DAVIDsTEA

Well, the Easter bunny came early this year and brought me the Spring collection! When I found it sitting on my bed, I immediately opened it and smelled all of the teas. This was the first one that I decided to try. The smell is really fruity and I found that the mango really dominated this tea over the pomegranate (this was a little disapointing as mango and pomegranate are 2 of my favourite fruits so I was hoping to taste them both in this tea). This tea however, is more sour than the other teas that they have with mango in them such as Mango Madness and even Mango Diablo; I attributed that to the pomegranate. Overall, this was a nice steep and I will be going back to it from time to time.

I’ve been on the hunt for good teas that make good iced teas to replace my orange juice addiction. I thought I found it with this tea. What I like is that it is a strong tropical tea – like others have mentioned it tastes like sunny d or simply orange or another cocktail blend. The green mate is present, but is not that noticeable when iced. I do prefer this tea iced over hot (I tried some in my teapot before it went in the fridge and it wasn’t bad either, it just wasn’t great).

Exotica is still winning for my favourite iced tea so far…

Another cause of the blahs – “It’s not good… but it’s not bad either…”
It’s a fruity tea with a heavy cocoa/coconut base which is probably why I prefer it hot over cold. Often with fruity tisanes, I much prefer them cold. There are better teas out there, I wouldn’t purchase this one. I don’t see myself craving it in the future either. Will happily use my sample since it reminds me that spring is around the corner. Then I’m done. :)

This is one of those teas I’m really glad I waited through a few cups to finally review. Initially, I wasn’t all that impressed with this oolong-pu’erh blend. I felt that it was too strong and the citrus edge was, simply put, icky.

I’m glad that I tried it again and and again. My room mate loves this tea – raves about it. And I agree with her (now). It’s a fantastic tummy tea if your stomach is upset. I’m almost through my sample and I’m starting to think it’s permanent collection worthy…

It’s a very delicate blend!

Sweet, but not a juice tea, it tastes great hot and cold, but when you’re drinking it hot it’s best to not let it be steeped too long.

This is by far my favourite choice from DAVIDsTEA. Organic, fruity, and PERFECTLY spiced, it is good hot and cold, whatever you’re feeling. I like it best steeped as long as possible, but it is good any way, honestly. It’s sweet enough to not need any sweetener, and herbal so no dairy. SO GOOD.
I would recommend this tea to anyone, enjoy!

I first tried this tea because it has a very enticing smell. I am a big fan of acai, and this tea is full of it. Not the best hot, but so lovely iced because of it’s strong, fruity flavour. It tastes healthy, try it iced with some agave!

I have wanted to try this tea for a while given that the ingredients sound like something I would like. I’m a straight tea fan, so I figured this would be straight tea with a bit of “oomph”. With that, I wasn’t disappointed. However, I was hoping that this tea would be more. When I drink a flavoured black, it needs to “sing” a bit – it needs to justify it’s existence beyond a straight black tea (which I was drinking exclusively prior to February). This one just doesn’t make the cut. It’s a nice, solid tea. I’ll finish my sample. But it’s just “meh”. Very pretty to look at though!

I really wanted to like this one. I really did! This is my first mulberry leaf tea and I loved the sweet smell of it. Brewed, I found it to be quite unpleasantly vegetal. I’ve tried with an assortment of brewing temps and times, but nothing makes me like this tea. Nothing. It’s so sad.

I thought I’d love this tea given how much I love cinnamon hearts… but… it’s just okay. As far as spicy teas are concerned, I’d rather brew a cup of super ginger. Not the best, far from the worst. Not something I’d ever get more than 25g of.

Pom Tango (one of Davids new spring teas) really did little to impress me, but I wanted a new spring black with fruit notes and landed upon Fantasy Island (recommended to me by the staff). At first I was hesitant given that it was raspberry and black tea. My first reaction to the scent was “oh no! grape cough syrup.” My nose is notorious for being wrong (ie. Secret Weapon) so I decided to give it a go regardless. I figured that it may brew up similarly to Chocolate Rocket, that I would be unimpressed and continue to use Chocolate Rocket in the mornings as my pick-me-up-I-need-to-go-to-work-now.

I was so impressed! The raspberry and the coconut work perfectly together to create a harmonious blend. I put a splash of milk in mine (no sugar) and it is absolutely wonderful. My curiosity is piqued to see if this would make a decent latte…

Overall, I’m very impressed. If you’re looking for a DavidsTea spring black because Pom Tango didn’t excite you, this is the tea!

Had a pot of this at my girlfriend’s house (she somehow still had some of the Spring Collection left in her cupboard!), and it’s important to note that she’s terrible about water temp and measuring leaves. At least I was able to keep an eye on the steep time.

Somehow, even with boiling water (on an oolong!) and too many leaves, it tasted awesome. Buttery and toasty coconut goodness. I have to say, even though it’s designated as a warmer season tea, it hit the spot on a chilly fall night. Raising my rating now that I know how durable it is. :-)

Received a little sample packet of this with my last order. And I’m glad I did! The dry leaf smell is amazing: toasted coconut and… butter? Yes, definitely picking up on a buttery scent – a little bit like popcorn.

