DAVIDsTEA

Last up of the new teas from last week is this one!

Unlike the other two that just came out (Carrot Cake & Choco Pistachio) which were blends I developed, this one is just pure spearmint. We’ve actually carried straight spearmint before many, many years ago – this one is very similar, just grown/sourced somewhere else.

We decided to bring it back since it’s something we get pretty common in store requests for, I think largely due to how it’s trending in the wellness space right now for helping people with conditions like PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) better regulate hormone imbalances. Of course, there are other “benefits” to spearmint tea too like helping with digestion or relaxation but it’s also just a delicious tasting infusion. I know I personally like spearmint tea as much (if not more) than peppermint tea, and I’ve been reaching for this one pretty often in the evenings as a tasty way to wind down for the night. I definitely appreciate that cool, crisp sweetness.

Hot is my preferred way to drink this, but I did have it cold brewed this past week and that was very fresh feeling too. Adding a pinch to a fruity blend would probably instantly create a mojito vibe that I think would by very appealing to ice or cold brew.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Another of the new teas from this past week!

I know I say it a lot (because I’m super biased), but I love this tea. I have spent literal years working on this blend. Five, in fact. We began trying to develop a new carrot cake tea before the pandemic and since then I have tried DOZENS of iterations of this tea before we landed on this one. My perfect carrot cake blend.

I won’t get into all of the pains of why the development took so long, but some of the spark notes are that we were VERY critical about making sure with got the combination of spices correct, along with an appropriate frosting note that evoked the creaminess and slight tang of the cream cheese frosting that is so signature to actual carrot cake. There were other things too. Like, we wanted a gorgeous visual for the blend, which I think we achieved with the stunning shredded carrots that were used and the little white frosting pieces that create beautiful pops of orange and white against the darker, more “brown” base of tea and spices.

And of course some people might remember Carrot Cupcake, the rooibos blend we carried prior to 2019/2020. Even though people seemed to have an interest in a carrot cake blend, that one definitely had some common points of criticism: sometimes it was too fruity/apple-y tasting and it was also really sweet/cloying with a jarring amount of licorice root. So, while this blend is NOT meant to be a recreation of Carrot Cupcake we did want to take all of those customer comments into consideration when crafting this one…

The tea base here is a combination of pu’erh and black tea. That gave us a really rich, full body that takes milk super well. The pu’erh is also so grounding with a comforting, natural earthiness that supports that sweet, clean earthy taste of the actual carrots. What we found when we went full pu’erh was that it was a bit too earthy and intense though and that the strength of the base actually detracted from some of the key flavours. So, getting the balance here was tricky but, imo, had some big payoff.

Picking the spices was import. There are some that are very classically included in traditional/homebaked carrot cake, and we wanted to be sure to keep the focus on those ones. Nutmeg and allspice in particular. But there’s also cinnamon, ginger, and just a tiny hint of clove. Nothing that deviated from what could be reasonably expected in actual carrot cake.

Despite the frosting inclusions, it’s not actually a super sweet tea at all. There is some sweetness, but mostly it’s a undercurrent of creaminess that nods to frosting without making the whole mug that profile. Similar to something like Pumpkin Chai or Santa’s Secret, we wanted to keep the profile a touch more tea forward and still leave room for people to add their own sweetener if they want more.

I’d honestly recommend this to fans of blends like Cardamom French Toast, Brown Sugar Bourbon, S’mores Chai, or the ones I mentioned just above this. It took so long to finish this blend, but I really think it was worth all the effort. It’s such a wonderful, cozy sweet and spiced balance that I hope so badly becomes the Autumn classic it deserves to be.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

After a bit of a dry spell with no new tea releases, we’ve released quite a lot in the last month or so… including three new ones from last week!

This is one of the three, and if you’ve spent any time on TikTok in the last few months you might notice that the flavour of this tea is pretty similar to a very viral food fad/trend that kind of took the internet by storm: Dubai Chocolate.

