canadianadia

I’ve flip-flopped over whether I was ever going to try David’s straight teas. I mean, I’ve always intended to, but I can never quite get my mouth to name any of the classics, when it has the option to say something like Bamboozled. As much as I admire my fellow Steepsterites who can actually taste and describe all the aspects of a straight tea, I do not have such distinguished taste.

Me likes me sprinkles

In all honesty, for me, the true appeal of Davids Tea has always been their jazzy flavors with the quirky little names. It’s just too difficult for me to ask for something classic when I can try something called Kiwi’s Big Adventure, Big Apple, or Cookie Dough. Every time I plan a trip to DT, I tell myself that I’m going to try at least one of their straight teas just to see what it’s like. But once I get in the store, I lose all focus and before I know it I’ve ordered a counter full of fun flavors and I eventually leave with nary a straight tea in sight. Seriously, sometimes I have the attention span of…

…

…whoops! Sorry, got distracted…

..Where was I? Oh yes! So Davids Tea had a $1 deal for their single serving packets of straight teas. It was as if that deal was catered to make me finally bite the bullet and give ‘em a go. I think I bought about 4-5 different types, and this is the first one I’ve tried so far. Just as I suspected, I get far more steeps out of this tea than I would out of my fun teas. And it really does taste delicious, it’s fresh and traditional. It tastes like fancy, you know, if fancy had a taste.

If I can manage to maintain focus for long enough during a future trip to David’s Tea, in the sea of jazzy fun-time teas, I would definitely repurchase this one. It’s tasty, it’s classic, and it’s a great option for my guests who are overwhelmed by the crazy flavors in my tea cupboard and ask “don’t you have any normal tea”. I’m sure they mean the commonplace bagged stuff, but if I serve this to them, I’m sure no one will complain.

We had some time to kill today while we were out, so we decided to stop in and have sandwiches and drinks. I don’t go to Tim Horton’s often so I’m not familiar with their tea selection. To order quickly I just asked for green tea. I was able to drink it, but it didn’t taste good at all. If I wasn’t told that it was a green tea I wouldn’t have been able to recognize it. It tasted bitter and murky and oh so disappointing, especially when compared to the yummy little chicken sandwich they made me. Furthermore, the price for Tim Horton’s bagged tea confuses the heck out of me. Their prices range by the size, but regardless of the size you still only get one tea bag. The only difference is that you get a larger cup and more water. But to confuse their logic even further, after ordering, we went back and asked for a cup of hot water, and they gave it to us in a large sized cup for free. whaaaaat? Now that’s a head scratcher.

The hubby and I went to Costco when we were hungry – big mistake! We rarely eat junk food but today we ended up coming home with a bbq chicken pizza, and a bag of frozen French fries the size of a toddler. I had originally selected a salad, but hubby found the fries on sale, and we just can’t pass up a deal. So when we got home I baked the pizza and a good portion of the fries and we ate too much while watching a less than mediocre movie. So surprise, surprise, my tummy is fighting back.

Grabbing my spearmint tea was instinctual, in fact I wonder if I subconsciously intended to sabotage myself into needing to try this tea, I mean, I bought it less than a week ago, and it’s the last herbal tea remaining in my untried stash…coincidence?…hmmmm…

This tea is minty and refreshing with an enjoyable natural sweetness. When I drink this tea it feels like a light shower for my insides, no, wait…that sounds creepy. How about, my intestines are smiling? …nope still creepy… Well whatever, just take my word that it’s a welcome feeling after eating too much junk food. The tea tasted lovely hot, and now that it’s cooled I’m still loving it. ahhh…feeling better already!

I’m not usually a huge lover of orange peel or clove as ingredients in most tea, but it works pretty well for me in this one. The little gold sugar balls remind me of the ones we used to use to decorate Christmas baking when I was little, you know, sugar cookies, cupcakes, etc. Overall it’s a pretty tasty tea, but not one that I will need to keep stocked in my cupboard.

