A tea drinker for more than three decades, I’ve drank cinnamon tea from numerous manufacturers, and enjoyed most of them.
So I brought home a 20-teabag box of this Bigelow Cinnamon Stick Tea for review , and am sipping a large hot cup right now while writing this.
Bigelow Cinnamon Stick Tea indeed rivals other popular brands, and thus, is another cinnamon tea that’s among the best I’ve ever tasted. This is yet another high-quality Bigelow tea product. It has a mostly clear, light amber shade in the glass, with no bitterness. It accepts agave nectar, sugar, or stevia sweeteners quite well, and this spicy black tea, flavored with cinnamon, is reasonably priced at approximately $2.32 per box. Bigelow tends to price most of their teas the same, and the Cinnamon Stick Tea is thus no more or less expensive than the other flavors in the Bigelow tea line.
The aroma and flavor are unmistakably cinnamon, and reminds the authors of those cold winter school mornings, when Mom used to serve cinnamon toast for breakfast, or the many atomic fireballs we sucked on as kids. Though the cinnamon flavor in this product has no bite, unlike the atomic fireballs, it stands out, clearly as the “loudest” flavor by far in this beverage.
Benefits, Features, Advantages, and Pros
Good hot or cold. This beverage tastes great hot or iced, and is quite simple to prepare either way.
Widely available. Easily found in most larger online and retail outlets.
No bitterness, even when steeped for many minutes.
On par black tea caffeine levels. Caffeine levels here seem around the same as other flavored black tea brands tested. Bigelow says that each serving contains between 30 and 60 milligrams of caffeine.
Helpful drink for diabetics. The cinnamon can help lower blood sugar levels.
Easily sweetens. This product sweetens well with stevia glycerite, stevia extract, Truvia, and other stevia-based sweeteners. You can even use a bit of honey or maple syrup, as the cinnamon taste herein is sufficiently strong, so as not to be “muzzled,” by these non flavor-neutral sweeteners.
No pronounced bodily ill-effects. This tea is gluten-free, vegan-compatible product, which is also good for diabetics to enjoy, due to the blood-glucose lowering effects of cinnamon.
All natural. The black tea is mountain-grown for the most robust flavor, and the cinnamon comes from all natural sources.
Each teabag packaged by itself. These teabags are individually wrapped for freshness. The wrappers are airtight, allowing no tea aromas to escape until you open them. So the cinnamon stays fresh longer. It can keep for several years in a cool place without losing much of its strength.
No GMOs. It’s kosher and contains no genetically modified organisms (GMOs). So it’s suitable for Jewish Passover and other holiday gatherings.
Traditional Christmas tea. People often drink cinnamon tea at Christmas time. So it’s a drink that embodies long-running holiday traditions. Just its scent can conjure up long past memories of sipping beside the glittery Christmas tree.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
Stronger caffeine. Though the flavor is predominately cinnamon, make no mistake. This is still primarily a black tea, with all its caffeine left intact. So be careful, as the revved metabolism that often happens when drinking naturally caffeinated beverages like black tea, can actually intensify hunger depending on how long it’s been since you’ve eaten.
Buzz effects of black tea still in effect here. Particularly when I’ve not taken black tea for some days, I can feel dizzy when I again consume it; especially when riding in a car afterwards. It can make me feel quite nauseous and queasy when I’m out of practice consuming it.
Taste can become monotonous. With the bold flavor and included caffeine, you may get tired of drinking it, if you do so too many times in a day or week.
Ingredients
Black Tea, and cinnamon.
Supplement Facts
Serving size: 1 tea bag. Servings per box: 20. Caffeine content: 30 to 60 milligrams.
Brewing Instructions
- Start with filtered, fresh water.
- Heat water to boiling. To do this, bring it to a boil, then remove from heat but wait until it just stops boiling before pouring it.
- Remove the airtight foil envelope from one teabag and put it in your mug, flask, or other drinking container. Avoid the plastic water bottles however.
- Then, pour one cup (8 Oz.) of the hot water into the mug.
- Steep for one to two minutes, or until you get your desired strength.
- Discard the teabag, but do not ring out the liquid in it back into your tea cup, as this can create a bitter taste. No squeezing the teabag.
- Sweeten the tea or otherwise season to taste if desired. This drink has a slightly sweet essence, and thus, may require no added sweetener, depending on your preferences.
- Finally, enjoy.
Our Rating
This cinnamon drink is a winner with its virtually nonexistent bitterness and bold cinnamon taste. We’d certainly buy it again and would thus, highly recommend it to any tea lover, whether a novice drinker or a tea aficionado. We rate Bigelow cinnamon tea at 96 out of 100.
Where To Buy Bigelow Cinnamon Stick Tea
Look for this tea in the red, gold, and black box with the gold and white lettering at Walmart and other larger grocery stores and tea shops. It’s also widely available online.
References
- Official Bigelow Cinnamon Stick Tea web page
- Cinnamon on Wikipedia
- Cinnamon Tea on Wikitea
- Where to buy Bigelow Cinnamon Stick Tea
Revision History
- 2015-01-12: Tweaked content.
- 2014-12-02: Added whitespace for clarity, tweaked the text, and added pictures.