Bianca G.

Taking a break from reading The Walking Dead to post a review!

The dry leaf smells divine; chocolate and almond-y goodness. Steeped, it smells like amaretto – nice and sweet. I added quite a bit of agave (reg and hazelnut) to this pot but it isn’t coming through. I only steeped it for 3 minutes and it’s a little astringent. That’s what I like about Della Terra Teas though, lots of flavour with only a short steep.

I don’t like it as much as the other teas of theirs I’ve tried, but this would make an excellent morning brew when I’m tired and need a kick in the pants. Holding off on rating it until I fiddle with the steep time and additives.

I’m the biggest sucker for banana and genmaicha so I simply had to order this, and I’m glad I did! I was one of one weird kids who loved that banana flavoured penicillin and my mother never had to fight me to make me take it. The smell of this tea reminded me of those days. For those who worry about the tea tasting like penicillin, it’s more of a banana flavoured candy kind of taste and the genmaicha softens it out perfectly. I’m not a cheesecake lover (again, I’m weird) but the creaminess in this tea is great.

Steep time: 2 mins. Added agave to bring out the creaminess.
Rating: 90 (banana and genmaicha? Yeah this is the tea of my dreams. Definitely rationing this one!)

I’ll have to play around with the steeping time because all I’m getting is a bit of chocolate and a lot of rooibos. Not my thing.

I bought this awhile ago, tried it and didn’t really care for it. I love banana flavouring when it’s super strong and I must have understeeped it because the flavour was too weak for me.

This tea was calling my name today and I figured I’d give it another shot. I was very surprised at how much I liked this. I added a bit of agave to give it an extra kick and I’m thinking that next time I’ll try adding hazelnut agave.

The banana flavour is very authentic and the nuttiness fills it out nicely. As much as I like it, I don’t think I’ll buy it again because it’s expensive (darn heaviness!) and I doubt that I can get more than one decent steep out of it. That aside, it is delicious!

Edited to add: Okay, the resteep was pretty decent. Sigh, why do I ever doubt you, DavidsTea?

I was afraid that I had underleafed this but luckily I did not! The last experience I had with a new-to-me tea company’s idea of strawberry left me with a glass of something that reminded me of cheap strawberry hard candies. Not fun. This, on the other hand, is a delight. It’s sweetness is counterbalanced nicely with spicy cinnamon. This is the perfect thing to drink while I read comics and listen to my cat slowly try to “help” take Christmas decorations down in the living room during this snowstorm.

Rating: 85. Gonna keep this one around!

My first day back to work is tomorrow and I’ve just had a nice big break full of family, friends and overindulgence in sweets. I need something that isn’t sugary and I need it quick. I’m on my second pot and nowhere near sick of this.

This is one of my favourite teas and was my first introduction to oolong. I’m not a big fan of orange in my teas but I’m crazy for teas that have orange peel, hence my love (and 100 rating) for this.

Still trying to figure this one out, so I’m not rating it, but currently my review is:

oh dear god why.

This tea was in my first 52teas order ever and it’s still my fullest pouch. Needless to say, I’ve had a hard time getting into it. I find peppermint usually dominates the blend it’s in. I didn’t taste anything but the mint in the first steep (2 minute steep, nothing added) but the second steep (about 5 or 6 minutes, a small touch of agave) was different. Now I really get when people say things like “Oh, the second steep is the best,” about a tea.

The second steep of this made it live up to its namesake. A foggy blend of mint and marshmallow at first until a malty vanilla creeps up from out of nowhere. Spooky and refreshing.

Sipdown! I have to say that I’m quite smitten with this tea. I’m glad I have another bag of it on its way to me. Drinking this with just a dab of agave to cover up the bitterness (which is barely there). I think this one will have to be a staple because I love how I barely have to add anything to it. Once I get the steep time down, I won’t even have to add the agave.

Second steep. Wow, delicious. Sweet black tea taste with peppermint in the aftertaste. Definitely getting a tin of this.

This is probably the seventh tea I’ve had from the DavidsTea advent calendar. And probably the third tea I’ve actually had on its actual assigned day. I am SO BAD at this stuff! And don’t get me started on my 52teas’ 12 Days Of Christmas which I may or may not have ripped into every single packet four days into the thing…

Sigh. ANYWAY. I’m very picky about peppermint in my teas. I think it’s because peppermint tea reminds me of being in hospitals as a kid (I always got it with lunch). I can still drink it but I prefer if it’s mixed with something else. That being said, this tea is perfectly mixed (well, according to my tastes, that is). There’s the refreshing peppermint that is blends perfectly with the spicy black base. And the sprinkles are too cute!