The reality is actually that I was working on a new pistachio blend before the obsession with the pistachio and kataifi filled chocolate bar was everywhere. So, it was kind of wild how this one timed out – and you can’t fault us for leaning in a bit while the trend is still alive. Honestly it is kind of like the chocolate bar, though I would call this a pistachio tea first and a chocolate tea second. The chocolate note is distinct, but if you’re comparing it to other DT chocolate blends like Hot Chocolate, S’mores Chai, or Chocolate Macaroon you might find yourself disappointing it’s not quite as richly chocolate-y tasting and dark/fudgy.

Instead, we focused on creaminess with more of a milk chocolate flavour that’s played up thanks to the use of milk oolong as the tea base. Very, very silky, smooth and buttery/creamy tasting in a way that I think benefits both the pistachio and chocolate flavours. If you’ve ever had pistachio spread, it’s a bit like that!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tea sachets. This is the most granola smelling tea I ever had, it even had that nutty smell. The tea is weak, I used two bags for a mug and it still tasted like a very watered down apple cider with extremely faint apple and slight cinnamon.

I got them for one dollar (!) so I really can’t be mad. Would not purchase this at full price.

sold for $11/12 tea bags

https://davidstea.com/en-us/products/forever-nuts-tea-pack-of-12-sachets

One of the new chai from this fall!

As is maybe extrapolated from the name of this tea, the inspiration is really centered around cocktails. In particular, I wanted to create our own spin on an Old Fashioned. Something aromatic and classic feeling, with that whisky base and a hint of orange bitters. To that point, this blend is smooth and aromatic with just a hint of pithy, citrus bitterness to go alongside a surprisingly complex mix of spices – namely ginger and cardamom. That’s our “twist” on this classic cocktail. I wanted to focus on chai spice that added aroma and depth, but not necessarily heat.

One of the cool ingredients in this blend is rum raisins. Even though what we’re trying to channel is whisky I think they add a beautiful complexity and authenticity in terms of capturing that alcoholic feeling. There is technically a TRACE amount of alcohol present in the creation of that ingredient, but it’s significantly less than anything that would be found in something like a kombucha, vanilla extract, or even what’s used as a carrier in most flavourings – and once you steep it with hot water it burns off. So, you’re getting less than 0.005% alcohol content in your steeped cup of tea. For that reason, we really liked this blend as a non-alcoholic spin on a cocktail. Something you could either drink in place of alcohol during, say, a holiday or new year’s party or that you could use as a base to add some alcohol to in order to make a tea cocktail.

I think most people will probably make this hot, which is of course fine. It’s very tasty that way, with an almost toddy-like quality because of the whisky flavours. However, obviously an old fashioned is served cold and because of that I’ve tried this tea a lot iced or cold brewed and it’s very good that way too – a bit more “authentic” to the inspiration. You could technically add milk to this without it curdling, as well, but personally I prefer it without.

Back when I was living in Saskatchewan I spent a lot of time in bars with some of my roommates, one of which was an Irish pub known for its extensive whisky collection. Even though I was not personally a big drinker of this cocktail, there’s a nostalgia to this cocktail for me as I was surrounded by friends and roommates who would go on and one about how to craft the perfect Old Fashioned. Most of those relationships ended poorly (largely because of the drinking), but I’d like to think that if they were to try this tea they would at the very least be amused by how I’ve worked to weave those two worlds of tea and craft cocktails together…

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Ooooo, I like this! It says to add 5-7 matcha spoons of this to your cup. I blended two into a half cup oat milk and it wasn’t quite enough. Doubled that and it was a little too much, but still good. This has a bunch of powdered coconut water in it, so it may have been okay to use water instead of oatmilk. The coconut water gives it a little sweetness. The turmeric adds a little warming spice. The matcha flavor is pretty faint. I like this! I wonder how easy it would be to recreate with turmeric and matcha.

My Mom and I finished off this older tea from my tea drawer. It makes a lovely latte on an autumn day. A dash of soy milk and a tiny bit of maple syrup for sweetness really takes it up a notch.

