Kay Kanada

The Glow was another tea forced upon me by a friend.

Bias – I would never of my own accord by a tea described as a “floral elixer”. Blech.

First impressions – well, I see rose petals in the mix. Not a good start… And yet, it doesn’t smell all too floral. The cinnamon definitely comes through, and the rest kind of blends together as its supporting cast. So far, so good. Steeped, the smell is kicked up a notch to cinammon-scented flowers. eehhhh. I don’t like it. And yet… I like it. It smells inviting and warming and comforting. If odd and slightly agressive.

Flavour – huh, that’s not what I expected. It’s not that disgusting. Second cup: Hmm, that’s actually quite enjoyable. 15 cups later: Wonderful. Light and mellow, wonderfully calming, and all the flavors blend together instead of fighting for supremacy. Very nice!

Loveability – OK, I’ll admit it. I love a “floral elixer”. Especially before bed or when I need to unwind after a crappy day. This tea wins the award for Most Surprising Outcome. Oh, and I love the fact that you cannot ruin this tea no matter how you steep it. It’s fuss-free! A definate buy.

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Green Seduction is one of the teas I keep refilling. It was one of the first teas I tried from DAVIDsTEA, and I still drink it on a semi-regular basis.

First impressions – Smells juicy and sweet, but not overly so. Steeped, the pomegranate takes the backstage and allows the green tea to shine through.

Flavour – Very nice. The green tea is slightly bitter, so there is a perfect balance between it and the pomegranate’s tart sweetness. I really don’t taste the black tea in it, and wonder just how much of a purpose it serves…

Loveability – This is a tried and true tea. While I don’t go through it in record-breaking time, it will be part of my tea cupboard for many years more. This is a great tea to make in the teapot and to accompany studying. A definate keeper in my books!

Bah! The coconut in this tea is WAY to strong for my taste, and the raspberry battled with the other flavours instead of blending. I really don’t understand the fuss surrounding this tea…

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OK. I officially give up. I followed the steeping directions to the T(ea), and to no avail.

First impressions – This tea smells ok dry, very similar to Mom’s Apple Pie. It smells better once steeped, but still not unique or interesting. Also, I was super excited to be getting a kukicha blend, but… come on. There is simply nowhere near enough kukicha in this tea.

Flavour – Weak. Mild apple cinnamon flavor, not a hint of caramel, and this bitterness that I cannot seem to rid myself of no matter how I steep it.

Loveability – Unfortunately, this is a definate pass for me. Darn, I was really hoping for a flavoured kukicha to call my very own…

This tea really surprised me! I had no intention of bringing it home, but the smell of it was too intriguing to pass up.

First impressions – The blend smells wonderful. Once steeped, this tea has the most complexe, rich, warm, inviting smell of any tea I have tried yet. I REALLY love the smell of this tea. I think that is where the bulk of my enjoyment with a cup of this comes from: sticking my nose in the mug and inhaling…

Flavour – Very nice. Not chocolate, but I really didn’t expect it to be. However, it does have similar characteristics to chocolate, and is like a tea homage to the real thing. While the taste isn’t as complexe as the smell, it is still rather rich and creamy.

Also, I am astounded at how the four ingredients blend seamlessly together to produce such a smooth taste. If I had originally been asked to try this tea with no knowledge of what was in it, I really do not think I would have been able to identify any of its ingredient. Definitely intriguing.

Loveability – I tried this tea first as part of a tea tating party. (Yes, tea tasting is my idea of a party!) I have been craving a mug of it ever since. I finally got the time to enjoy one tonight, and it did not disappoint. I think I will definately have this as one of my top teas for the winter!

I had my third pot of this tea today, and decided to add milk to it, as well as a bit of sugar – delicious!

This was the underdog for my tea-tasting party for the fall DT teas. No one expected it to be good. " Another banana herbal? The summer collection one was bad enough, thank you very much!"

Bias – I love banana, and I enjoy it in teas.

First impressions – Visually, it’s one of my favorites. The smell of this one is really nice, and minimally “artificial banana”. Once steeped, it retains its smell, but it becomes more subtle and natural.

Flavor – I really enjoy it. It replaced The Glow as my evening herbal. Once it started getting really cold in the evenings, I transitioned this tea by blending it 50/50 with Exotica, and it’s awesome.

Loveability – It’s the only fall tea that I bought in large quantity. I won’t be heart-broken when I run out, but I’m definately happy I have this in my cupboard for the winter.

4 girls. 7 teas. 1 unanimous decision.

First impressions – This tea smells bad. End of story. It smells bad in the tin. It smells bad in the bag. It smells bad in the cup. Woah. We gave it a 0 out of 10 for smell.

Flavor – Reactions went from outright disgust to uncertainty. It doesn’t taste like figs and orange and cinnamon. So what does it taste like? Well, we all agreed that, whatever it was, it wasn’t good. 2 out of 10, just because we could still drain the cup out of necessity.

Loveability – If you’ve read this much, you know the answer to that.

I remade this tea today for a tea tasting with a couple of friends.

Why is steeping this to perfection so bloody hard?? We all agreed that this time it was understeeped. I tasted like hot water with lemon (where did that come from?). And we all agreed that it has so much potential and that it deserves another chance to show us how awesome it really is. I am certain that the third time’s a charm!

