Oh Canada

I was recently given 2oz of this tea from my Reddit coffee and tea exchange partner which beats the 10g sample I had in my cupboard. So it’s time to use this sample and see if I like this tea since I now have so much of it. :)

Holy kitty …. it smells just like maple syrup when it’s steeped. The rooibos is not detectable in the scent (thankfully). Wow I’m so surprised as the raw tea was not this potent.

It tastes like maple syrup too. I have a family friend that lives in Canada and when my mum visited a couple of years ago she bought me back a bottle of real Canadian maple syrup so I do have the basis for comparison. It’s sweet with dark sticky tones and a mellow smoothness. The rooibos base works very well.

Leaving this one short as I just found out my best friend has a brain tumour. Just got off the phone with her, been waiting for the news for a while but didn’t expect this. Shall review this properly when I can think straight.

Thanks to Jessie I can finally take this one of my Tea Bucket List!!!! Woot!

This aroma is amazing!

I might be a little partial as I grew up right on the line of Western New York and Ontario and I LOVE CANADA. As a Sabres Fan I grew up with BOTH anthems, too! AND…since I have been doing genealogy have found out that my Great Grandfather was born in Canada – apparently his father ran off with his secretary – to Canada – had my Great Grandfather and then came back to the states about a year later! The three of them were missing for approx 2+ years in the meantime…oh skeletons, eh!?

Anyhow…I LOVE THIS FLAVORED ROOIBOS!!!!

The maple is outstanding and the sugary-sweetness is right on! There are caramelly-notes and the honeybush is nice, too! It’s sweet and smooth and candy and maple Niiiiice!

Very nice!

Ahhhh! LOVE this!

mmmm…maple syrup. Quite a tasty rooibos, which is saying a lot coming from the picky rooibos girl. To me, rooibos is like that vegetable that you don’t quite dislike, nor do you quite like, so you always try just a little. For me its brussel sprouts, I feel like I’m on the cusp of liking them, but I’m not quite there yet. I’m not sure if that’s a relatable comparison, or if I’m way off in left field.

This rooibos kind of reminds me of something I tried from Della Terra Teas…Autumn Leaves, perhaps? I’m pretty sure I was surprised at how much I didn’t mind that one either

Late last night, I was in the mood for tea and a book, something sweet to go with a great book. So, looking in to my drawer, I realized that I still hadn’t gotten around to trying this tea! There was so much hype about how sweet and tasty it was that I knew instantly that this is what I needed to enjoy with my book!

It smells so Much like maple syrup that it makes me want pancakes! Deliciously sweet and rich! The bright colored leaf sprinkles and little caramel cubes make is super fun to watch steep.

Once steeped it smelled so delicous, maple all the way with a hint of wooziness from the rooibos that actually works really well! It is a brownish red appropriate for maple color. With a dash of milk added it tastes like a maple success! Wow… It is sweet and incredibly brassy without anything added! I added a bit of sweetener, just because maple syrup is meant to be sweet! I loved this cup! Sadly I only purchased 2 oz of this and I can imagine it is going to go fast! I hope that I will be able to get my hands on some more of it soon! :)

it snowed here this morning. the weather app called it a snow shower.
and it seems appropriate to drink this tea and all considering it’s named Canada. but honestly this will be the last time i have this tea. it’s a sample pouch i had left over from a davidstea order of the past. and even as i smell it now next to me … :( frowny face
i blame the honeybush. i fee like it dries my mouth out. idk
today hasn’t really been a good tea day. i brought 3 iced teas with me in mason jars. (on top of two warm brewed teas.) i was excited that they would probably be delicious and i might learn to like cold tea more. but dude i am really not into iced teas very much. i keep trying different things but i just can’t dig it. i wouldn’t be surprised if summer comes around and i’m STILL drinking hot tea exclusively.

Last tea of the day! I really like this. I’m not typically a rooibos fan, but if it’s dressed up right I’ll drink it, and this is delicious. Like eating a maple donut but not as sweet. As I’ve said before I’m not a big fan of sweetened tea, and this is just about right for me. A little sweetness without tasting like I just poured some sugar in my mouth.

My partner just tried a sip and said “I want pancakes”.

Holy maple! Wow. The scent of this one is POTENT, both dry and steeped. Delicious. I brewed it up last night and the mug has been sitting in my room all day, and it smells absolutely lovely.

I find it difficult to believe this tea has no calories – it is SO rich and delicious! So mapley. So sweet. I can taste the rooibos, but it isn’t taking over, so I can deal with it. This one’s another for the supersweet dessert tea pile. Will have to compare this to Birthday Cake – I think I prefer Oh Canada due to the lack of weird sprinkles though.