This ends up a bit savory, but still enjoyable. It reminds me of pumpkin ginger soup. I taste spices and earthiness. It’s pretty good cold in milk with extra sweetener.

We have a few new teas on the DT website this week, including this one that has been introduced to our “Garden To Cup” collection which is basically just straight and traditional teas. It makes sense – we’ve carried straight sencha, gyokuro, genmaicha, and matcha for years and years. So why not a kukicha!?

For people who may not be familiar with this style of Japanese green tea, it’s made from the upcycled/repurposed tea stems that were historically a biproduct of sencha and matcha production that were discarded. Sometimes they’re roasted similarly to hojicha, though in this case we went with a very green/unroasted form of kukicha. So, the green in the name describes not only the tea type but the greener style and taste of the tea.

Because this is made from stems, there’s a lot less caffeine overall so it’s a nice option for late afternoon and early evenings. And supposedly the stems also have a higher concentration of l-theanine, so you get more of that calm clarity. However, in full transparency, that’s not an element that I’ve personally done much digging into since it’s I find it less personally important to how/why I drink tea.

It’s still very nutty though with a mix of more oceanic and brightly grassy notes with some buttery elements to the finish. I personally prefer my kukicha a bit more toasty and golden, but I think this will be very approachable for fans of our Japanese Sencha and Gyokuro Yamashiro who are looking to expand their knowledge of Japanese style green teas without venturing too far away from the familiar flavours they already enjoy.

I think it’s always nice to see another traditional tea in the assortment, so I’m excited to see how other people react to this one!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

The flavors are a little mild compared to what I was expecting. I taste mostly matcha with occasional flashes of cinnamon. The final dregs really tasted like cinnamon bun at least! Tasty, just not too bold.

Oh, hello new tea friend!

Y’all, I know I say this a lot and I have a TON of personal bias but… I freaking love this tea.

Honestly, I think this is my favourite out of every single brand new tea that DT has released so far this year and will release for the remainder of the year. Now, obviously it’s not a secret that I do have a personal preference towards not just fruity teas in general but specifically cranberry teas. I mean, my all time fave DT blend is after all Cranberry Pear. However, the cranberry in this blend versus that one are pretty different in style. Whereas Cranberry Pear is smooth and creamy, this blend is all about the juice.

And, wow, is it ever juicy! Yes, there’s top notes that are a bit more expectedly tart from both the cranberry and hibiscus, but really this is just sweet and refreshing with really, really bold and playful notes of fresh squeezed oranges and this explosion of red fruits. Brewing it hot does bring out a bit more of the tartness, but even still it’s quite a sweet and “round feeling” blend. Juicy truly is the word to describe this tea.

When developing it, I started by looking at different cocktails like the Cosmo (which is becoming trendy again) but I was also really inspired by all these cranberry flavoured iced drinks that popped up everywhere last winter. There’s this interesting behaviour happening where cafes/coffee shops are releasing just as many new seasonal iced beverages as hot ones, even in the dead of winter. And so, of course, this tea is perfectly timed out for Thanksgiving but also Winter/Christmas and, with the cocktail inspo, maybe even New Year’s as well.

I mean, it is really flexible in terms of preparation. I already talked about how drinking it hot brings out a bit more tartness, but toss in a cinnamon stick or two and you can create a really lovely mulled beverage to warm up with. Personally, 90% of the time when I drink this tea it’s iced or cold brewed. So good all on its own without anything added, but steep it up extra strong and you can make an awesome concentrate to make cocktails with. Beyond my OG cosmo inspo, I’d reco trying it as a mimosa or even turning it into a big holiday punch with lots of freshly sliced fruits. And don’t discount this as a tea pop, either! That sweet, juicy flavour shines with a bit of bubbles.

I don’t know – I’m just really passionate about this one!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

There’s so much focus on matcha lately, but within that explosion of interest there’s another type of tea steadily breaking into the mainstream as well: hojicha!