I have tried this tea twice now, with a year between those tasting experiences. My response is the same. It is a BEAUTIFUL tea. It smells intriguing. It tastes like, well, not like much. A hint of chocolate. A hint of spice. A lot of water. And not much interest on my part.

Today I hosted a couple of my close friends for a tea tasting event. We tried all of the winter collection, and some of the new permanent teas from DAVIDsTEA.

This was by far the winner of the afternoon, with three out of four choosing it as the tin-worthy tea. (I prefered Snow Bunny to this, but, heck, I can get more than one tin!)

First impressions – The yummiest smell possible. I could just bring Alpine Punch around with me, sniffing it periodically during the day. Amaretto all the way. And, surprise surprise, it smelled just as awesome once steeped!

Flavor – Oh. Goodness. Gracious. Wonderful. Warm and rich and complexe and just slightly sweet. I love it. I’m just confused as to how this wonderful tea that smells like almonds and tastes like almonds doesn’t even include almonds in its description. Let’s review the DT description:

‘’We like to think it’s with a fortifying brew like this spiced rooibos ( don’t even taste it ), with apple ( nope ), cinnamon ( nu huh ), and ginger ( wha? ).’’

ALMOND.

Loveability – heck ya. This one is a keeper.

First impressions – I sent some of this tea to my best friend while she was studying in Ireland. When she got the package, she thought I had sent her gummy bears, as that was the sent permeating the wrapping! And I must say, when I open the bag, I do smell those overly sweetened confections. Steeped, though, it smells like Earl Grey with a little something extra.

Flavor – I really like it. It’s simultaneously a subtler and revamped Earl’s Grey. A little lesss bergamot, and a nice berry finish. As with all black teas, I drink this with milk, and it actually works.

Lovability – I can go a month without drinking this tea, yet, when I do, it’s a love affair for at least a week. Then, it drops off my radar again. Amazing? No. Simply all-around good tea that fails to disappoint? Yes.

As a hot tea, it acheives the three Bs: Bitter, boring and blah.

As an iced tea: it makes the gosh-darned best lemon black iced tea I have ever made! Too bad it just don’t really like iced tea…

There is something in this tea that turned me off. Maybe it was the taste of maté. Maybe it was the honeybush (which I have the feeling I do not enjoy in any of its incarnations). Whatever it is, it made me unable to enjoy either the taste or the smell of this one. Sorry, Honeybee!

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I had this one forced upon me by certain close friends of mine, all acting in my best interest I am sure! (I find it hard to dole out cash for something that looks like trail mix…)

I understand that some people ADORE Forever Nuts. I find it good. Just good. It tastes like oatmeal cookies. I like oatmeal cookies. That’s about all the enthousiasm this herbal – can it even be an herbal tea if there are no herbs? – this infusion brings out of me.

Are you the kind of person who loves to put some loose leaf in your teapot, add some hot water, and then pour servings into your mug gradually, letting the tea steep as you drink? So am I. And this is exactly the sort of person we shouldn’t be while having Hot Toboggan. Letting it seep leads the apples to create a bitter mess.

I will remake this tea tomorrow following a strict steeping protocole followed by an update here, but just wanted to warn you guys to be careful!

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This tea is heaven in liquid form. It is my addiction. First thing I do in the morning is make a cuppa of this baby with milk and sugar to go with my breakfast. Even while staying at someone’s house or camping, this baby comes with me. Life would not be complete without it.

I grew up on Salada and Lipton orange pekoes, and spent years trying to find a tea that satisfied my needs yet was loose leaf and (if only possible) organic. I tried DTs Orange Pekoe and English Breakfast, and they were good but nothing special. David’s Organic Breakfast is everything I ever wanted in a tea, and more. It has a rich, bold, deep taste and the most inviting aroma. It is bagged orange pekoe X 10,000,000.

If you have not tried this tea yet, please do. Your mug will never be the same again.

To start off, I am completely biased when it comes to tasting this tea, as I am a firm Electric Lemon user when the cold season comes around.

I got it as a ‘to-go’ tea one day when I was sick and wasn’t able to get my Electric Lemon (or medicine, as I call it) at home. The tea was ok. I mean, I was completely stuffed up so couldn’t taste much, but EL still packs a punch in the most dire situations. This tea was too faint to taste. It was soothing and warm, and I could catch a faint whiff of lemon scent, but it didn’t do more than any other tea to clear me up or fight the cold blues. Other than Electric Lemon, of course.

One day I will try this again as an actually tea instead of a cold fighter!

I just don’t understand. This tea of the month was the first that I was excited for. The first that made me want the summer days to go by just a bit faster. I really, REALLY wanted to get my hands on this tea!

October rolls around and I run into DT to pick me up some Carrot Cake. I grab the canister and take a big whiff, only to be completely turned around. WHAT is that unidentifiable smell? Why is it so potent? Shouldn’t this smell like carrot cake or spices? I decide to buy 25g anyway, just because I had been waiting so long and still had the higest of hopes.

Nope. Shouldn’t have done it. It tastes just as odd and unidentifiable and un-carrot cake as it smells. I’ve tried it twice to no avail. And I agree with Nurvilya, it gives me a headache. Overall, it’s just a disappointing lost cause.