ETA: Second infusion is pretty good. Predictably less mapley, but enough remains to make me happy. Downside? I’m not sure what happened, but my little teabag thinger opened in the mug, so there were rooibos sticks EVERYWHERE in the mug that I had to drink around. Annoying… and that’s why I used the teabag in the first place… to prevent that…

Thanks Ozli!

So this is full of maple because Canada is the land of maple syrup, but it’s rooibos because… we like to go to bed early so we wake up all sugary and sweet and thankyouing and so-sorrying?

It’s probably the best maple tea I’ve had though!

I tried this one again today. Sandy passed it to us.

I still think there is some thing off with this particular batch. I get a lot of maple syrup and rooibos. There is a strange burnt taste. Burnt is probably the only thing I can really liken it to. It reminds me of brush fires.

It’s very sweet and would be totally awesome if the bad flavor would just disappear.

Oh Taryn! Heaping, great, grand hugs to you for sending me such a generous sample of this wondrous tea. Oh Canada is everything I’ve ever wanted every maple tea I’ve ever tried to be. It’s mapletastic! I’m making up words tonight, or this morning, because I’m sick and quite possibly delusional. My questionable mental state aside, I’m so enjoying this super good tea.

Got a sample of this from Krystaleyn although I think I sent a PM to Indigobloom thanking her for it lol Im SO CONFUSED!!!! Anyway so Im not the biggest DavidsTea fan but this one was nice. I can’t say it was excellent as a TEA but then it is a rooibos I suppose. I guess I just am not a huge rooibos fan. Unless I want something sweet and yummy and this IS sweet and it IS yummy!
I just really wish I had more decaf TEA in my stash for nighttime but I wanted something warm and soothing and sweet last night pretty late so this was my pick from my sample pile. The one thing I dislike most about DavidsTeas is the scum on the top of the tea from the flavor oils I suppose. This had that. Eweeee but the flavor was excellent!
Thank you Krystaleyn!

Steep Information:
Amount: ~ 1.5 tsp
Water: 8 ounces hot water spigot
Tool: make your own paper teabag
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes (using Steep.It)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: maple! sweet maple sugar, wood
Steeped Tea Smell: sweet maple, wood
Flavor: wood, sweet, warm
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: maple
Liquor: light translucent orange red

I won this in JonTea’s first mini contest!
What is the wildest name of tea you’ve ever heard of?
My Answer: Dragon Balls

Post-Steep Additives: 1 packet sugar
brings out the maple more

It’s yummy and sweet and soothing. I loved the little maple leaf candies. I’m not bowled over by it though.

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/06/davids-tea-loose-leaf-rooibos-and.html

I’m relieved this doesn’t taste as strongly as the aroma from the dry leaves suggests. I think I would have exploded from a sweetness overload! Even though it’s turned down a notch, this cup of rooibos seems to ooze maple syrup. I’m surprised the liquid doesn’t leave a sticky sluggish residue in my mug- the flavour is that vivid.

I feel like I should have a side of pancakes with this tea; this syrupy condiment needs something to accompany it. I wonder if this could be incorporated into some kind of recipe. The toffee flavour also reminds me of those delicious maple toffee pops. Oh, I want one of those so badly now!! Delicious syrupy snow toffee… maybe I can pretend to eat you if I ice this rooibos blend?

It’s lovely how the natural sweetness of the rooibos and honeybush pair to create such a distinct maple flavour. The rooibos is noticeable but blends soundly with the sugary additions of toffee and caramel.

I have a handful of teas I like to drink with Hazelnut Bailey’s and this is one of them. Alternatively, it’s good with some kind of milk as it helps cut back some of the overwhelming sweetness, and there is no doubt that this tea is very sweet. There’s a touch of saltiness to it too, almost like salted caramel, but it isn’t a dominant flavour. This is perfect for a cold winter evening but not something I would be able to handle all the time.

Now I know where to go if I ever feel the urge to down container of maple syrup.

Another sample from Bonnie!

I absolutely LOVE how creative DAVIDsTEA’s are. Pumpkin chai had little pumpkin sprinkles in it, this has little maple leaf sprinkles, another one Bonnie sent me has little candy cane sprinkles. And the flavors they come up with are so fun and playful. I love it.

This was no exception. As I said, there are little maple leaf sprinkles in the leaves, and it smells strongly of maple. What I like about it the most though-it’s not OVERLY maple-y. I live in Vermont, so trust me: I consume a LOT of maple syrup. And as much as I like it, I don’t want to drink it. I really like that this tea helps me out with that.

