Hello, Holiday

By John Koval

When Kit and I chatted with our friends at Smith Tea about new creative collaborations, we all looked at our four seasonal Churchmouse blends and saw that something was missing: a Holiday blend.

Head teamaker, Ravi Kroesen—leading the effort at Smith since October 2018—was especially excited about the idea. He brought a lifetime of experience, a calm mindfulness, and an exceptional palate to the task of creating a new blend that would suit the Churchmouse spirit.

Ravi and his team sent us a couple of black tea blends and we set to tasting. I made a cup of the first one, went to my desk, and was of course immediately called out of the office. When I opened the door on returning, I was captivated by an aroma I hadn’t ever experienced. It was, well, “festive.”

Now, a lesser tea maker might have mailed in the usual holidayish treatment—cranberry, spice, etc. Instead, as I had hoped, I was enchanted by a brew that filled my senses with... juniper berries! A whiff of clove! And what was that... yes, a bit of bergamot. I stopped everything to sip and savor this elixir.

For the black tea base, Ravi selected elegant Assam and Keemun varieties that entertained us to the last, cooled-off drop. When I connected with Kit after her cuppa, we just looked at each other. I wrote to our Account Manager at Smith, Alix, and said: “Tell Ravi to stop blending! This is it!”

So please welcome along with us, the new Churchmouse Holiday blend. To the Smith team, thank you. To you, cheers!