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Day 38 of my 101 days of David’s Tea challenge.

Mmm. This was pretty good. 1tbsp in my two-cupper. The mix of fruity sweetness and spice does remind me of a mulled drink, so I can imagine it as a substitute for mulled wine. Minus the acohol-taste, of course. It brewed to a purplish colour, which was beautiful (and again, reminiscent of red wine).

I tried resteeping it, which gave a hint of the spice again, but was nowhere near as nice or as potent. Though, that seems somewhat normal of tisanes.

I certainly wish they kept this on the David’s shelves! I’d certainly buy it.

This is the first tea I’ve ever just wanted to LOOK at. The glitter is quite pretty in the light — I was jokingly calling it the Twilight vampire of teas.

The taste reminds me of Bigelow’s Constant Comment with the combination of orange peel, cinnamon, and cloves. However, the vanilla adds a different touch. The vanilla actually comes through much clearer than the orange, though. I’d like more of a balance between the two. That being said, the amount of sweetness added through the sugar balls and crystals is perfect.

Perhaps it’s just my love of constant comment, but I can’t say that this tea is my favourite without improving on the taste I already love. However, it’s a very nice take on a simmilar flavour pallette. I would love to have a cup of this while having an orange cake — I think that would be the perfect compliment, and add more of the orange flavour that I crave to taste more clearly in the tea.

I steeped two and a bit teaspoons in my two-cupper. First cup at five minutes — clear was very pretty. Second cup — some time later, with milk. I actually preferred it with milk — it added another nice layer that matched with the vanilla, and didn’t seem too bitter. However, it wasn’t anywhere near as pretty as it was clear. I guess you can’t have everything…..

Day 36 of my 101 days of tea challenge. Got a tin of this on the DAVIDsTEA boxing day sale.

I actually like this. The taste is reminiscent of spiced carrot cake, and is quite pleasant, if a little weak. It doesn’t resteep particularly well — I found it losing flavour faster than a lot of other teas. However, not bad the second time around at least.

The carrot is the strongest flavour, though not overpowering. It’s a rather subtle tea, and I think I might see whether a bit of sweetener might further enhanse it next time. However, it was perfectly good on its own.

Those who like carrot cake for the cake will probably enjoy this tea. Those who need the icing for it to really be a true carrot cake? Perhaps not as much. (I myself live in both camps from time to time, hense why I can enjoy this myself.)

Day 35 of my 101 days of DAVIDsTEA.

There was a rather sweet, floal taste to this tea — sometimes a little cloying, but still enjoyable. However, I found that the chamomile was a little too prominent, and the banana was not as visible as I’d like it. However, the chamomile, nor any of the flavours, rose to an unpleasant level. This is partially because of the fact that it’s an herbal tea — I purposely chose one today because I knew I’d be drinking it on and off for hours.

It was very nice when it cooled to a lukewarm temperature (which is unfortunately the only temperature at which I seemed to be able to drink the tea). I’d like to try more of this at a hotter temperature (ie: before it’s cooled down that much) sometime.

Still, I really wish that for a tea with banana in the name, said flavour was stronger.

This tea smells AMAZING. The apple and safflours create an absolutely stunning aroma.
Admitedly, it does not taste as good as it smells. It gives a sweet aftertaste, with just a hint of bitterness (though not overpowering) at 4:30 (the suggested steeped time was 4-6 minutes).

I found that the tea tasted best clear, but when given a while to cool. The flavours just seem more comfortable when the tea is no longer piping hot. Milk muddies it too much.

Didn’t like it as much as Bubbly, but I’ll probably enjoy using this to eccentricly replace wine on wine and cheese nights. (I’m a non-drinker, and these teas amuse me in that potential usage….)

Admittedly I didn’t like it as much as I remember the first time, but due to the fact that this tea singlehandedly turned me onto DAVIDsTEA (and is still a good cuppa), I’m refusing to lower my rating.

The tea actually has a scent reminiscent of bubble gum, which I’ve never been able to understand, though it certainly is pleasant.

As an experiment, I tried it three ways: clear, with milk, and with Baileys. I found I liked the plain more once no longer piping hot. The carrot leaves a nice aftertaste. Milk wasn’t bad, though it would be better with a stronger blend this way. I found that it was easy for the Baileys to overpower the tea, but that didn’t stop me from loving it.