Obviously DT has carried hojicha before – both as loose leaf and in blends. We’ve even carried a flavoured hojicha powder (peanut butter chocolate). However, we’re now finally carrying a straight hojicha powder. I think it’s LONG overdue. I mean, it’s absolutely no secret how big of a hojicha fan I am. Whether powdered, as loose leaf tea, or in a blend, there just isn’t really a limit to how much cozy I can cram into my life. This more medium roasted powder is super nutty with really golden, toasty notes of grains and just a hint of cocoa. So good as a latté! I’ve been drinking it a lot lately in anticipation of its launch.

Plus, unlike most hojicha powder which takes pre-exisiting loose leaf hojicha and mills it, this one is particularly special because the green tea has the veins/stems removed (just like you would with matcha) before it’s roasted and ground. It’s an extra step, but it makes a WORLD of difference in producing what is probably the smoothest feeling and tasting hojicha powder I’ve yet to come across.

And I’ve tasted A LOT of hojicha powder…

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DO9Y1zCkpfo/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oP0wUsbwDc

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

This is so smooth and fruity. It’s like mango ice cream! I love this creamy take on the flavor profile, as I feel like I get a lot more mango in this than I do in many mango teas that end up leaning too tart in their interpretations to capture mango.

I like this! It doesn’t remind me of maple specifically, but it’s a nice biscuity flavor. It doesn’t make a super strong impression, but I’ve enjoyed each cup of it sweetened with milk. The spices are quite mild, not what I think of for a chai.

The dry tea smells like raspberry sherbet. It’s different when steeped. I get some fruit, but I can’t tell if it’s strawberry or raspberry. Something almost grassy at the start of the sip. It’s a little sweet with a flash of tang. I don’t know what to make of this. I don’t hate it, but I’m not intrigued either.

One of two new chai blends that we’ve released for this year’s Fall Collection!

Hopefully it’s obvious from the name, but this is our iteration on the more classic Masala Chai profile. We’ve stuck with essentially just the classic spices most associated with Masala and then used a blended base of shou pu’erh and Indian black tea. There’s a world in which maybe we could have used only the black tea, and that certainly would have been a little more traditional but I think having both adds a really distinct rich earthiness and body that makes this bold blend especially good at standing up to milk.

And, to that point, it’s a phenomenal latte – especially when you take the little bit of time or effort to simmer it stove top! We were really inspired by the masala chai lattes that are so prevalently served by the chaiwallahs (ie. “street merchants”) in India which is partially where the Mumbai in the blend name comes from!

But how does it compare to the other chai in our assortment or that we’ve carried in the past? The closest thing DT has ever carried was probably David’s Chai which was a very classic Masala Chai on a purely black tea base. Both this tea and David’s Chai were unflavoured and focused solely on the spices in the teas. I would say between the two I find this one has more overall body, a bit of a deeper flavour, and less of that licorice-y flavoured caused by star anise or aniseed. Anise and aniseed are classic spices in a masala though, so we haven’t totally omitted it.

Compared to things we currently carry, the closest would be Saigon Chai. That blend could also be considered a riff on a traditional Masala Chai, but IMO it’s even more deviated than this one is. Also sweeter, more cinnamon forward, and a touch creamy thanks to the addition of a vanilla flavouring. So, for argument’s sake, I’d call this more “pure” and honestly probably better balanced in terms of highlighting the multiple spices included (particularly the cardamom) comparatively.

Different strokes, or rather chai, for different folks!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Backlog/Sipdown

This was the second tea I took with me to work on Monday. The folks at the office commented on how strong this was (it’s a tight space, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed with strong smells). Lol.

Tasting Notes:
Tart
Fruity yogurt bites w/sour tang.
I let it sit too long in my tumbler, so by the time I had the chance to drink it, it was room temperature. Would’ve been nice had I added ice!

When I opened the package, it smelled strongly of rose. Why did I buy this? The flavor is mostly sour rose too. I gave it to a friend who enjoys rose teas. I guess I was optimistically hoping for more prickly pear and aloe.

This is pretty mildly flavored. I don’t taste pear distinctly, though I can tell there’s something there other than matcha. I just wish it had a lot more flavoring!