouldn't expect it to be an oolong. hmm i'll have to check the list of the spice. some spice gets too pungent and overpowering

sunnykerr

Ask and ye shall receive. The David's Tea Mulled Wine blend contains: oolong tea, apple, orange peel, cinnamon, clove buds... and ginger. Okay, I'm officially shook (as they say). I usually ignore teas that contain ginger as a matter of course.

Obviously, I tried this tea at a shop before buying any.

MsPerfectionist

sounds like something i'd like

ohh i guess the ginger taste wasn't strong for you to notice its presence?

sunnykerr

I think the presence of the other spices and the oolong base probably helps. Because, I've said it a lot before and I'll say it again, I love ginger when it's something I'm eating, but I can stand drinking it.

I think it's a pepper thing. Pepper itself is a recent addition to my spice shelf. When I was growing up, lots of basil in a dish made it "spicy." Obviously, my palate has expanded since then. But ginger is still very peppery for me. And I love it in Indian and Thai dishes, but by itself? Not so much.

MsPerfectionist

ginger in its dried form could be really overpowering compared to a fresh piece of ginger

sunnykerr

Oh absolutely.

But I think that's how weenie my palate remains. Even a fresh piece of ginger can be "too much" for me sometimes.

This talk of ginger is reminding me of a braised chicken recipe I did where I used candied ginger just because I had it... and because it was a braised recipe, that candied ginger wound up packing the punch... at least, for me.

MsPerfectionist

ohh that's a great use of candied ginger

sunnykerr

It was spicy! But I paired it with a very basic, bland rice (because everything I cook/bake, I always bake/cook in massive quantities and it goes into the freezer) and the combination works to make it less spicy.

I had been worried that the sugar would make the recipe sweet, but it has plenty of other spices in it that the sugar does not register for me. Like, at all.

MsPerfectionist

yeah it's a great strategy, big batches then freezer.

nice that it turned out fine.

ever include tea in your recipes?

i tried making marinate with Lapsang souchong tea. i love the smokiness of it.

sunnykerr

I have not included tea in my recipes so far. It's just a matter of finding a recipe I can use, I imagine. Because that's usually how my cooking goes. I start with recipe and I may not follow it to the letter, but it provides me the guidelines to feel comfortable in what I'm doing.

I would imagine that tea is great to marinate proteins and even some vegetables.

MsPerfectionist

tea in cookies are also great

sunnykerr

Oh, if we get into sweets and baking, there is a whole world of tea flavours. Tea cakes, cookies, chocolates, etc. It's all awesome.

It's all awesomely outside my skillset, too.

I can cook-ish. I can cook to the point where I like my own food. Sometimes I can even share that food with others and I have generally received good feedback.

Baking? I'm still at the cake-from-a-box stage.