It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Or, well, sort of. I saw the most wonderful, heartwarming thing at the grocery store this weekend – SEASONAL TEAS. My favorite [no-frills, employee-owned] grocery store, Woodman’s, had a brand new display of seasonal teas by Celestial Seasonings and Stash. I nearly had a teagasm right there in the store! I’m familiar with Celestial Seasonings’ offerings, but I’d never seen Stash’s holiday-inspired teas. My Christmas-season-loving heart thrilled inside of me when I saw tantalizing flavors like Christmas Eve (herbal mint blend) Christmas Morning (black tea blend), White Christmas (white tea, peppermint, and a hint of ginger), Holiday Chai (black tea with hints of gingerbread and rum), and organic (!) Merry Mint (green tea, spearmint, and peppermint). Stash also has gorgeous packaging – what can I say; I’m shallow! I managed to restrain myself, though:
Teas on the floor. Class-ay.
Unfortunately I didn’t realize that White Christmas was a mint tea, so I accidentally purchased two minty varieties. Guess I’ll have to go back for more! Clearly tea is one of my major weaknesses, but for $2.00 a box, I’m not too concerned about breaking the bank.
All of these Christmas flavors got me thinkin’ about other foods I associate with my favorite holiday. My family has a tradition of enjoying cinnamon buns and grapefruit on Christmas morning, and as I thought about holidays of yore, I got a strong craving for sweet, cinnamon-y goodness. Last year Mom made VeganYumYum’s incredibly decadent cinnamon buns, and they were gorgeous and tummyache-inducingly rich. Throwback photo time!
Oof.
I feel full just looking at them! I didn’t want to make anything that rich during this go-round, so I turned to Happy Herbivore for a healthier alternative. I ended up making Lindsay’s whole-wheat, fat-free cinnamon buns, and despite an emergency grocery run necessitated by moldy applesauce, they came together quickly and with very little fuss.
Tea&bun.
And they taste fantastic, too! Soft and chewy on the inside, only the outer rings of my buns (heh heh) were at all crusty. The cinnamon filling is absolutely perfect, and it only contains brown sugar, applesauce, and cinnamon. Genius! I’ve been savoring these babies for the past few days, and they’ve totally sated my cinnamon craving. Once they’re gone, I’ll lay off the buns so that I’ll properly appreciate our traditional breakfast come December 25th.
Do you have any holiday traditions? Do you get excited about winter holidays? Any favorite seasonal teas?
vegga 
I’ve been curious about HH’s cinnamon buns, it’s official, will be trying!
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You should! They totally hit the spot without making you feel all icky.
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I love mint tea all year round – especially in the summer when I grow mint and toss a few leaves in black tea for iced tea. I like the looks of the white tea you have.
My seasonal favorite is orange spice, like Constant Comment or similar. It reminds me of some horrible mixture my mom would make every Christmas that involved Tang and instant tea.
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Tang and instant tea… what on Earth?! How… creative. :)
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1. My package arrived yesterday. It was amazing! Thank you so much! I had sort of forgotten what was included, so it was so much fun opening it up. My husband is particularly excited about the teas.
2. Teagasm = my new favorite word.
3. I have got to find me some of those Stash teas. It makes me feel so Christmas-y just looking at the beautiful boxes.
4. I giggled a lot at your crusty buns. ;p
:)
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Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Let me know if you try any of the soups… I wanted to keep the book for myself; they all looked so yummy!
I ended up buying THREE MORE of the seasonal teas. It’s an addiction! :)
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“Teagasim” LOL.
Those teas do sound like wonderful cozy bevvies for holiday time. And those cinnamon buns look so good. I love cinnamon rolls, but my partner doesn’t so I rarely make them.
Your Christmas traditional breakfast sounds perfect, and sort of similar to what we always had for xmas breakfast at home: grapefruit and homemade coffee cake.
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Tut tut, who doesn’t like cinnamon rolls?! Ah well.
Mmm, coffee cake… also a delicious treat. Now I kind of want some…!
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Tea and cinnamon buns… you are my new BFF. For realz. I need to find some of that tea! I’m a tea hound, too. Yum!
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You really can’t beat that combination for pure, delicious comfort food&drink!
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Oh. Man. I am a sucker for “seasonal edition” anything, and I love mint tea- This has my name written all over it. I’ll keep an eye out for it!
I can get really into the holidays… and unfortunately, it always starts way early for me since I have to prepare recipes for print, etc, so I’ve already eaten about 3 Thanksgiving dinners. Yikes!
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I particularly recommend the Merry Mint one! It has a fantastic blend of various mints… mmm.
Three Thanksgivings?! Oh my. I hope you’re not utterly worn out by the time the *real* holidays arrive.
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