Stephanie B

There is a Murchie’s not far from me that I’ve walked by many times without going in, as it always seemed to be full of naff “British” pottery. So I only got around to drinking this tea, which a friend gifted, this week when my supplies of David’s Tea were running low. Well, more fool me, because it’s FANTASTIC. If you’re a fan of Starbucks’ sickly-sweet liquid chai mix, there’s probably not much for you here, as this is a peppery, fiery, spicy chai that will tickle your nose and warm you up with a forcible kick. It tastes of REAL spices, rather than “spice mix.” I think it’d be just awesome with some frothed almond milk.

Wow. WOW. It’s been a while, and I’ve been off drinking all sorts of fancy sprinkly chocolate jellybean marshmallow teas, and that’s been fun, but David’s have finally wowed me with a (fairly) straight tea.

I smelled Orchid next to Vanilla Oolong in the large wall tins at the store, and I said to the girl helping me that (for me) it was like the difference between smelling a fresh vanilla bean pod and smelling the yellow vanilla section of the big strawberry/chocolate/vanilla icecream combo packs (sorry, Vanilla Oolong fans): Orchid is fresh, natural and just so creamy, with none of that artificial vanilla taste that makes me run a mile.

Apparently this is a higher grade of oolong than the one used in Vanilla Oolong as it’s more tightly knotted. Steeped up for a good 5 mins, the oolong comes through light and delicate and the woodiness of it stops the vanilla-beam aroma from being too sickly sweet. Gorgeous.

No notes yet.

I have been down with a sore throat for approximately the last forever, and there’s only so many cups of Cold 911 a girl can drink. So, off to David’s to find an alternative. I picked this based on the pleasant, light chamomile smell; if I had known it contained liquorice, I probably would have run a mile. Just as well it doesn’t taste of liquorice at all to me, then (maybe I dodged the gross, gooey bullet and got a scoop with no liquorice nastiness in, but I’ve found this to be pretty much consistently the case). It reminds me of Mothers’ Little Helper without the sledgehammer “SLEEP NOW” effect, so it’s become my pre-bedtime sipper. Nice zesty aftertaste, as well.

No notes yet.

First, I must give a shoutout to the lady at the post office who intercepted this package after the postman had attempted to deliver it to the WRONG ROAD and written “return to sender” on it. Without her I would not be drinking this very fine tea.

So my tastebuds must be hyper-attuned to detect plum at twenty paces, because I find this tea PLUMTASTIC. From popping open the tea, I get strong ume – dark, cherryish, pungent – and after brewing for 4 mins, drinking it tastes like smooth, uncomplicated white tea with a tangy plum aftertaste. In between sips it’s like I’m rolling a ripe, delicious plum around and around my mouth. Best of all: absolutely no detectable stevia taste.

This tea packs a POWERFUL aroma punch. When I wandered back into the kitchen after steeping, it smelled like I’d lit a scented candle. This smells like how I wanted Read My Lips to taste. Yum!

On sipping, I don’t think it tastes anywhere near as strong as it smells, but it seems to turn out like Birthday Cake with less of that sugary-artifical maple flavour and a little more vanilla. And that’s fine, ‘cause I’m down to my last few grams of Birthday Cake, and I like these dessert teas for early evening sippin’. There’s only so many ways to make a ‘cake’ flavoured tea, after all.

So I wasn’t supposed to buy any more tea, as I’m moving house soon and I swear 90% of my stuff to be packed is tea tins. But as I strolled by this afternoon – Yessss! The David’s Tea $1 iced tea promo was on!! I got a travel mug of this iced and it was the perfect beach-side sipper. When highly chilled the tangy melon flavour really comes through and pops more. As the ice melts and it gets warmer, I taste a little more apple/juice flavour, and it’s still good but somehow tastes a wee bit more artificial. I guess one more tin can’t hurt…?

FINALLY A NEW WHITE (or mostly white) Davids’ Tea. Seriously, it’s been a while. And yet another tea that contains hibiscus, so sorry, hibiscus-haters; the girl at my regular spot and I joked that management must’ve bought a big old bag of hibiscus this spring, with the amount of teas it’s been popping up in. This is light, floral and a teeny bit tart on the finish. It reminds me of a fruitier White Tiger, which is a good thing. Just took a cup to go so will have to see how it comes out after a home-steep, but so far, so good.

This is a tea of two halves. Brewed for 1min 30 sec, it’s a cuppa fiery, gingery warmth that would be perfect when you’ve just come in from the cold, with a light peach midway through the sip – no matcha at all. Brewed for 4mins, it’s a smoother, ginger-tinged green with definite, woody/sharp undertones of matcha, but the peach is AWOL.

Too bad you don’t really get all the elements together (ginger/peach/green/matcha) as this was what convinced me to pick this tea up, but this is a good late-night sipper for me, especially as we move more into summer.

This is a bagged tea so good, I cheat on my loose teas with it.