So, it wasn’t bad all three ways, but hot with Baileys or slightly cooler straight, I think are the best ways to have it.

I have approximately enough for one more brew after today. I am going to miss this tea.

Day 32 of my 101 days of tea challenge and, saying as I am not very interested in the taste of alcohol or the mouth-feel of carbonation, what I rang in the new year with.

Unfortunately, I made my first cup far too strong — I wasn’t using my usual set of tools, and I think I may have put far too much tea in, so I’ve given it a second chance this afternoon/evening.

2.5(ish) teaspoons in a teaball for my two-cupper. Steeped 3:15 the first time, around 10 the second time. Let the kettle sit for a while the first time, and put an ice cube in the second, so I have no clue over the exact temperature either time, but it was cool enough not to burn the leaves at least.

When NOT made to be far too strong, the tea isn’t bad at all. It has a very dry taste to it, and the candied pineapple leaves a sweet, fruity aftertaste. There is also a slight sourness from it — not the bitterness of oversteeped tea, but just a slight sour tang. Seems to be better hot than not (I left the tea cool for a while and drank some lukewarm, and found that I preferred it hot). The resteep is nice as well — the flavour is still quite strong if you let it steep for longer (and not bitter at that!). I tried adding sugar the second time, but found this to be unnecessary — it didn’t seem to add much to the taste.

This tea’s scent — quite fruity — is also lovely. I think I might even prefer smelling it to drinking it!

I certainly hope that this is around next year. As someone unlikely to accept a glass of champaigne to ring in the new year, this could be a very fun substitute!

Day 31 of my #101daysoftea challenge. 1 tbsp in my… larger teapot.

I know this tea can oversteep easily, but I think I might have understeeped it this time. However, putting the bag in for another minute or so with each cup helped as I nursed this along.

The jasmine and rose create a floral taste that boarders on fruity. I found that a bit of honey brings out the full body of the tea perfectly.

I still don’t think I have the secret of a perfect brew of Three Wishes perfectly down, but I enjoy it more and more as I get closer to mastering this tea.

Day 30 of my 101 days of tea challenge… complete with mood music! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6_wLhUaJWw — the clip is also a perfect length of time for which to let the tea steep! Tee hee!)

2.5-3 tsp in my two cupper. This tea gets a higher rating than I would have given it on my own for one reason: my sister, a non-tea drinker, would actually drink it. If that is not high praise, I don’t know what is. (I was only going to give it a rating of a few percentages lower, but still.)

I did not find that it lived up to its claim of tasting like chocolate. I felt a little hint of it, more in the scent than anything, but not to the extent that the packaging seemed to suggest. A bit of milk adds the creaminess, adding to the illusion and making it taste very vaguely of a white hot chocolate.

Claims aside, this was a subtle but delicious tea. I would prefer something with a slightly stronger personally, but the taste was very pleasant. The coconut is the strongest taste, and apparently I enjoy it much more in tea than I do eating it. The Roman chamomile is beautiful to look at (I wish I had a clear teapot to watch them bloom and dance in the water!). Resteeped, it was even more subtle, though the flavours were still quite there and beautiful.

The gentle, subtle flavour of this tea is best drank on its own rather than with anything, I think, but is certainly worth getting, in my humble opinion.

Day 29 of my 101 days of tea. Had this today (well, I suppose technically yesterday now) at the DAVIDsTEA on Queen Street West. Steeped for around 6 minutes.

I found the taste to be quite floral — more than I’d like, really. Perhaps someone who enjoyed that sort of taste might find this delightful, but it wasn’t quite my thing. It also seemed rather one-note-ish, perhaps because I’m used to flavoured whites and this was straight.

I resteeped it with a half-full cup (the DAVIDsTEA cups are pretty big, after all….), and found the taste to even perhaps get stronger than the first time around. So, still didn’t like it, but was glad to see that the flavour was quite persistant at least.

Not my favourite tea, probably wouldn’t buy more of it (especially at $20/50g). However, it’s my first straight white tea of this challenge, so I’m glad I gave it a try.