We created our first Christmas Blend Tea last year which was a black tea with fruit, spice and nut undertones which was delicious. This year, we all wanted to create a tea that would immediately transport your mind to Christmas the moment you open the bag or caddy.

Personally, I was really keen to have a caffeine free tea, knowing that you could drink away on an evening. So, we stepped out of our comfort zone with our Christmas Blend Tea and chose to create a herbal blend.

To help us create this blend, we made a list of what reminds us of Christmas. Cinnamon was right there at the top, along with spices such as cardamon, ginger and cloves. We wanted to create something unique, rather than recreate another Masala Chai, which is a firm favourite here at H. R. Higgins

I am a Swedish National and we celebrate Advent in a big way. It is almost more important than the day itself. With that in mind, I wanted something that would be a lovely ‘pick me up’ whilst creating and doing advent activities with the children such as baking and cracker making. We all had different requirements for this tea and I think we have hit the nail on the head with our Christmas Blend.

This tea works wonderfully with ginger biscuits. My personal favourites are the Swedish ginger thins. The honey bush base adds a certain sweetness while the blend of herbs and spices give it a warmth. The scent is heavenly.

One of our Swedish advent traditions is to bake Kanelbullar, or cinnamon rolls. This tea reminds me of them so much. It has a sweetness that if I close my eyes when drinking it, I am taken to back to my childhood running around in my Aunty’s house in Gothenburg. It is so nostalgic for me.

What is really interesting for me is that before the tea was blended, I had decided that the tea caddies should be red, white and gold this year and the art direction for the gift guides would be lighter and brighter with a Scandinavian feel but still in the H.R. Higgins luxurious style. 

This often happens with my work, a certain synergy happens, so it was perfect that the tea had a Scandinavian vibe and taste - a match made in heaven! I do hope you enjoy it and we would love your feed back!