DAVIDsTEA

Earlier today I was craving tea, but I was also craving hot cocoa.

Porque los dos? lifts up a little girl and cheers and eats a taco

…

So yes, I also needed a bit of a pick me up, so this tea was perfect. I decided to make a latte, but used too much almond milk, it was all I could taste…so I added a bit of cocoa mix. It was absolutely lovely.

So yummy. I adore cinnamon hot chocolate, and so this is right up my alley. My goal this week is to get in the habit of starting out the day with a single cup of tea or coffee and then not have any more tea until I’ve finished off my 1.5 liter bottle of water. So by the time I remember that I really want to have a cup of this tea, it’s usually after my 4 pm high-caffeine cut off point.

But this morning, I remembered! I’m so happy. I should have made a latte, though. What good is hot cocoa if it isn’t creamy? Next time, Gadget, next tiiiiime. It’s still yummy as heck and it makes me want to just sink into this cup and savor it. I love that the flavor of the roasted mate isn’t obliterated by the cocoa and cinnamon, it adds a nice depth to the sip. I used the brown sugar cubes again and I think I’m hooked on them. But this tea is a winner to me and I’m grateful to have 50 grams more of it! It is what it says, a great Mexican hot chocolate tea.

Soothes an upset stomach and wakes me up for class! I love how this tea looks in the bag, the little red lips and chocolate chips are the best part. There is a hint of mint in this tea but it’s not overpowering, which makes it taste great. Unfortunately you cannot re-steep the tea, as the first it’s used the chocolate chips will melt.

Great both hot and cold!

This is an Oolong for people who like black tea. I loathe black tea and I can’t get beyond that.
I can taste the pineapple and mango, and the kombucha adds an interesting note. I like kombucha somewhat, but I know some people find it gross.

This is a tea to sample, don’t buy it till you’ve tried it.
Blech….

I was a little less impressed with this tea tonight. I paid attention to steep time and water temp and still got a slight bitterness. I do like the berry and rosehip notes I am getting, but the astringency is not impressive. I am going to try a steep tomorrow at an even lower temp and just for a minute or so and see if that gets me anywhere, here’s hoping!

I am surprised how much I liked this tea! It is not perfect, but it really is not a bad tea. The rosehips made for a tart, but fruity tea. It did get a tiny bit bitter on me, but really, I was not watching my steep time anywhere near as closely as I should have been. I don’t know that I need to own buckets of this tea, but it is an enjoyable cup now and then! I am glad I gave it a shot and I don’t think I am going to have any trouble working my way through the bit that I have.

the dry leaf smells BEAUTIFULLY like mango, and the liqueur doesn’t disappoint. i put just a small bit of sugar to bring out the flavours and it’s just perfect. i predict i’ll be keeping this in my permanent stash.

Baileys Irish Cream. That was the first thing that came to mind upon my first delectable whiff of this tea. And for the record I adore me a good Bailey’s. I got this as a sample and something that surprised me was just how little TEA was in my sample. I have not purchased this in a regular amount so I don’t know if it is normal for this tea to have such little quantity of actual tea in it but tea leaves were very scarce.

I first steeped for about 6 minutes in water that was 205 as recommended on the instructions. I do try to follow the instructions the first time I ever make a tea I’ve never had before then I adjust if I need to. This time I needed to. The steep of 6 minutes was not long enough. I was a bit surprised at this because I am quite generous with the amount of tea I use. I like flavor so I will usually put a bit more then the recommended amount. In this case I used almost 3 teaspoons for my 16 oz mug. It was still too weak for my liking so I put it back to steep a few more minutes. Probably 10 minutes before I filled my mug.

My first sip of this was a combination of loving the caramel-like aroma wafting from my mug but expecting more in terms of flavor. It was still not quite right for me. Not as much oomph as I expected and I had the idea maybe some sugar would help. I added a generous spoon of German rock sugar and stirred it until it dissolved which took a minute because the tea had now cooled down a touch. To be honest it cooled down too much with all the fussing around I had done. I sipped it and it was just.. ok. Not amazing, not WOW! but just ok. In fact I kind of regretted putting in the amount of sugar I did. At first it seemed right but as I drank my way down it became just too sweet.

