Jules1

When I opened the package I assumed this was a white tea because the leaves didn’t look like those of any Darjeeling I’d ever tried. Ditto with the brew – very pale, yellowish-tan. Big, long leaves that looked green when they unfurled, too. But it tastes like a black tea! I wouldn’t call it weak, just subtle. Little bit of muscat, slightly floral. A good one to drink at night. Take a regular Darjeeling, and just turn down the dials a liiiiiittle bit instead of diluting or under-steeping it, and you get this tea. I usually drink black tea with milk, but I wouldn’t put it in this one because the flavour on its own is delicate and pleasant just with a bit of sugar. Pleasant surprise. Something different, and not what I would have thought I’d like, but I was proved wrong! Thanks, Stacy :)

I got this as a sample and was found it pleasant enough. Up against David’s Tea’s Toasted Marshmallow, this one wins, by a touch. The black tea base is stronger and the overall flavour is fuller and more substantial, but ideally I’d want it even stronger. It’s not perfect – there’s a bit of bitterness to it and this stranged smokey-perfumed note that puts me off slightly. Nice to have tried, but I don’t think I would buy it.

Strange, I don’t really taste much salt or brine at all. This comes across as a pleasant black tea, almost Darjeeling-like, quite crisp and refreshing. I expected a stronger taste of the salted cherry leaves but I can barely tell they’re present. Nice tea, inoffensive, just not as special as I expected. For the price, I expected something unique.

EDIT: After a few more steepings, I’ve nudged up the score a bit – if you put in a LOT of leaf, you get more of the sakura note, and then it’s better.

It’s a solid chai, nothing amazing but not bad either. The smell is a lot stronger than the taste when it’s prepared with milk and a little sugar. In fact, I wish it would have brewed up a little bit stronger because the spices really don’t stand out to me. I can’t pick out the individual flavours, except for maybe a little ginger. I wish the black tea was a little stronger as well.

It’s called Chocolate Rocket, but the strongest note I get is raspberry. It reminds me a lot of milk chocolate-covered fruit. There’s some natural sweetness, but not too much. A decent tea, but it hasn’t made me a big fan of yerba mate.

My pet peeve about David’s Tea (other than the fact that they don’t use the apostrophe in “David’s”) is that they put coconut in WAAAAY too many blends. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with coconut per se, but it’s possible to over-do it, and it can be nauseating when it takes over the flavour completely. Also, for some reason, it doesn’t really fit too well with the dark, strong black teas that I love with milk.

That being said, I really like Brazillionaire, precisely because they use coconut but don’t let it overwhelm the blend. Instead, by having coconut keep a low profile, you get that full, nutty flavour that gives the tea a heavier body and the lovely feeling of being more like a meal than a drink after you add milk. Coconut naturally fits better with nuts than with other tea flavours, anyway – the nuts provide the strong foundation to let the coconut dance very lightly around it (unlike their Buttered Rum flavour, which I hate because the coconut is overwhelming!). The black tea is appropriately strong to keep up. I still think Lupicia’s Marron Chocolat is the best example of a black tea with nut flavour, but this is still high quality. Probably my favourite from David’s Tea so far. Will definitely finish the ounce I bought, and probably buy again.

Got this as a sample. I had never considered buying it before because it seemed so simple – I mean, Lupicia’s got amazing unusual flavours like Marron Chocolat and Champagne Rose, and that’s what I gravitate to! But when something simple is done well, it’s worth it. This is done well. If you put a few vanilla beans in a jar of sugar and seal it for a few weeks, the sugar takes on the vanilla flavour, and this is exactly what I’m reminded of with this tea. I brewed it with milk and a little bit of sugar, and it’s remarkably smooth. A bit like a high-quality vanilla ice cream where you know they used vanilla beans rather than artificial flavouring, only not as sweet. I guess I would call it a grown-up vanilla, for lack of better words!

I don’t know if I’d buy it myself – after all, I’m still eager to try out so many of Lupicia’s unusual ones – but after drinking up this hot mug of it, I’m leaning toward “yes.” A great morning tea for when you want something more than a typical breakfast brew, but you don’t want to be knocked over with anything exotic.

I bought the bagged version because it was cheaper than the tin and they were out of just the regular loose tea. I have to admit, when I opened up the packaging I was disappointed. Whereas the loose oolongs I have bought from Lupicia in the past had tightly-rolled leaves that unfurled huge and beautifully, the contents of the bag were mostly small pieces of leaves and dust! I don’t know, maybe the package accidentally got crushed at the store or something.

Despite the absolutely LOVELY, strong, juicy mango smell (which is what convinced me to buy it), my expectations were lowered by the appearance, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the brewed tea tasted delicious. The mango taste was definitely there, both when steaming hot and slightly cooled down. With a small spoonful of sugar, it was perfectly juicy without being cloying. Very refreshing. I can only imagine that the loose leaf tastes even better!

I got this as a sample. I prepared it iced and wasn’t expecting much because I typically only drink black teas that go well with milk. Just black tea and a bit of sugar – what a pleasant surprise! The grape flavour was juicy and crisp without being cloyingly sweet. Just enough sweetness. I agree with the grape gummy candy mention. I don’t know if I’d go out and buy a bag of this, but it was tasty nonetheless.

The smell of the dry leaf is absolutely heavenly. Definitely get the chocolate and a hint of marshmallow, along with a tiny bit of cherry (but not as intense as Hearts & Roses). I’m not really getting caramel, but more like plain sugar. Brewed up hot with milk, it’s very smooth and sweet. That’s when I get a tiny bit of caramel and vanilla along with the chocolate. In retrospect I shouldn’t have added sugar, but a little bit is what turns this into a pure dessert tea. Very nice but I don’t think I could drink it everyday.