Yet another thing I like about it-it tastes like REAL maple syrup. Again, I live in Vermont. I know the difference between Mrs. Buttersworth and Premium Grade A. And this tastes like Premium Grade A. It’s sweet but not gag-you sweet, and it tastes very genuine.

I reallllllly like this tea. I think it’s my favorite I’ve tried from DAVIDsTEA yet. For the third time now, I’m from Vermont, so it’s hard to please me with a maple flavored product. But this is really good to me, and I will DEFINITELY repurchase it.

Thank you again Bonnie and thank you on a lesser scale to DAVIDsTEA for making a nice and smooth maple tea.

I have limited experience with Rooibos teas but this one is especially good. This has overall great flavor. I’m a fan of maple flavored things in general – cookies, candy, etc. So maybe I’m partial for that reason.

I used a splash of milk and really brought it together for me. Its like a maple latte. So tasty. Thanks once again Jackie T, I’m just starting to try out all these great dessert teas you sent my way :-)

Thank you Amanda for this sample.
It was the first tea I tried in my new forest mug from DT which is now my favorite mug ever. I already want to buy another one incase something happens to it. Here is a pic of the entire forest set. http://flic.kr/p/d8PVCS

The little leaves are what drew me to this tea. The first time I tried it, I found the maple and rooibos a bit too much for me, so this time, I made a blend using one teaspoon Oh Canada, and one teaspoon black tea. I called it Black Maple and it came out pretty awesome. Perfectly balanced, not too much maple or rooibos, and I was drinking it in the morning so it made a great breakfast tea. I found it to be very warming, so I would much rather enjoy it in cold temperatures. It smells so yummy!

Haven’t had this in 6 months? Really? Silly girl. This was another treat reclaimed from the back of our cupboard. Rather than being 7 or 8 deep on one shelf in the cupboard, our teas now live 3 or 4 deep on these little DIY shelving units we bought. I’m quite a fan of the new setup, really.

Anyway, Oh Canada! My home and native land…I love my country, I love Maple syrup. This is good. There are candies and caramel bits in the tea. Also good. I love sprinkles in my tea, (sometimes). Dry, this smells mapley, but a coworker said “not quite”. I disagree, but oh well. Steeped, even my coworker had to admit that this smells like maple syrup.

The taste is wonderfully maple, and I was getting a weird almost french vanilla cappuchino taste today. That was a fantastic thing though, as I enjoy cappuchinos, but not the sugar and fat in them. This is a richer, ‘thicker’ sort of flavour than most rooibos’, likely because of the addition of caramel. I think it was a wise choice, and this (much like mojito!) is actually becoming a fast favourite after months of solitude in my shelf. Luckily, this is part of the permanent collection, so i can replenish at will. I think this might actually be one of David’s Tea’s yummiest sweet rooibos!

As I carry on my mug, I’ve noticed that the taste thins out a bit as it cools. As with syrup (for me!) this is a bit better warm than cool, but delicious either way.

So Allie reminded me I’d forgot about receiving her samples today. (woops! and thank you!)
Pulled this one out since it sounded strange. I’m not usually a maple fan, but I’m noticing a lot of things taste better when just in tea.
Anyway, the smell out of the bag is in your face Maple. No getting around that one.
The Taste, for me, it good. I love the taste of plain rooibos and the maple adds a kick but doesn’t overpower. Not 100% sure I’d order it myself, but I do enjoy it.

Beginning of sip has bare, slightly bitter and almost salty taste. A taste that I can only describe as the scent from a blown out candle leads into the end of the sip. I’m guessing that this must be the earthiness of the rooibos coming through. Strong, authentic maple syrup flavour near the end of the sip and on the aftertaste. Honeybush is detectable in this brew. It would be nice if the maple syrup taste could carry through the entire sip.

Oh, my does this smell awesome or what? I am pretty enthusiastic about maple syrup. But I am also very unfamiliar with maple syrup, so feel free to disregard my impressions.

This tastes nearly as awesome as it smells. I can not really tell apart the caramel from the toffee taste and those two tastes from the maple syrup. To me, maple syrup taste is wonderfully exotic and plain wonderful, full stop. But and there is a but, there was something a bit artificial, a bit cloying about the scent, it lingered and lingered and seemed one-note rather than complex.

The tea base underneath is green rooibos with honeybush and just does not have the same strength, depth than red rooibos. It might be a better base for non-rooibos fans.

Lovely idea, a good tea, though it somehow misses being a perfect hit with me. Perhaps my opinion will change as I brew the rest of the package and I am sure I will and won´t take too long about it.