DAVIDsTEA

So when I woke up this morning, my stomach felt really weird. I decided that meant I should stick to teas that would soothe my stomach. Consequently, I brewed this and North African Mint. Then I threw in a cup of Kusmi’s Boost for good measure (although I am not sure how soothing that would be although it sounded like it had potential :P). Anyways, while the teas brewed, I decided to have my breakfast and I ended up choosing iced cinnamon rolls. Probably not the best idea when your stomach is off. However, once I ate the 2 rolls, I felt better so turns out I was just hungry. I felt dumb. Haha.

Anyways, I made the tea so might as well drink it. This is not one I would usually reach for unless I needed it but drinking it now, it is not all together unpleasant. It is actually a very smooth cup. I always worry that herbals will be very over the top and bold with their flavors and yet they always seem to be more mellowed out than I anticipate. However, at the end of the day, this tastes more like natural medicine than a delightful drink, hence why it is not a typical choice.Also, the use of catnip in this still weirds me out. I think next time, rather than getting this, I will pick up some Super Ginger.

I was worried about trying this one thanks to the catnip so I have been putting it off for a while. Also, it smelled a bit medicinal to me but I decided to finally give it a try.

I find brewed, the smell is less medicinal than the dry leaves. The taste is not bad. The flavors are personally not something I would crave or think about but then again it is suggested as a tea that helps with upset stomachs. I can definitely understand how this would be calming for an upset stomach as it is easy to drink and finishes with a nice minty freshness from the peppermint.

Ultimately, this tea is not something I will be going out of my way to have but I will be happy that its around on days when I am not feeling 100%.

Here’s Hoping Tea Box #1
Well here goes my journey with this box. I love this one! Its literally mexican hot chocolate but tea version. The smell is so delicious you can taste it through smelling it! The spices and creaminess from the chocolate was superb. I added milk, tiny bit sugar, and cinnamon on top! Perfection! And perfect to relax with after work! http://www.flickr.com/photos/20741867@N05/10564089135/in/photostream/

Sipdown!! So long Jessie’s Tea. I loved you once but now I am happy to see you go.

I fell in love with this tea when I first had it. So much so, in fact, that I acquired quite a bit of it between picking up an 100g tin for myself and being sent multiple packages from the ever so generous MissB (thank you!!!). Unfortunately, I eventually fell out of love with this tea and ended up sending most of what I had left away. However, I left one of each of the packages MissB gave me at each of my different homes and now that I have returned to my family home and my mother has brought my stash back from Florida, I was reunited with 2 bags of this. Consequently, I decided to cold brew it to see if maybe I would enjoy this more that way.

Tastewise, the lavender is much more prominent in the cold brew. This is both good and bad given that I am not a huge lover of lavender but its enhanced presence tones down the lotiony aspect of the coconut that I got in the hot brew. Not bad, but not great. I think I will continue to have this cold brewed until I use up whats left because, if for nothing else, at least it is hydrating.

So I took a sip and my mother looked at me and said “you don’t look like you are enjoying that” and to be honest, I am not. I loved it for so long but my last few cups just haven’t been all that pleasant. I am noticing it is a pretty thick tea and the combination of flavors is bordering on being just a little too lotiony for my tastes.

The smell was all coconut tonight but the taste is most prominently lavender with a hint of coconut. Quite delicious, as per usual.

I brewed this for longer than usual and let it cool quite a bit and unfortunately that has all culminated in a cup that tastes slightly like suntan lotion. It isn’t horrible but it is also not the Jessie’s Tea I know and love.

Also, I just want to say thank you MissB!! Since you sent me the two packages of Jessie’s Tea, I was able to bring one to have in Florida, leave another in Toronto, and still have my Jessie’s Tea in Montreal. Thanks to you, there is Jessie’s Tea in each one of my homes so I always have it with me :)

This one always hits the spot. The lavender is calming and the coconut adds sweetness. This makes for a pleasant cup on any evening.

No latte needed for this one. Just straight Jessie’s tea. Perfect as always!

I am having this one again since I boiled the water before I figured out what tea I intended on having and this was right by the kettle, staring at me, begging to be brewed. Last time I made this I fell in love with it and though this time it tastes a little different (probably because last time it was made in a teapot and this time in a timolino) I still really like it. This cup, the lavender is more pronounced both in smell and taste but I don’t mind that at all. I am glad to see that upon second tasting I am still a fan and my first reaction wasn’t just excitement over a new tea.

