United KingdomOverview
Most Twinings calendars give you one bag a day. This one, sold in the United States, gives you two, which turns the morning door into something two people can open together. The box is a wide green landscape with gold lettering, a row of lit London houses along the bottom, a red double-decker bus and a Christmas tree, and a line on the front inviting you to be transported to the original English storefront in London.
Behind the 24 tea cup doors sit two individually wrapped bags and, according to Twinings' own description, a message, a recipe, a note or an activity. Twenty blends are spread over the 48 bags, so some come round more than once. Black tea leads with nine (Chai, Chai French Vanilla, Christmas Tea, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Gingerbread Joy, Irish Breakfast, Lady Grey), the herbal side adds nine more, and two greens (Jasmine and Lemon) round it out.
The box measures about 34 by 30 cm and is 3.6 cm deep.
Taste & variety
Twenty blends, and the balance is easy to read. Nine are black, running from plain Darjeeling, English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast to Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Chai, Chai French Vanilla, the Christmas Tea and Gingerbread Joy.
Nine more are herbal: camomile with honey and vanilla, honeybush with mandarin and orange, lemon and ginger, mango and pineapple, orange and cinnamon spice made on rooibos, peach and orange, peppermint, raspberry and lemon, and a winter spice.
Two greens, Jasmine and Lemon, finish the list. Because 48 bags cover only 20 blends, expect the favourites to come back, which is no hardship when one of them is Earl Grey.
Packaging & gift appeal
A wide, landscape box in deep green, with TEA ADVENT CALENDAR in gold lettering across the top and the Twinings name, Est. 1706 London, on a gold plaque. Along the bottom runs a lit London street with a red double-decker and a Christmas tree, and a small line on the front promises a trip to the original English storefront.
The 24 doors are shaped like tea cups, and behind each is a pair of individually wrapped bags with a message, a festive recipe or a small activity. It is about 34 by 30 cm, 3.6 cm deep, and weighs 3.42 oz (97 g) net.
What is in the box
48 flavoured tea bags, two behind each of 24 tea cup doors, covering 20 blends (nine black, nine herbal and rooibos, two green), net weight 3.42 oz (97 g), in a green box with a message, recipe or activity behind each door.
Key features
- Two tea bags behind each of 24 doors, 48 in all
- Twenty blends: nine black, nine herbal and two green
- A message, recipe or small activity behind each cup-shaped door
- Box printed with a lit London street and the 1706 Twinings name
Our verdict
Two bags a day behind 24 cup-shaped doors, twenty familiar Twinings blends from English Breakfast to Winter Spice, and a note or recipe beside each pair. A generous, easy gift for a household that shares its tea, from a house that has been blending in London since 1706.
What we like
- Two bags a day, so there is a cup for each of two people
- Twenty blends across black, green and herbal, from Darjeeling to Peppermint Cheer
- Nine herbal and rooibos blends with no tea leaf in them, for the evening
- A message, recipe or small activity behind every door
A few things to know
- Twenty blends across 48 bags means some repeat
- Sold on Amazon and at retailers such as Vitacost, not in Twinings' own online shops
- Two of the herbal blends contain liquorice root
Questions about Twinings Tea Advent Calendar (Brew Joy Together)
What is in Twinings Tea Advent Calendar (Brew Joy Together)?
24 doors. 48 flavoured tea bags, two behind each of 24 tea cup doors, covering 20 blends (nine black, nine herbal and rooibos, two green), net weight 3.42 oz (97 g), in a green box with a message, recipe or activity behind each door..
