Advent Day #18

Tea #18 - "Christmas Plum, Apple & Cinnamon Infusion"

Yes, it is another infusion. I guess Fortnum & Mason needs to make up the numbers and puts a lot of infusions into the mix.  And I am not a fan of the frequency with which they appear on the calendar. However, I do understand the rationale, and I am here to write an honest review of the latest: Christmas Plum, Apple & Cinnamon Infusion.

 

According to the Fortnum & Mason marketing geniuses, “Glowing with the promise of warming spiced plum, our zesty Plum, Apple & Cinnamon Tea Infusion is bursting with notes of aromatic cloves, cinnamon and rosehip. Sweet and spicy with a ruby red hue, this delicious brew will ensure a wonderful experience with each sip.”  I can confirm that there is a ruby red hue and that it is very spice forward. The overwhelming taste is, however, apple. Rather than a mulled infusion, it tastes more like a diluted hot apple cider one might get at the Christmas tree lot as the family is choosing their tannenbaum. I added a cube of brown sugar and that might have exacerbated the apple cider taste. 

 

At this point, I think I’d like to bring up the elephant in the room: is an infusion tea? And is it tea if there are no actual tea leaves in the mix? Strictly speaking, it isn’t. By definition, an infusion is a hot drink made by steeping plant materials in hot water to extract their flavors. Tea is a specific type of infusion that comes from the leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. So, an infusion is not tea, but tea is an infusion. So, it begs the question: why are these infusions lumped in with tea? Perhaps it is because there is not caffeine in these infusions, and they need to be more inclusive in what they offer. Maybe they really are just adding to their numbers to ensure there is enough variety for 24 days. (For the record, there are plenty of actual teas in the F&M stable that they could eliminate the infusions and still have enough for all 24 days of Advent.) But my cynical self believes it is all a marketing ploy. No one would buy these ‘imposter teas’ if they were not put out there. We have to suffer these infusions so that F&M can flog their wares. 

 

Bottom line on the infusion du jour: 5/10. If you like that sort of thing, you will probably like it.