M Send Message

Sipdown? (I’m new to this, sorry guys. But I did finish the last of this one that’s been in my cupboard for some time now..)

The last spoonful of leaves at the bottom of the bag always tend to make an interesting cup of tea. In this particular mix, I’m going to guess that the caramel pieces and salt are heavier than the tea leaves themselves, because they taste particularly strong today. That being said, I really liked this one. The black tea base is strong enough that it comes through, and the caramel isn’t so sickly sweet as to overpower the whole flavour. It’s a nice balance that gives me something sweet to enjoy without having to indulge my chocolate cravings. I bet it would work really well with milk, for those of you who enjoy milk in tea (I certainly do not).

This one was great to have around, but I’m not sure if I’ll buy more. I like it, but I don’t love it as much as other teas I’ve tasted that kind of fall under the same taste category. In recent weeks I’ve discovered Cream of Earl Grey by David’s Tea, which I’m pretty sure will fill my “sweet, soothing black tea” niche from now on. Still, it’s been nice. If you’re a fan of salted caramel but not super sweet teas, give this one a try.

Well, if you don’t like hibiscus then you certainly won’t enjoy this one. I personally have some mixed feelings about this tea.

I enjoyed the tartness of the hibiscus as well as the citrusy lemonade-like quality to this one. It makes a fantastic tea pop. I felt like the hibiscus almost hid the taste of guayusa completely. I don’t particularly love or hate the taste of guayusa, so I’ll consider that a positive quality.

However, the extreme tartness of this tea means that it’s not something I could ever see myself drinking in the morning, which is when I normally consume the more caffeinated varieties. It’ll have to be stashed away for those times when I need a late afternoon pick-me-up. Also, as someone with a variety of health issues and allergies that sometimes lead to my mouth and tongue being swollen and sore (not to mention chronic stomach trouble), such an acidic tea does me no favours. While I normally drink lots of tea on days when I feel crappy, I find I can only consume this one when I’m already feeling my best. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice treat on those days, but it won’t make my regular tea rotation.

Oh, Cream of Earl Grey. I love you so much. There’s no better way to study than lying in a sunbeam with my favourite, most soothing winter tea at hand. One of the only things I like about winter in Calgary is how soothing a hot cup of tea is on a quiet afternoon. And to think I wasn’t even going to let myself buy this one due to a self-imposed (much needed) tea buying hiatus. Good thing I have amazing friends who share my love for tea and are so thoughtful as to buy it for me for Christmas. It was so nice I could have cried.

I wasn’t really a huge fan of chai in general until this year’s David’s Tea advent calendar exposed me to a few new ones. It turns out that chai tea doesn’t necessarily always taste like the Starbucks chai lattes that have never really interested me. Imagine that! Anyways, I really like this one. My husband even got me a tin of the stuff for Christmas, so I think it’ll be a frequent choice for the rest of the winter.

Having been born in South Africa but mostly raised in Canada, the taste of rooibos reminds me of happy childhood memories and time spent with family. The spices and sweetness add a nice twist to a drink that’s been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, but not so much so that the familiar taste isn’t obvious. I love the combination of the cinnamon and peppercorns. It’s not too strong, but it’s spicy enough that it makes me feel warm and cozy inside. I usually let this one steep a little bit longer sot hat I can get the most out of the spices. I find that the coconut adds just enough sweetness that I don’t feel tempted to add anything to this one. It would probably make an amazing latte (for those people who are able to have milk, which I unfortunately am not).

All in all, I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who, like me, feels like winter will never end. It makes snowy nights seem more cozy and less dark and blustery.

It’s the coldest, darkest, snowiest time of year here in Calgary. It’s cliche to complain about the weather, but these days I hardly want to do anything other than drink tea while wrapped in my favourite blanket.

I once again reached the bottom of my tin of this tea today. Oh, how I love this one. I was hesitant to try it after reading some mixed reviews, but for the last two winters it’s been right up my alley. I even splurged and bought a fancy tin with a black dragonfly on the lid. I find the mixture or orange and spices warms me right up. The distinct fruitiness makes me think of tropical vacations while the spices taste like Christmas at home. It’s also got just enough of a caffeine boost to get me through the afternoon once my morning coffee has worn off. I will be buying more.