Steeped, the smell is just as heavenly, only now that toasted coconut seems to just be fresh coconut. Mmmm, this reminds me of suntan lotion and the beach and warm sunny days; so good!

Taste is wonderfully smooth and buttery with a little sweet, tropical note from the coconut. The oolong presents as mildly vegetal, but in a way that works surprisingly well with the coconut. More of buttery, toasty vegetal than a “I just steamed up some spinach in this water” taste. Very well done.

This just may go on the shopping list!

ETA: Everyone was right; the second steep is amazing.

It’s been a long time. I’ve forgotten what a quiet evening at home feels like. I haven’t slept well in weeks. It’s nothing scary, just too many social obligations all at once. Not to mention that I just volunteered to be a part of some huge project at work. Why did I do that? I suck. Boy do I miss my me time.

So for the first time in weeks, I’m home by myself with no one to request my attention except my pups. Heaven. What’s even better is that I have a pot of this tea cold brewed. I see that most people are not too fond of it, but it just tastes like syrupy rose candy and green tea to me. Refreshing.

Anyway, time to prepare for bed. I plan to get up early so I can get some stuff done for this project at work AND still fit in my regular day job. So sleepy…

EDIT I forgot to mention that I bought 250 grams of this from DavidsTeas 40% off sale. I threw in a few other things to get the $50 free shipping minimum. So yeah, I have lots of this tea now! I am both excited and disappointed in myself.

So yesterday, I walked into work and my boss tells me “You’re working from home tomorrow.” And I was all stupid and said, “Huh? Wha? Why? Who said so?” I hope his respect for me didn’t just disappear after that senseless string of questions. Turns out the Friday before Easter tends to be real quiet since a lot of people take off to be with family and stuff. Neat! So here I am this morning, sipping my second cup of tea before work even starts because I still wake up at 7am, even though I don’t have my 1.5 hr commute today. :(

But this tea is really tasty so it’s okay to be awake! Last night I had taken a trip to DT since my bro in law is in town from Germany and his wife is addicted to two blends from David and needed refills. So of course I had to get some samples to try. And they were doing this promo where you get a free cup to go if you buy at least 2oz of tea! But I had to go to dinner straight after tea shopping so they put the bagged teas into a pouch for me to drink later. How nice is that!

So anyway, I had a cup last night before bed. It was tasty. Green and fresh, but also syrupy sweet in the way only rose can be. Smells and tastes just like my dad’s roses actually. Love it. The green base got a bit astringent but not so much that I didn’t enjoy it. Plus, I saved my leaves and cold brewed it overnight. I’m drinking that result now and it is divine. I’ve had rose congou black teas before, but I think I really prefer the green base. Tastes fresh and summery.

The end. :)

Lemongrass and coconut is a classic combination so how could things go wrong. And the spicy hint of ginger. yum! This tea is quite tasty. I tried a few sips from my bro in law’s cup last night. Then I saved his bag and cold brewed it over night. Just had the cup this morning. even tastier! Great iced tea. :) It reminds me a bit of Exotica, but instead of tasting like thai food, this tastes like a refreshing lemony coconut tea. Much better. :)

Delicious _ so smooth and such a perfect cup to start a morning with

Love this!! I’ve been drinking it almost every day since it was released! Just enough tart :)

This was perfect for my sore throat last night. Added a bit of honey and was able to get a few steeps out of it. Perfect :)

My first experiment with a loose leaf oolong. The dry leaves were incredibly enticing as soon as I opened the package. They smelled delicious with the perfect coconut aroma. I steeped it at 190 for about 4 minutes and the smell afterwards was not as nice. It almost smelled a bit overpowering.

Seeing as how I enjoy trying new teas with no additives, this one was pretty good. It was creamy but not too rich or overpowering as the smell suggested. I may add a bit of sugar next time thought, because it could be a bit sweeter.

SIPDOWN!

Made some iced tea out of this the other day. I must have oversteeped it because it was VERY flavorful, almost too much so. I had ‘sipped down’ the last of my Xanadu the other day as well, also iced, and preferred it. I think Xanadu was discontinued or was only a summer tea or whatever, but it was sweeter and more raspberry/cherry, which I liked.

I know this is supposed to be about Bear Trap though. It was a bit sour. I don’t LOVE blackberries so maybe that was what happened with my taste buds on this one. I dumped it down the drain. I don’t think that has so much to do with the quality of this tea, just my own personal preference. It’s very tasty, just not the taste I was hoping for!!

So you have the mother of all cake cravings. Like so bad that you’re tempted to pour syrup over toast in a paltry attempt to fashion your own (this is not worth it. Trust me.)

In times like these, I turn to this tea. This is the “cakeyest” blend I’ve had so far. It swiftly kicks the rooibos flavor aside, leaving it to whimper faintly in the corner. I like to use a generous amount of leaf and add milk for a creamy cake batter feel. It’s so sweet and decadent that it’s not an everyday tea, but perfect for when the craving hits.

Cake addicts rejoice. There is a cure.