This is my favorite oolong thus far. It’s lovely and light, and oh so delicious. The vanilla flavor goes together so nicely with the oolong. Although I got three steeps out of these leaves there was an obvious deterioration in flavor as compared with each preceding steep. That first steep though…oh my! Heaven

She’s a keeper!

Once upon a time, not that long ago, this used to be one of my favorite teas. (Did any of you think I was going to start talking about a fairy princess, with that “Once upon a time” start?) That was before Steepster, before my adventures into non grocery store tea companies, before my selection of loose leaf teas, and before all the good things that come along with a developing tea palate.

Side-by-side this tea can never compare to the taste, strength, and quality of my loose leaf teas, but still, I will always enjoy it. There are just too many memories associated with it, for me not to want it in my life. This tea aided me in staying up late to complete school projects, it accompanied many a meal, it provided valuable moments of relaxation during kitchen, bathroom, and various other home renovations, and I served it to the best real estate agent ever who sold our home for us, and is now helping us search for a new one.

This tea has a berry fruit scent that I now admit is a little artificial, but I still enjoy it. Why? Because of the memories. When brewed, the liquor is a definite pink color. I remember our agent asking for tea with milk and sugar and not thinking, I selected this one. It looked disgusting. Seriously, green tea with milk in it looks pretty nasty, but add the pink hue, and ugh! So very wrong! I told him he didn’t have to drink it, and I could make him something that looked more suitable for human consumption, but he said he didn’t mind, and drank it. He really is the nicest guy.

This tea is honestly nowhere near the best, miles behind the competition, but I finished my box today, and I plan on picking it up again in the future; If not for the taste, then for the memories.

I felt so groggy this morning. I don’t think I really woke up until the middle of my workout; Which likely means I was doing completely ineffective zombie movements during the first half of my exercises like I belonged in Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video. Greaaat! It’s better than nothing I suppose, but it’s certainly not the butt-kicking cardio I intended.

As for this tea, the smell and taste of bananas are plainly recognizable. I’m not sure about the dream or cream part of the description though, but I’m drinking it plain. Perhaps the creaminess might ring a little more true with the addition of milk and/or sugar? I enjoy bananas occasionally, but I have to be in the mood for it, and I’m thinking the same might go for this tea. It’s quite good especially in the way that it captures the taste of bananas, but it’s not a “gotta have it now” kind of tea for me.

I can taste the rooibos in this tea…I don’t love rooibos. I think the woodiness of the rooibos in this tea is a tad strong. This tea reminds me of the smell of landscaping cedar chips on a rainy day, with a touch of mint. Although I like the smell of cedar chips, it’s not something I want in a tea. Honestly, I didn’t like the first sip of this tea, but by the fourth or fifth sip I liked it enough to say it’s decent. I can taste the chocolate if I think of it, but it’s far from obvious. I don’t regret trying this tea, but I don’t see myself repurchasing it once my little sample is done.

I go a little refresh/reload crazy when Steepster gives me the “someone forgot to turn off the kettle” message. “Click …damn…click…damn…click…argh!” whoa…easy there drama queen :P

In my recent trip to David’s Tea I bought a little sample of each of the winter collection teas that were in stock. Sadly some of the collection was not there – sold out I suppose? (When I saw some were missing, I let out a mental “Boooo!” but I filtered that out before it escaped my lips ~ lol). Luckily they had cookie dough. I’ve been so excited to try this one ever since I first heard about it. I’m happy to say that it lives up to the hype that I created in my head…mmm…Delicious! The walnut is an interesting ingredient. If I think “walnut” while I drink it, I can taste it plainly, but if I think cookie dough, the walnut magically melds with the rest of the ingredients and gives that end taste of a cookie.

This tea makes me think of when I baked my first cookie as a child. Yep, I said cookie, as in the singular. I think there was supposed to be enough dough to make a couple dozen cookies, but I was really little so my lack of stirring skills ensured that a good portion was wasted on the floor and the surrounding mixing area. I also sneaked some tastes of the dough before I was caught and told not to eat it, for fear it might make me sick. Finally, I crammed the dough balls so close together that it fused together to form “The Uber-Cookie”. My parents tried to warn me, but eventually gave up. As my friend says, “life lessons- you can’t teach that stuff”. I’m happy to report that my current cookie baking adventures go a lot better. I dump less of the dough on the floor, and I now get actual separate cookies. I must admit, I still occasionally sneak a taste of the dough…mmmm….yummeh!