I’m a big fan of David’s Tea Cream of Earl Grey, but for a no-fuss, perfect every time morning cup of citrus goodness, this little tea can’t be beat. I brew for four minutes and it’s perfect every time – light citrus notes at the end of the sip, pleasant golden liquor, just enough pep to ease a case of the mornings. Thank god my mum can post regular supplies to me out here.

I’ve been skeptical in the extreme of all these ‘artificial’, sweet teas Davids Tea’s been bringing out this spring – jellybeans here, sprinkles there, chocolate over here – what about a new fruity black blend, please?

But I think, after sipping my way through 15g of this, that it’s a winner. This is what I thought Buttercream would taste like – mapley, caramelly red rooibos. I brew for 5 minutes at boiling and it’s very sweet, so I don’t think I would reach for it often, but it would be great for those days when you’re trying to avoid dessert but still want something sugary to round off the meal. On certain sips it’s reminiscent of Creme Brulee, although I think that’s a superior tea.

I got this as a lovely surprise from Azzrian – thanks so much! It even gave the package it came in a lovely, fruity aroma.

I brewed this for 3 mins on the nose as I have a tendency to over-steep black teas. This is highly fragrant when brewed and yields light, juicy blackberry notes. I can sit by this and enjoy the aroma drifting over from the cup.

With the first sips, the taste is more floral and less juicy than other flavoured teas I’ve tried, and the black tea seems smoother and (as another reviewer pointed out below), tastes of good quality. I think this would be something I’d have as a breakfast blend on days as a change from Cream of Earl Grey. As I get further down the cup, it’s growing on me more and more. The slight sweetness reminds me of chewy sweets I used to have in the UK as a kid (in a good way).

Oh, Cream of Earl Grey. I don’t write about you the way I do about your flashy brethren (hellooo, Gold Rush – how did you sell out at my store so darn fast?). I don’t always treat you very well, either – this morning I forgot you and steeped you for 7 minutes due to an attack of Morning Brain. But you’re always there for me. You always come out smooth, creamy, and with a buttery, smooth vanilla aftertaste. You nevear complain or taste oversteeped the way Fantasy Island does if I so much as breathe on it for longer than 2 minutes. And this morning when I ran out of you I was devastated. You’re my unsung hero, Cream of Earl Grey.

To me, this tastes like a more strongly fruity, sour-er version of Pink Flamingo. I dunno, they’re weirdly similar to me given they both arrived in the Spring Collection at the same time. As others have said, this tea announces itself with a strong hit of hibiscus in the mouth and leaves you with a tangy, tart fruit aftertaste. It’s fine, but I prefer the balanced notes of Pink Flamingo.

Hot Ribena + Halls Cherry cough drop = Pink Flamingo. Not necessarily a bad thing, if as I do you like both those things, but this is a very tart, almost artificial tasting hibiscus/strawberry tea. I had a hot cup today and probably left the bag in too long as it was cheek-twingeingly sour. Could be good if you’re feeling coldy.

Of all the spring collection, this was the tea I thought I was going to pass on. Couldn’t have been more wrong. To me this is Goji Pop without the slight sickly-sweetness of that blend. I don’t taste much ginger, but the strawberry is pleasantly fruity without being too sweet, and there’s an afterkick of hibiscus (which I like). I imagine it’d be legendary iced or made into a tea-popsicle.

I take it all back, Checkmate!

Brewed this again at lower temperature and for a shorter time and it came out perfectly. Coconutty, smooth flavour – like Fantasy Island, but with less bite to it. A great afternoon blend.

Agree with those advising to steep this for 10 minutes. At shorter times it seemed thin on flavour but the magical 10 mins produced a rich, coconutty, creamy cup. It combines my favourite bits of White Tiger with Secret Weapon. That said, I’m sad that even 100g doesn’t seem to fill a tin, though!

You know a tea is fab when after drinking your first cup you immediately brew another. While there isn’t much of the black tea base to be had, the big juicy chunks of pear, apple and cranberry more than make up for it. It reminds me of Goji Pop, but with a softer, less acidic edge. Also makes an awesome popsicle.

The aroma of this tea in the tin is wonderful – complex, chocolatey, with distinct vanilla notes (from the white tea?). However, I guess I am getting the ‘scorching’ problem described below – brewing this as a black tea, even when being very careful with steep time, leads to a burnt cuppa that tastes exactly like a Starbucks americano (and not in a good way). I’ll try brewing against lower temps, but for now, colour me disappointed.

As this is a heavy/pricey tea, I was rebellious and brewed it with only 1 heaped tsp, for 6 mins. Came out perfectly! Juicy but not sickly-sweet, with a strong melon taste and just a hint of rosehip. (Not sure where the goji is, but I still love the taste.) Great for a refreshing cup on a hot summer’s day.

I think this tea works well for after-dinner; it’s got the nutty sweetness of macadamia nuts, mixed in with the earthy, rich tones of the mulberry leaves. My only regret is that steeping it longer doesn’t seem to bring out more of the rich mulberry taste, but otherwise, great! Apparently it only comes around once a year, so I’ll have to stock up!