I walked into David’s Tea today planning to buy nothing but tins however I ended up walking out with 250 g of Sugar and Spice, a Cocoa Canela Latte, and 25 g of this tea after it came recommended from the David’s Tea saleswoman.

In my search for a great non-caffeinated tea I have usually been disappointed so I did not have high hopes for this when I brewed a pot of it for my roommate and myself. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. This tea has a subtly sweet smell thanks to the coconut but it is not overpowering as I believe it is mellowed by the other flavors in the tea such as the rooibos, lavender, and cornflower. The taste is great – the rooibos is not overpoweringly woodsy and the lavender shines through without adding the spice that it can tend to have. All in all, I think the flavors compliment each other nicely to make a nice mellow tea perfect for any time of day. I enjoyed this cup so much I was not even bothered by the tea leaves floating around in it. This will definitely be added to my favorites collection!

I really love the flavours in this tea. The bergamot and fruit are balanced well. I don’t really enjoy berry flavours but for some reason, that’s the best part of this tea. It tastes great with milk and a little sweetener, but it’s pretty sweet on its own. I’ve never had it black so I’m not sure what that tastes like.

I was also lucky to get a sample of this tea with my last order. I was REALLY excited, because I love chocolate hazelnut spread, and was hoping this one would be a hit. It’s also really nice to try it before you buy it. Anyway, I was kind of disappointed by the small leaves. I mean, it’s an oolong…shouldn’t they be long or curled up? The smell of the dry leaf, however was very enticing. I started to steep it at more conservative parameters, even though the directions are pretty much in line for how you would steep a black tea. So I did it at 190 degrees, and was thinking 4 minutes, but decreased it to 3 when I saw how dark it was getting. Three minutes turned out to be plenty long. The taste is very nutty, full of hazelnut, although there is some chocolate in there. After a few sips, it reminded me a lot of flavored instant coffee. Not good. I want my tea to taste like tea! Well, so much for my high hopes. I wouldn’t sneer at another cup of this, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Out of the fall flavours that I tried – I didn’t bother with cocoberry mate, this one was my favourite. So sweet and creamy. I’m tempted to buy more of it – though I know if I do, I need to do it soon ‘cos of the winter tea’s coming out.

Made this as an iced latte with caramel syrup but I’m not a fan of it prepped this way.

Latte (mixed with Dessert by Deb’s Coconut Cream Pie Chai) Sipdown (282)

I wanted a latte and for some reason this is the tea I thought of. I started preparing everything only to realized I only had about 1/2 the amount of leaf I would need for a latte. I spoke to Roswell Strange and she suggested something with a lot of coconut would be a good pairing. That made me think of Coconut Cream Pie Chai which makes a great latte and I just got a new bag so I didn’t mind finishing off the old bag. What we didn’t take into consideration is the different spice mixes in both teas…turns out they don’t mix well.

It’s like weird fudgey cardamom and coconut. That actually sounds ok but there is more to it that is just making it all sorts of off. So, an odd way to say bye to this one and finish off the one pack of Coconut Cream Pie Chai but that’s two sipdowns so yay for that.

I buy this almost every year. I blame nostalgia because honestly it’s a bit of a muddy mess. I guess a stormy night should be muddy and messy so that’s spot on in a way. However, today I made it as an iced latte and tossed some chocolate syrup in and that really helped improve it. It’s fudgey with a nice smooth vanilla and a slight tingle from the chilli. It’s quite good this way.

Awesome iced latte with Death By Cocoa by Hotcups. See the review here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/403872

This tea is never really great but for some reason always sucks me in. I bought 50 grams my last order and am now having it as a latte. My McDonalds milk frothed which means my frother is not broken. However, this is milk and muddied/spiced chocolate and not an awesome latte, regardless of the frothiness.

This tea is a little chocolatey, a little coconutty, and a little dusty. It’s not my favorite but any means but it is one that is fun to revisit each year. Just a little bit comforting and nostalgic.

Tea smoothie for the day. The strawberry flavor from both the jam and the frozen fruit blend took over but it paired nicely with the chocolate/cocoa of the tea.

This tea has a billion elements in it and yet I am finding it to be a watery, jumbled mess. There is nothing that stands out but rather all the flavors are muddled together. It is not horrible but really not great either. This is not something I plan on restocking once I finish the 50 g I got for free (thank god I didn’t pay for it) last Halloween.