My tea stash has been shrinking and although I have a couple of tea orders on the way, my selection has been looking a little sad lately. Every day I think, “o.k. this is the day that the mailman is going to knock on the door with a special tea delivery”. But with each emptied packet and passing day of a tealess mailbox, I question if any of my tea orders will arrive before my collection is depleted. So I caved and treated myself to a Davids shopping spree which included this tea. I probably bought more than I should have, considering I have the mail orders on the way, but I bought sample sizes, so I tend to polish those off fairly quickly.

I was especially running low on the caffeine-free options that I drink in the afternoon/evening/night. It was busy at my DT store, so I selected this one based on a quick sniff. When I got it home I had a better look at the ingredients and realized that it had a few of my not-so-favorite ingredients including the dreaded cardamom. The very thought of cardamom makes my nose crinkle, and my brain think “ugh yuck”. I should also add that I tend to be indifferent to red rooibos tea most of the time, and cinnamon and rose blossoms are also ingredients that I don’t want to dominate a tea. This tea is an exception to my fussiness towards these ingredients. It’s delicious! I’m not sure how DT managed to find such a perfect balance of ingredients that I tend to be fussy about in my tea, and make them dance so wonderfully on my tongue. I kept waiting for the disappointment…Drank it hot – I liked it…Tried it cold – delicious!

Minor imperfection – This tea has a light grease residue on the top, and it’s left behind on my glass, which I suspect might be from the coconut, but it’s not that obvious, that’s just me looking for something wrong in a tea that’s so right. It’s not a tea that I’d keep stocked year round, as the flavors taste like a Fall/Winter tea palette to me, but I’d definitely look forward to repurchasing this as a seasonal treat.

I enjoyed this when I first bought it, but the more variety of tea and tisanes I drink, the less impressed I am with this one when I come back to it. It’s not bad, it’s just another tisane that gets increasingly tart as it cools, but with a coconut taste added in there. I’m glad I gave it a try, but I won’t miss it once it’s gone.

Thanks again Angel and Teavivre for the generous samples of this tea.

This tea has such a delicate and smooth flavor. It’s so light that I’m always amazed at the number of steeps I can get out of the leaves without any loss of flavor.

I don’t know why, but when I took my first sip of this today, it tasted weird. You know that smell you get when you water a bunch of house plants – that dirt smell. That’s what my first sip reminded me of. It was quite strange.

After my first sip I said “ugh!”
After the second one I said “hmm?”
After the third I said “mmm…”

I’m finishing off the last of this little sample I bought. I think I mentioned this in my last tealogs for this tea, but if you let this tea get cold, it has a creepy little scum layer at the top of it. Despite this initial dirt taste and cold-scum this tea is still delicious. I can’t remember if this is part of Davids regular collection, but if possible, I intend to at least buy another sample of this in the future. It’s yummy-yum

I just finished the last of this tea today while emailing our real estate agent and distractingly watching the movie New Year’s Eve (wow, that movie has a huge cast).

I believe this was part of the limited time Fall tea collection for 2012, but if this comes back next year, I’ll be getting another sample size. It’s fresh light and fruity whether I drink it hot or cold. The taste honestly doesn’t make me think of Fall, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

I’m still working on this very generous sample from Teavivre (thanks again Angel).

I love how much these thin leaves expand while steeping. The taste is light and satisfying and is somehow able to be steeped over and over again with no loss of flavor (I have been resteeping these same leaves all day).

I imagine the order I placed with Teavivre is making its way to me through this gray wet weather. I bought a few different sampler packs, and I look forward to tasting some new options.

Yesterday we went to a couple of open houses, then to a friend’s Dad’s Movember moustache birthday party (he’s battling cancer – hence the theme). By time I got home and finished some chores I was feeling tired so I slacked a little on my tealogs, so now it’s Sunday morning catch-up for me.

