From Candy Canes to Tea Cups: Your Essential Holiday Tea Party Checklist

The sleigh bells are ringing, the lights are twinkling, and the coziest time of the year is officially here! This holiday season, why not trade the crowded punch bowl for the perfect, comforting tea party? We're helping you plan the ultimate festive gathering, starting with a brilliant burst of flavor: our must-try Candy Cane Rooibos Cookie Recipe. But a good party is about more than just a great treat—it's about the ambiance, the company, and the perfect cup. Get ready to explore beautiful new holiday teapots, discover the soothing Charles Dickens' Black Tea which is the perfect blend for a quiet afternoon read, and check off every item on your essential list for a truly enchanting celebration.

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Santa's Favorite: Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Chocolate and mint … a perfect combination especially during the holiday season! We infused our organic Candy Cane Rooibos Holiday tisane in butter for a delicious, sweet mint flavor.

"Tea" butter:

7 oz butter
3 Tbsp Organic Candy Cane Rooibos

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the Candy Cane tisane and steep on low

 heat for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 5 minutes. Strain the leaves from the butter using a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Some of the butter clings to the tea leaves, so always make sure to use more butter than a recipe calls for when making infused tea butters. I strained the tea butter into a measuring cup to make sure I had enough for my cookies. Once strained, cool the butter so it solidifies.

Cookies:

½ cup (4oz) "tea" butter, softened
1 ½ cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
½ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
Crushed candy canes (for the topping)

Pre-heat the oven to 400 and lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In an electric mixer beat the "tea" butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until creamy.

Stir the flour, cocoa, cream of tartar and soda together. Gradually add to the sugar/butter mixture until incorporated.
Roll the dough into balls and flatten in the palm of your hand. Cover one side of the cookie with the crushed candy cane pieces. Place on the greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These cookies make great holiday gifts and are perfect for holiday cookie swaps.

Happy baking!

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The Tea Party Glow-Up: Must-Have Holiday Cups and Pots

Winter Berry Cardinal Tea-for-One:

Usher in the holidays with this charming 4-piece porcelain tea-for-one set. Seasonal flowers, pine needles, and berries adorn the teapot, lid, cup, and saucer. The 12 oz. teapot also features two beautiful cardinals perched on a delicate branch. The teapot and 8 oz. cup are set against a bright white background while the lid and saucer have a gorgeous blue-green background.

Microwave & Dishwasher safe.

 

 

 

 

Toy Solider Mug: 

The playful spirit of this toy soldier and holiday themed mug is perfect for serving hot cocoa, coffee, or tea during the Christmas season.  This charming 12 oz. bright white fine porcelain mug is surrounded by a delightful parade of vibrantly colored toy soldiers as well as red and white striped candy canes, sprigs of deep green holly leaves and bright red berries. Gold detailing is present on the handle, rim, and base of the mug. Adding to the natural Christmas charm, a candy cane is on the inside of the mug.

Not suitable for microwave - Dishwasher safe.

Complete the gift! Pair with our Nutcracker Black Tea Blend.

 

 

Poinsettia Tea-for-One:

This elegant fine porcelain tea-for-one set captures the beauty of the holiday season with its bright bold colors. The 12 oz. teapot and matching 8 oz. cup are adorned on both sides with rich, red-toned poinsettias and colorful berry-laden branches. Against the pristine white background, the vibrant 6” ruby red saucer and the solid red band on the teapot's lid, intensify the deep crimson hues of the poinsettias. 

The luxurious shiny gold on the handles, teapot and teacup, and the fine gold trim surrounding the tops of the teapot, cup and the teapots spout, make this tea set truly special for teatime enjoyment.   

Not suitable for microwave - Dishwasher safe.

 

 

Poinsettia Plaid Cup & Saucer: 

Capture the beauty and warmth of the holiday season with this elegant 7 oz. fine porcelain cup and saucer. Set against a bright white background, a wide band of rich red plaid, decorated with vibrant red poinsettias, brown pinecones and colorful berry laden berries, encircle both the cup and saucer. The design is further complemented by the gleaming gold accents on the rim, base and handle of the saucer and along the rim of the cup.

Not suitable for microwave - Dishwasher safe.

Complete the set! This pattern is also available on our Poinsettia Plaid Teapot and Poinsettia Plaid Mug.

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A Dickens of a Holiday Brew: Explore Our Literary Tea Collection!

Unlike many of his characters, Charles Dickens was born to loving parents in February of 1812. However, when he was only 12, his father was imprisoned for debt and Charles was sent to work in a blacking factory where he labeled endless bottles of shoeshine. He would leave the factory four years later to finish his education, but those formative years deeply affected him and inspired many of the boyhood horrors he would later write about. He wrote many of his most famous novels like Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby episodically, with a new chapter appearing in a magazine each month. These works examined the lives of the less fortunate and found humanity amid the most inhuman conditions.

Tea appeared in Dickens’ work as a calming force like in David Copperfield, when the main character recounts how he “sat swilling tea until [his] whole nervous system, if [he] had had any in those days, must have gone by the board.” Or it could surface as a commonality between classes that allowed Dickens to emphasize the stark differences between lifestyles. While a “real solid silver teapot” and “real silver spoons to stir the tea with” are listed among the treasures of Old Lobbs in The Pickwick Papers, “a regular place of public entertainment for the poorer classes” described in Oliver Twist would provide “a public breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper all the year round.” Our Charles Dickens blend adds a flash of color to a traditional British tea. The blend is a hearty, well-rounded blend of China and Indian teas that has an amber cup with a light currant after-taste.

Ingredients: Black teas, oolong tea, black currant flavoring, and cornflower petals.

Brew tea at 212º - steep for 3 minutes.

