This Teavana Spiced Mandarin Oolong has been sitting in my collection for the longest time, sealed and unopened. I’m not a huge fan of spices but a cold winter’s day seemed a good a time as any to try it out.

The tea is a looseleaf blend of oolong with sweet citrus fruits  — tangerine, lemon and blood orange — and traditional chai spices — cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves and pepper.

Steeping 3 g of loose leaf in 200 mL of water at 90°C for 3 minutes, the tea was a cloudy orange red colour with a very fragrant aroma of chai spices. Served hot, gently tart citrus notes of blood orange and tangerine came through ahead of the cinnamon and cloves emerging in the body before the spices recede in the finish for a sweet blood orange and tangerine finish without the initial tartness. Overall, the taste of the spice is significantly more mellow than the smell of the looseleaf would suggest, making it a more palatable tea for someone who’s not a fan of chai. That said, the spice does dominate to the exclusion of any hint of oolong, while the addition of hibiscus creates an acidity that leaves the tea tasting more like a tisane.

This Teavana Spiced Mandarin Oolong contained 57 g. It was packed in the United States and gifted by family in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2011.