Review: Vanilla & Cinnamon Black Tea from Trader Joe's

Whoa. You guys. I found this tea at Trader Joe's and it

TASTES.

LIKE.

COOKIES!!!

Cookies!  Do you hear me?  What more do I need to say?

Okay, I can probably come up with a few things, not that you probably need me to say any more since you've already added it to your shopping list, right?  But here goes...

20 tea bags to a box.  There is a waxy paper bag inside the box (like you'd find in, say, a cracker box), within which are the teabags.  They come semi-attached in pairs, so if you only need one, you just have to pull them apart.  The bag can be somewhat closed up when you're done, to help preserve freshness, but I wouldn't assume it has the same preservation power that individually wrapped teabags have.  Still, it's better than no protection at all.  And anyway, let's be honest, you're going to taste this tea and run through the whole box in a week.  Seriously.

It brews up nice and strong.  I use a gigantor Starbucks mug that really holds about 1.5-2 cups worth of steamy hot beverage, and with weaker teas (*ahemTwiningssucksahem!*) I have to double up to brew it dark enough.  And I'm not known for brewing my teas super dark!  In fact, I found that a double bag (as pictured above) is enough to brew my entire pot (holds about 2.5 servings in my gigantor mug).

Remember to give it the full 3-5 minutes' brewing time before adding your milk and sugar.  Ideally, you want to use water that is just shy of a boil.  For most people, this means bringing to a boil then waiting a minute, or using the water when it hits a simmer.  But for the rest of us, this means we stick our teabag in the cup, stick it in the microwave, and hope for the best.  And that's just fine.

Now, as I've hinted, I take my tea sweet.

That's an entire pot of tea, brewed with 2 teabags (the double pictured above), and steeped for about 5 minutes.  It's a good idea to remove your teabags after steeping time is up.  With your better quality teas (the kind that comes in fancy tins at Peet's Coffee, for example), that's pretty much a requirement as nasty things begin to happen when the tea is over-steeped, but for the most part, your "basic" teas that come 20 bags to a box aren't going to have that issue as badly.  I left the teabags in the pot and didn't have a problem with my subsequent cups.  But still, once you have it brewed to where you like it, you really ought to remove your teabags.  Just saying.

So, in the giant mug, I add 2 1/2 tsp of sugar and a healthy splash of milk.  Your mileage may vary, everyone has their own way when it comes to tea.  But I know that, made my way, your tea will taste... like... cookies.

This has all the outward appearance of being a holiday-only item, and you know how Trader Joe's is... so stock up!

Available at Trader Joe's for $2.99/box