I really wanted to love this and I thought for sure I would. I was almost positive with it’s delicious aroma that I would be over the moon for it but instead I was left just short of being fully satisfied. ;)

But I do think I will give this tea the benefit of the doubt. I think my sample was very lacking in terms of the content of actual tea in it so next time I go to Davids I will mention this and ask to see their blend of this tea. If it looks more generous with the tea leaves I will give it a whirl once again because I do think this tea has the potential to be one of my great teas and I have a funny feeling I’m right in my guess that this sample I received is not a genuine reflection of this tea.

That being said, I will hold off on giving this tea a numerical rating until I have a chance to try it again.

Hmmm… so this wasn’t what I was expecting? I don’t know and words cannot describe yet what I feel about this tea… I was expecting it to be a bit more rich maybe? Decadent? When I smell it, I feel like it’s overpowering, but not in the overpowering way you smell a jar of cinnamon… there’s a harshness with it as well. It looks like someone scooped some dirt from Mars and said this is tea… and right now I am feeling like it doesn’t taste much better.

I tried it straight and then put some cream in it, and then added some milk. I don’t have a lot of experience with mate so I think the earthy taste I am smelling and tasting is the mate, but there is so much cinnamon. I feel like aliens from Mars are going to come down and tell me to drink this drink from their homeland because it looks equally as murky brewed. Any one have any suggestions on brewing this one? I didn’t have sugar in it either…

Well I guess I have 250g to play with and we’ll see where it takes me… heh opens gap between ring finger and middle finger like Spoc

I absolutely love this tea! This is one of the first loose leaf teas I had the pleasure of experiencing and well, I’m hooked! It has the perfect balance of chocolate and mint without either one being too much. I loved it so much that I was able to somehow coax 3 steeps out of just 2.5 teaspoons! Even the third steep was yummy (although I did sweeten it a bit)

My littlest guy who is nearly two wanted to see what all the fuss was about (yes, I was literally saying “Omigosh this is just AWESOME!” out loud. Well, naturally he demanded a sip. He loooved it. He climbed up and perched his little cute self on my lap and we shared sips together. He did not want to let go of the handle and when it was all gone he stared longingly into the empty mug. Yep, I felt the same way. So I brewed some more. :)

Now I know that coffee and tea really should not be on a two year old childs menu BUT this low caff treat is one that I just have to share on occasion with my mini-connoisseur. He loves tea and upon investigating I found out that rooibos tea is one that is actually fine for babies and nursing mothers so I think I will have to find a yummy one for him to enjoy once in awhile.

It goes without saying that this tea is absolutely delicious and it will be one that I won’t want to be without although I might have to fight the two year old for it ;)

[Backlog] – I was very surprised to open up the pouch of this tea to see large chunks of coconut and huge mulberries! Where’s the white tea? There are a few leaves in there, but it’s mostly coconut and mulberries. The scent of this blend is quite interesting, as well. It smells sweet, tart and a bit like juice. I’m starting to think that this might be a good blend for those who don’t like the taste of tea, but maybe the white tea will come out more in the flavor.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting this blend to taste like this given the ingredients! It’s certainly sweet and a bit creamy. I definitely see the comparison to caramel, but a version that has a tinge of fruit. The finish reminds me of almost burnt, crusty sort of sugar. Yum! I wish that the cup had a bit more body only because I think it would make it a richer treat, but it’s certainly drinkable the way it is.

I would recommend this blend for anyone who is looking for a unique, sweet tea. To be honest, I can’t really taste any of the white tea and wouldn’t know of its inclusion had I not read the ingredients list. I might try to fish around in the pouch to see if I can gather more leaves. I’m not missing the flavor all that much, but I’m not sure if the tea is worth the price given the large volume of coconut and mulberries.

Last cold steeped of the day (I made four timolinos last night and totally plan to do the same tonight!) This is always fun, tart but the citrus adds an awesome fresh note to it. This is a perennial hit with me and it did not let me down today,

I have not received the spring teas in the mail, thus this was my taste of spring from my own cupboard. Lemongrass, citrus, this is always a winner in my world. I love how things are finally warming up and I am feeling more like spring teas again! I even have the urge to cold steep again!!