I polished off this tea last night. It’s not my favorite, but I’m not a big fan of red rooibos overall, so considering that, it’s pretty good. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that I’ll repurchase it, but I’m glad I gave it a try. I must say: I’m proud of myself that I made it through this tea without eating any of the pistachios. Hooray!

Excited Sidenote: I just got an email from 52teas – their 12 Teas of Christmas samplers are available – I ordered one – YAY! Did I mention that I’ve never tried 52teas before, and I already have an order from them on the way? I might be going a little tea order crazy, but I can’t help it, there are just too many yummy teas out there to try :) Here’s a link if you want to check it out for yourself http://www.52teas.com/2012/11/03/12-teas-of-christmas-2012/

At least I’m doing a good job of finishing off the previous purchases in my stash. I just had the last of this cranberry punch today. It’s so yummy good! It does get a little tart as it cools, but not overwhelmingly so. I would feel inclined to buy more if I was in the area of this shop again, and if miraculously, I wasn’t distracted by their other tea options. The empty tea sachet that the leaves came in almost smells good enough to eat…don’t worry, I won’t :D

I drank this tea last night to help soothe my stomach after it had a “run-in” with a tea that didn’t agree with me. This refresh tea eventually helped to ease my discomfort. I finished the last teabag and I plan on purchasing another mint tea, but not necessarily this brand. It was pretty good while it lasted, but I’m just too curious to pass up the opportunity to try something new.

There’s something in this tea that does not agree with me. Maybe it’s a combination of things. It just makes my stomach turn. They weren’t kidding when they called it “Lively” lemon. It feels like it’s coming to life and trying to escape my tummy. Ugh…I drank this last night and it upset my tummy so bad I had trouble sleeping. I eventually decided to try some mint tea to try and settle it, which can go either way for me, but thankfully it eventually helped me and I finally fell asleep.

I’m drinking soothing teas today after yesterday’s fun Halloween with a friend; we took her kids out trick-or-treating, and indulged in a few too many treats. For my costume I decided not to do anything scary because her girls are quite young, so I did a butterfly-inspired look. If you’re interested, please check it out on my Beautylish profile to see what the makeup looked like: http://www.beautylish.com/f/gxvmyr/butterfly

Although I’m not a lover as Rooibos teas as a whole, this tea is doing quite a decent job of changing my mind to think of them in a much more positive light. I don’t think I would go so far as to say that I’d repurchase this one, but I’m definitely going to be less hesitant to open my mind up to trying different types of rooibos.

This tea is good but, I don’t think I love it enough to say I’d necessarily want to repurchase it when it’s done. With ingredients like oolong tea, mango, and pineapple, I thought it would be a love at first taste, but there’s something in this that I don’t care for. Maybe it’s the safflower petals or I suppose it could be the Kombucha powder, since I don’t really know what that tastes like on its own? I’m not sure what it is, but whatever it is, it mutes the fruitiness a bit too much for my liking. I have at least enough to make one more pot of this, so it still has a chance to change my mind.

I had this tea when I went to a friend’s house on Halloween. I could get the blueberry taste, but it wasn’t a pleasant fresh taste, but more of an imitation blueberry. As with all other Stash teas I’ve tried, I can only get one decently strong steep from a teabag. It’s definitely not a tea that I would purchase for myself, but it’s not the worst tea I’ve tasted either.

The more tisanes I drink, the more I realize I really don’t care for hibiscus. This tea is decent when it’s hot, but as it cools; my mouth can’t help but pucker in protest at the tartness.

I can see that there are marshmallows in this, but the taste just doesn’t say marshmallows to me. I suspect the medium-light cinnamon spice taste overpowers the marshmallows a tad too much for me to experience the marshmallowiness. It’s still delicious though, and the taste reminds me of a warm home on a cold day

I finished this one today. I’m gonna miss it, but I see that Davids has introduced a new collection- so that should ease the pain. If this one comes back next Fall I’ll be sure to buy another little pouch, but for now I’m looking forward to what’s new.