Boiling water, 4mins. Hazelnut agave and soy egg nog.

Enjoying this sweet and fluffy beverage at work. A nice distraction from what I have to do at work and the work I have waiting for me at home!

Rating: 80

Wow, I am gulping this down like there’s no tomorrow. I picked this up as a gift to myself for getting through hectic holiday shopping (which is my own fault since it’s Dec 22nd). The coconut and chocolate are definitely there (I’m glad I picked them up since they’re two flavours I have trouble tasting in teas). I added soy egg nog to it since it was the only milk substitute in the house and the spices are giving the tea a nice kick.

Boiling water, 3m30s. Rating: 75

After a disastrous attempt at steeping a tea that was supposed to taste like chocolate, I brewed up a cup of this and hoped for better results.

This was lovely. Without milk, this had a nice, creamy texture. I had a bit of trouble finding the chocolate and I know this might sound odd, but I think I was looking for it a bit too hard? Because when I zoned out and took a sip, there it was in the aftertaste.

A very pleasant and light in all the right ways tea!

I’ve never had lime Jello before, but I’ve had many a lime Lifesaver and this tea tastes exactly like one (after I added a squirt of agave). I’m getting from this the same thing I’ve been getting from Frank’s other blends – a nice, full flavour. Because of it being the holidays and money being tight, I can only order a couple of the 12 Days teas and this tea will probably be one of them.

Made a latte with this with vanilla almond milk and hazelnut agave. It.was.AMAZING.

I’ve had this many times but this is my first time logging this. I’ve been resteeping a cup of this all day at work and as soon as I got home I brewed up a fresh pot of it. It seems I can’t get enough of this blend!

Nice and creamy with real tasting strawberries, I’m so glad I bought a tin of this.

Boiling water, 5mins30secs. Rating: 85.

I usually don’t dig anything spicy or anything mint chocolate, but I was a fan of this.

It also probably had to do with the Kahlua I slipped into my mug. What? It’s the holidays, I’m allowed to relax.

(Boiling water, 4mins.)

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Day 2 of the Christmas sampler!
I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking it smelled like bubblegum. I was really happy to see that today’s tea has bananas. One of the first teas I tried from 52Teas was Monkey Fart (hee!). I loved the way Frank captured the banana flavour (it was punch-you-in-the-face candied bananas rather than the more organic somewhat bland banana taste).
1 tsp in 350ml of water steeped for 2 mins. I love the creaminess of this tea! I get a really strong banana flavour (but interestingly enough, it isn’t a candied banana taste. It’s a nice flavourful creamy banana taste.)with hints of orange and pineapple in the background. I’d really love to try this iced.
Like with the Cotton Candy tea from yesterday, I’m sad that I can’t order a pouch of this (but I’m still glad that I got to try it!).

2 tsp in 500ml water. Brewed in my Breville 1 Touch for 3 mins.
Holy. Moly. This is delicious. A small touch of astringency which was quickly remedied with a dab of agave. I’m not used to drinking black tea this bare and I need to start doing it more often because damn, I am in flavour country.
I’ve tried two other black teas by 52teas (Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake and Coconut Cream Pie) and wasn’t impressed by the base, but maybe I must have been overstepping or maybe this blend uses a different tea base because I am in love.
Scrolly button thing isn’t working on my iPod but I give it a rating of 85. Yum!

I ordered this tea because pineapple and coconut are two of my favourite things, but was pretty disappointed upon receiving it. I don’t consider walnut on my “Do Not Want” list, but they just threw me off in this tea. I can’t really pinpoint why I don’t like this tea (don’t you just HATE that?), but I think it might be because of the constrast of sweeter elements (pineapple) versus the what I consider harsher ingredients (walnut). Luckily my girlfriend likes this so I can pass this off to her!

Advent calendar tea (oh man, I am SO. BEHIND). It’s funny because I just reviewed another tea and said that I couldn’t get past the taste of cloves in it, but the cloves in this tea didn’t bother me one bit. In fact, I really enjoyed this tea.

I had this in a black mug so I couldn’t enjoy the sparkly swirl (boo). I love the combination of the cinnamon and orange peel (those are the strongest tastes I’m getting). The vanilla makes it so smooth but the clove gives it a nice sharp contrast. I didn’t have to add milk or sweetener because it already felt so full without it.

I can’t say this about many of the other teas I’ve tried from the calendar so far, but I think I may purchase this once my sample runs out!