I can’t not believe how busy my week got, and, consequently, how little tea got drank… The weekends are always the time for fresh start and I am kicking it off with this lovely citrus number. I always love how fresh and springy this tea is. I makes me think of warmer weather far before we are due for it. It is one of my first David’s tea, before I even understood the world of loose tea, but I always return to it. It is, surprisingly, one of the few lemongrass heavy teas that I adore. I think it is because the citrus downplays how grassy I find lemongrass can get.

I deviated from my standard winter fare of chocolate and warm flavoured teas to toss this in and admire the colour in my new glass tumbler. While the tumbler is quite the disappointment, the tea was lovely.

Tart, citrusy, it tastes like summer in a glass. And, even though the hibiscus and lemongrass both show up, it seems like they belong so I can’t begrudge them their place in this tea. I love reaching for this tea and feeling like it should be summer again. I can not wait until it is warm enough to ice this and keep it in the fridge!

Can I also add citrus and lemongrass to my flavour notes? Good thing they have me all prepared for when I hit the chicken soup tea!

free sample with the purchase
its nice sweet floral buttery green oolong. pale green color. rinse, 30 sec/45 sec/1min
i dont think i would repurchase it because i prefer roasted oolongs. But i would never turn it down

I’m preparing a Timolino of this as I type. I came across this a few weeks ago because it was discounted on the website. I have stomach issues so thought I would give it a try. I’m so glad I gave it a shot. The cost of putting this tea together would be substantial if buying the spices individually, so it’s nice to have them all together. And it works.

After reading up on these types of teas, I’ve learned that the longer you can steep it, the better it is (and the better it works). I would agree. I usually just get mine ready in the Timolino first thing in the morning and then it’s ready at lunchtime. Yup, I usually steep it between four and five hours. And it’s wonderful. I really enjoy the flavour, and I’m amazed at how well it works. If I sip on this all day, I don’t tend to suffer from my usual stomach problems (just general nausea and ickiness, nothing serious). It’s also nice after a Bikram class (even though drinking something hot after coming out a hot classroom can be difficult). It’s unfortunate that this has been discontinued. I’ve stocked up and hopefully it will last me a little while. I’ve gone through about 150g in the past month.

It’s become a very comforting flavour and aroma for me.

I got this tea as a gift from a co-worker. It has a great balance between the spices and the sweetness of the coconut and rooibos!

Steepster seems to have eaten my notes on this one (probably because they sounded so delicious). I wasn’t sure about this tea at first, to be honest, but it’s grown on me. I’ve actually only got a couple servings left before the bottom of the tin. This was one of my first David’s Tea purchases and even though it’s only been a month since I bought it, I’ve already got eight others. At this rate, I may as well just open my own shop! I’ll drink this one any way it can be made. Plain, with brown sugar (it does have to be brown sugar, though, not honey or white sugar or any other sweetener), with a bit of milk, steeped in milk as a latte…you name it, I’ve tried it, and it’s been delicious. I can see why this is touted as a customer favourite. If I’m drinking it plain, I prefer to steep it for as long as possible. Even in milk, I’ll usually let it go for at least fifteen or twenty minutes. You get a bit of a berry flavour in this one…someone in another review said “Strawberry Quik” and it definitely gets close when done as a latte. I can’t wait for my next one to arrive!

This was one of my first purchases from David’s Tea. I do enjoy it, but I wish that I could add some milk or cream to it. I feel like that would be great. Unfortunately, it curdles. And that’s just the nature of this tea, but it’s still a bit of a bummer. The flavour is light and fruity with a bit of vanilla; I definitely taste the strawberry though I can’t really pick out the rhubarb, other than just some tartness. The aroma is very pleasant, both dry and prepared. I do like to give this one extra brewing time. If I do add sugar, I add brown sugar. I tried it once with white sugar and it wasn’t great.

Not a bad tea, but all I really taste is the mint. There’s subtle valerian and camomile, which is actually nice, because valerian especially can be quite overwhelming. I like the flavour and the aroma of this tea, but I don’t find that it relaxes me at all. I’ve tried numerous “sleepy teas” and this is probably one of the least effective. I’ll finish my tin but I wouldn’t buy it again. I always brew this one for 10-15 minutes because you need more time with some of these herbs. Really, I don’t mind the flavour, but it’s not like minty teas are hard to come by.