After hearing so many negative things about their business practices, I’ve been trying to move away from Teavana as one of my personal tea sources. It’s made much harder, however, by the fact that they carry this gem and that I’ve never experienced anything less than friendly and helpful customer service at my local store. Calgary Teavana seems to be doing something right.

Now, excuse me while I enjoy my last cup and mourn the emptiness of my tin (since this one is admittedly fairly expensive).

This one is really not for me. I appreciate the complexity, but I felt as though the rice made it taste vaguely like soup. I normally love green tea, but I couldn’t finish the cup this time. On the plus side, I’m learning more and more all the time. I guess I’ve finally found a type of tea that really does not appeal to me.

This is an old favourite. Even as I get more and more into straight teas and move away from the acidic, citrusy sort, I find this one hard to resist. I steep it according to the instructions on the Teavana tea timer app, which is usually around 2 minutes. With this amount of time, it doesn’t come out too strong or too tart for my taste. I’ll agree with others who comment that there isn’t much white tea to be seen in this one, but I feel that the white tea flavour would likely have been overpowered by the fruit anyways. If you enjoy teas that are fruity, full of flavour, and light on the caffeine, I would recommend this one. Now, if only it weren’t so expensive..

I’ve been meaning to try this tea for ages because it’s been recommended to me by so many friends. Today it popped up as Day 19 of my 24 Days of Tea collection. I was quite excited to say the least. I’m a huge fan of David’s Tea specifically for their sweeter, fun novelty teas, so I was hoping that this would strike a nice balance between the sweet vanilla flavouring and the black tea base.

I am absolutely IN LOVE. There’s no high quite like discovering a new favourite, even if my cupboard is currently stuffed with a huge variety of teas that I’ve declared “THE BEST EVER”. There’s no harm in enthusiasm, right? Sometimes I feel like my collection is getting out of hand, but since it’s safe to say that about 3/4 of the liquid I consume on a given day is in the form of tea, the cost of my hobby is money well spent.

This one brings back all kinds of happy memories. The gentle vanilla and total lack of bitterness remind me of one of the first teas I ever bought, which if I remember correctly was a Lipton Earl Grey with vanilla. This is obviously a much higher quality tea, but the taste brings me right back to my early university dorm days, mid-winter studying, snow, and happy times with friends as the semester came to an end. I couldn’t have asked for a better day to discover the DavidsTea version than this dreary December afternoon.

I have no doubt that I’ll be stocking up on this one, much like many of my tea-loving friends before me. In the past I’ve found David’s collection of straight green and black teas to be hit and miss, but when it comes to fun flavour experiments and comforting favourites, there’s no place I would rather shop.

I love this tea. It’s one of my all-time favourites. I first tried it as part of the Tea of the Month subscription that my mom gave me for Christmas last year, and have been hooked ever since. I keep trying to find replacements because of the steep price, but nothing quite compares. I love the lightly floral jasmine taste, and have never experienced the bitterness that you get with other green teas.

It’s made me sad recently to hear about some of the questionable business practices and poor customer service by Teavana. This isn’t something I’ve ever experienced in my local store, but it’s definitely made me reconsider how frequently I support the company. Now if only so many of my favourite, must-have teas weren’t from Teavana. Darn.

Day 18 of my David’s Tea advent calendar:

Mmmmmm jasmine. I love jasmine. I’m enjoying this on a cozy day off, while sitting in the sunbeam that shines into my living room in the early afternoon. If you don’t like jasmine then this probably isn’t the tea for you, but I’m personally a huge fan of both jasmine and straight green tea. The floral taste is quite strong, so I would definitely recommend a fairly short steep time. On the second infusion it tastes quite similar to the ridiculously priced Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls from Teavana that I love so much, only with a touch more bitterness. Maybe I’ll settle and start buying this one instead.