Pleasant enough, but I think this tea has too much going on in it and as a result no one flavour really gets a chance to shine. The overall result is a kind of generic sweets-and-spice taste. Not bad, but nothing to write home about or go out of your way to try. The delicious cinnamon-and-coconut smell didn’t live up to the taste.

Very smooth, doesn’t really need any added sugar. Definitely taste a bit of maple syrup. Sweet without being cloying or having that headache-inducing fake cake flavour. Excellent balancing act and probably my favourite one from David’s of the six or so that I’ve tasted. Let it sit and the dust from the red sprinkles rises to the top and form a bit of a film…which was kind of weird but not a big deal.

I honestly think this would have worked better as just a black tea rather than a black and green blend, because it’s a bit weak. Even when I steeped it for a long time, it felt like not enough once I put in the milk. Taste was like a graham cracker with a hint of cinnamon, sugar, and cream.

The marshmallows are cute but they don’t add much flavour, just sweetness. A good concept, but not perfectly executed – I’m glad David’s lets me purchase just an ounce because that’s a good amount to try a few times without feeling ripped off if it’s not great.

This wouldn’t have been one I’d have purchased myself – I prefer flavoured blacks to flavoured greens – but I got a tin of it in my Happy Bag last week and it seems to be one of Lupicia’s signature flavours so I gave it a try. Very pleasantly surprised. Served hot, the peach flavour is very authentic, not like a artificial chemical taste. Just the right amount of vanilla as well, which tempers the tartness of the fruit without being cloying. Despite my addiction to black tea with milk, I can definitely see myself repeatedly coming back to this one. May try it iced and in a bellini as well, now that I see people have recommended it!

Just one question – I noticed on the ingredient label that this contains artificial colouring. Uh…what? Is that even necessary?

The absolutely delicious fruity smell is what prompted me to buy this tea. It really is authentic, just like a pina colada, not artificial-chemical-smelling at all. The rolled-up little balls of tea expand like crazy into long, wide, lush-looking leaves. The taste is typical oolong, surprisingly not very fruity – maybe it’s because I’m brewing it Western-style – but a nice cup nonetheless. Leaves are good for several steepings.

A bit of a let-down. Like I always do with flavoured black teas, I added milk, and I expected a lot of creaminess and a rounded fruit taste. Unfortunately, the delicious smell of the dry leaves didn’t translate into the liquid. I really didn’t taste the white chocolate – it was more of a shortbread note, and a weak one, in my opinion. The apricot wasn’t very strong, either, so the overall effect was kind of unsubstantial. I like flavoured black teas to be really strong – marron chocolat probably being Lupicia’s best example – so this tea struck me as nothing special. I really wanted to like it, and I probably would have if the flavour had been stronger.

This tea is like a more savoury, “drier” version of Lupicia’s Sweet Autumn rooibos. Because it’s a black tea, it has the strong body and substantial mouthfeel that I love about Lupicia’s flavours (meal in a mug!)I expected it to have a bit more spice to it, but like others have said, it really is spot-on with the starchy sweet potato flavour. I have to add more sugar than I usually put in tea in order to enjoy this one, though. I guess the whole “pie” thing led me to think it would be more of a dessert tea when it really is quite savoury. Not bad, but not as tasty as I anticipated.

Compared to Lupicia’s other flavoured black teas, this lacks a bit of oomph, even when it is steeped for a long time. The caramel is rather weak – I think I get more of that deliciously syrupy, but not too sugary, caramel taste from Cookie! There is a slight bitterness to English Caramel even with milk and sugar added – and that’s not a bad thing, but it would be better if that bitterness was combined with a stronger caramel flavour.

It’s a good brew for when you want a more subtle black tea. Not terrible, but I don’t think I’ll buy it again. Still looking for the perfect caramel!

This tea has a lot of body and brews up nice and strong, which I like. Combined with milk, it’s almost like a meal! The cinnamon is present in just the right amount – not too spicy.

I love caramel, but this tea really doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it both with and without milk and there’s something strange about the creaminess of caramel combined with the more “green” and warm roasted flavour of the tea. They just don’t go together well, in my opinion, and the result is a thin-tasting liquid. I don’t think I’ll finish the packet.

I love this because it doesn’t leave the bitter aftertaste or acidic aftertaste that coffee does. With milk and a little bit of sugar, this has a nice full body and makes a hearty drink. I think I taste a little chocolate with the caramel and honey. I’m not sure what the purpose of the little strawberry bits is, because this doesn’t taste fruity. It seems impossible to over-brew this, so let it steep a long time. Yum! Also good with a little egg nog instead of milk.

The flavour is AMAZING. Like drinking Nutella, but without the cloying sweetness. This tea really has body, like it feels substantial in your mouth. Possibly my favourite of all the teas Lupicia makes – and that’s saying something because I’m absolutely addicted to them! Steep it a long time for the perfect intense taste, and use plenty of milk and a little sugar. I ran out of milk and decided to use a bit of soy nog…and it was actually pretty good. Warms you up on cold days. Strong enough to withstand a second steeping as well.

“Momijigari” is the Japanese word for going out to look at the changing autumn leaves. The smell of this tea in the shop made me want to try it right away. The combination of apple and apricot in the dry leaf creates a honey-like note for me, and indeed if I had to say which colour this tea evokes for me, it’s definitely that red-gold of autumn leaves.

When brewed (nice and dark), there’s a slight bitter or smokey smell, which may be due to how there really are autumn leaves mixed into the tea. Both with and without milk, this is really delicious, with a good balance between juicy fruit and black tea flavours. Overall, a creative idea, very well-executed by Lupicia. I have a feeling this would be delicious iced.