Shop the entire Literary Tea Collection HERE. 

 

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Sip Your Way Through the Season: Our Featured Holiday Tea Blends

Get ready to indulge in the rich, comforting flavors of our featured holiday teas, perfect for savoring every moment of December. Whether you’re looking for the nutty & nice enchantment of our classic St. Nick's Black Tea, the daily surprise and delight found within our curated S&V Tea Advent Box, or the perfect all-around festive comfort of our signature Holiday Blend, this lineup is your ticket to a truly delicious winter.

Shop the complete S&V holiday collection HERE.

St. Nick's Black Tea Blend: 

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…."

Add St. Nick's Tea to your holiday wish list because this blend is Nutty & Nice! Black teas are enhanced with the flavors of chocolate and roasted nuts with a hint of maple. The tea brews to an amber cup with a smooth, nutty, slightly sweet taste. It's the perfect blend to enjoy on winter nights while you're sitting by the fire. A definite crowd pleaser!

Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, organic cacao nibs, vanilla beans, flavoring and orange blossoms.

St. Nick's Tea Blend Latte 

Ingredients:

2 tsp St. Nick’s Black Tea
½ cup water
1 cup almond milk (or milk, soy milk, etc).
1 ½ tsp. sugar (to taste)
Whipped cream
Cinnamon

Boil water and pour over St. Nick’s Black Tea. Steep for 4 minutes. While the tea is steeping heat the milk on the stovetop. Strain the brewed tea into a mug. Pour the hot milk over the tea in the mug. Stir in sugar, top with whipped cream and cinnamon.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar 2025: 

Add excitement to your holiday season by enjoying a different cup of tea each day.  Usher in the holidays with this delicious selection of 24 different teas and tisanes.

Can’t wait to see the selections?  The calendar features the following teas.  

BLACK TEA selections: Apple Sage, Cinnamon Chocolate Brownie (organic), Cozy Comfort, Creme Brulee, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gingerbread, Glacier, Holiday Blend, Rocky Mountains, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Snowberry Frost, and Victorian Earl Grey.

GREEN TEA selections: Blueberry Limeade.

HERBAL selections: Candy Cane (organic), Goldenberry, Herbal Chai Masala, Pear, Red Velvet Cupcake, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snickerdoodle, Sweet Sizzlin' Cinnamon, Tulsi Orange Cranberry Ginger (organic), Turmeric Ginger Citrus (organic), and Winter Wonderland.

The teas in this Advent Calendar are all loose leaf teas.

 

Holiday Blend Black Tea: 

This blend of tea and herbs was created to capture the tastes and treats of the winter holiday season. It is a magnificent blend of black teas, rooibos and peppermint that has been delicately scented with vanilla and vanilla pieces. This Holiday Blend tea will enliven all of your holiday festivities.

Ingredients: Black teas, rooibos, peppermint leaves, organic alfalfa leaves, vanilla flavoring, malva blossoms, erica flowers, and vanilla beans.

Holiday Tea Blend Cocktail

Holiday Tea Blend makes a great cocktail! Try this infusion of Holiday Tea in vodka to create aromatic, delicious cocktails. We made this easy recipe:
1 Tbsp Holiday Blend Tea
4 oz vodka

Blend together in a jar and let sit for 5 days to steep. Strain into another container.

Put ice in a small rocks glass. Add 1oz Holiday tea vodka and 1oz Irish Cream liqueur (like Bailey's). Stir and enjoy! This cocktail is smooth and delicious. Want to "jazz" it up? Add a candy cane in the glass as a stirrer.

Fun and Festive!

The infused Holiday Tea Vodka also makes a great gift! Simply strain your tea vodka into a nice bottle, seal and tie with a festive ribbon. Add a hang tag of suggested cocktails and a homemade label to really impress your friends!

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Holiday Coffee Highlight:

Minty Mocha Magic: Your New Holiday Coffee Obsession

Our flavored coffees are hand blended in small batches to always ensure that the coffee is fresh and fabulous.

The perfect blending of tastes for the holidays! This cup of goodness has a smooth chocolate taste at the beginning followed by a lingering candy cane flavor. Smooth & refreshing!

Ingredients: 100% Arabica coffee beans & chocolate candy cane flavoring.

Also available in Decaf.

Candy Cane Latte: 

Servings: Makes two 12 oz. lattes 

Recipe by Kathleen Phipps 

Ingredients:

Lattes:

• 16 oz. strongly brewed Simpson & Vail Candy Cane Coffee (17 oz water brewed with 4 tbsp ground coffee) (Can also use Decaf) 
• 8 oz. milk (or dairy alternative)
• 2 tbsp candy cane syrup or plain simple syrup (optional), recipe below
• Whipped Cream for topping (optional)
• 2 tbsp Crushed candy canes for garnish (optional)

For the rim (optional):

• 2 oz white chocolate, melted
• 3–4 tbsp crushed candy canes 

Directions: 

While the coffee is brewing, coat the rims of two 16 oz. mugs with the melted white chocolate. Immediately roll in the crushed candy canes. Set aside.

Heat the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan just until it begins to steam. (If using a dairy alternative, do not boil to avoid the milk curdling). Stir in the candy cane syrup and divide between the mugs, followed by the brewed coffee. Top with the whipped cream and a sprinkle of the crushed candy canes. Enjoy! 

Candy Cane Syrup

Makes approximately 1 cup

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp crushed candy canes
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the candy canes and sugar have fully dissolved, about 6–8 minutes. Set aside and let cool completely.

 

 

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From the Simpson & Vail family to yours, we wish you a joyful and delicious holiday season filled with moments that warm the heart. Here’s to celebrating, sipping, and creating memories that last! 🌲🍵 Happy Holidays!