If you ever wanted to know what a bad cup of tea tastes like, you’ve stumbled upon the right review. I detested nearly every aspect of this tea! But I’m reviewing Fosters Spiced Festive Tea nonetheless, as I feel it would be amiss to skip over it.
Consider this review a warning to tea drinkers, a sharp hint for the makers of this tea to get their act together.
I’m almost glad that this tea is so hard to get your hands on! If you do spot it on the shelves of Tesco, think carefully before you buy it.
Fosters Traditional Foods Spiced Festive Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Black tea with spice and apple flavourings
- Flavour: Dirty black tea with a mild sensation of peppercorns
This was an unpleasant cup of tea to drink that had very little flavour. The flavours that I could detect were not desirable at all.
Full Review – Black Tea with Christmas Spices
- Type: Foil-wrapped square paper tea bags
- Tea: Black tea
- Additives: Flavourings
- Flavour Notes: Dirty black tea, sensation of peppercorns
- Aroma: Apple chutney, hint of spice
- Milk or Lemon: Milk, honey or sugar
- Where to Buy: Tesco (or search festive tea on Amazon)
The previous Fosters teas I’ve reviewed from this collection box have been quite bright and fresh (even though the quality is lacking) thanks to the foil wrappers. This time, however, the aroma really isn’t pleasant or fresh at all. There’s a hint of apple that’s quite strong and acidic – it’s closer to apple chutney than apple sauce or stewed apples. You can also get a hint of cinnamon and black tea if you really focus.
It brews into a dirty reddish brown colour after a long steep.
Adding water seems to kill the aroma completely. It leaves you with a cup of black tea that feels almost dirty to drink – like it’s tainted. There’s a sensation of peppercorn spice on your tongue, but no actual flavour to back it up.
Overall, it just feels like you’re drinking dirty washing up water after someone just washed up a plate of Christmas pudding. Unpleasant, to say the least.
How to Brew Spiced Black Tea
Fosters don’t give instructions on water temperature or brew time. They suggest you simply add the teabag and water to your cup until it’s brewed.
I start with a 3 minute brew time at 100°C, but there’s no aroma and very little colour, so I leave it in for another 2 minutes. At the 5 minute mark, it’s sufficiently dark enough to add a splash of milk if you desired.
As for what to drink this tea with, I’d suggest anything and everything. Add tablespoons of honey and a generous amount of milk to mask the dirty flavours and serve with a very dry cake so your guests won’t have any other option than drinking the tea to wash it down. That’s the only way you’ll convince someone to drink this concoction!
Why Fosters Traditional Foods at Tesco?
When you buy a collection of teas in a tea set, you know there’s going to be at least one that you won’t like. I just didn’t expect to dislike this tea so strongly!
I suppose it’s not so surprising when you see the ingredients listed as black tea and flavourings. It doesn’t even indicate what flavourings are used, but I’d hazard a guess at apple, peppercorns, cinnamon and ginger.
There are also no certifications on the box, so this tea really could be from any estate (most likely a blend of several estate teas). There’s no indication of whether the flavourings are natural or artificial either.
Summary
No, I don’t recommend this tea. Luckily, not all spiced festive teas are bad! Take a look at festive teas on Amazon for a range of great alternatives. If Tea Forte, Celestial Seasonings, and Taylors of Harrogate are available in your area, try those instead!
Tea Recommendation
For an example of what a well-balanced and high-quality festive tea should look and taste like, read my review of the English Tea Shop Christmas Cake blend. In fact, any of English Tea Shop’s festive themed teas will be nice to sip on throughout December.