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Kittenna

298 Followers / 289 Following

Kittenna drank Dulce & Banana by DAVIDsTEA

Oh my goodness. I am SO EXCITED RIGHT NOW! My order from Verdant Tea arrived!! Roomie and I to have a fabulous tea tasting evening…. as soon as I actually do some homework. I’m so lazy…

Anyways, onto the tea that this note is actually for – Dulce & Banana! Of course, after enjoying the Banana Oolong so much, I started to get curious about other banana teas, and this one sounded delicious. Until I read that it contained chamomile. Big red flag – I hate chamomile! So I held off buying a test sample in-store while it was still there, but my curiousity could not be tamed, so I ended up requesting a sample in my last online order, and thank-you DavidsTea – they sent one! A nice big one too (probably because this tea is so light?) So now we’ll see whether the chamomile is too much to handle or not.

The dry tea smells mostly like caramelly banana. I’m hardly getting any chamomile, in spite of the fact that I can see the flowers. But that’s ok, the less the better.

Brewed, it smells like chamomile and not much else, at which I am disappointed. Please please please have some other flavour too…

And it does! Yes, I’m getting chamomile, but I’m getting a caramelly flavour weaving in and out, which is lovely. No banana, per se, but that’s alright.

Um, guys? I actually like this one. This chamomile-loaded tea. Is good. I’m actually questioning whether I really do dislike chamomile, or whether it has simply been in mixtures that I disliked before for other reasons. I greatly dislike Celestial Seasoning’s ‘Sleepytime’ and DT’s Sweet Dreams wasn’t good either… I wonder if those both have peppermint or something? Because I definitely do not care for peppermint in teas unless it’s mixed with, say, chocolate.

So I’m not sure if my palate is changing with all this tea tasting I’m doing, or whether this is just a pleasing mixture, but… I’m considering purchasing this one. Still have to use up the rest of my sample and make sure this isn’t a fluke, but… wow. Makes a strong case for trying ALL THE TEAS, even if they don’t sound appealing, because you never know…

ETA: Second infusion of this (steeped for 5+ minutes) is a lovely, sweet chamomile. I think I might be getting some lavender in the sip, which is quite enjoyable as well. I really am stunned at how much I like this. I am definitely making yet another online order from DavidsTea in the near future to make sure I have a supply of this one, barring strange flavours appearing in subsequent cups.

Also, I must say that this seems like a really great evening dessert tea for those evenings when one wants something sweet (because this is genuinely SWEET), but doesn’t want fruity, or rooibos (although this one does have some in it, it’s definitely not a dominant flavour).

ETA again: Third infusion tastes… like pineapple!? Wha?! It tastes very tropical, and truly, like pineapple. I’m getting chamomile too, but… pineapple?! Very interesting. This is as far as I took it though.

2012-03-23 20:35:11 -0400

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LiberTEAS 2012-03-23 21:29:19 -0400

Not all chamomile is created equal. There are some chamomiles that I actually enjoy, while others, not so much.

ScottTeaMan 2012-03-23 21:43:26 -0400

I agree.

Kittenna 2012-03-24 01:39:11 -0400

Just shows that you shouldn’t knock something until you try it multiple ways, I guess! I am pretty blown away by this tea, so much so that I think I’ll no longer reject teas with chamomile until I’ve tried them! I’m not sure I’d be quite as keen about a straight chamomile tea, but who knows!

Indigobloom 2012-03-24 09:31:52 -0400

wow you likey a chammy tea!! yay! :P

ScottTeaMan 2012-03-25 17:10:22 -0400

I’ve tried Egyptian Chamomile in teabags (Stash), and their loose Chamomile, & I preferred their teabag version. It had something to do with how they cut it up to fit it in the teabag. Made the cup better in some way-intesified it!

Kittenna 2012-03-25 21:29:54 -0400

Interesting. I’m still not sure whether I like chamomile, per se, or whether the mix was just quite good. By the third cup, where it tasted like pineapple juice, I was getting a hint of flavour that I disliked, and I think I now remember the specific flavour that I had a problem with (not that I can describe it, of course!) My roommate and I have a small amount of ‘Sweet Dreams’ left; I feel like I should brew up a cup of that and really analyze it while I drink and see if I actually dislike it or was just prejudiced by the ingredient list.

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.