DAVIDsTEA

Backlogged sipdown. Irritated that this has chamomile and therefore isn’t a good choice right now, because I could really go for a cup of it right now!

(DavidsTea already recorded)

A nice creamy cup of this the other night, after which I realized it had chamomile and should be avoided. Sigh. I’m thinking I should just stick to straight teas the rest of this pregnancy so I stop getting into trouble!

(DavidsTea 99)

A is for… Apple Custard!

A day late in posting this, but it’s my first entry for Mastress Alita’s Ode to Tea themed month, in honour of National Poetry Month! And I did indeed drink this on the correct day (April 1), just had an impressively early bedtime of 8pm last night, and usually write the day’s notes late in the evening.

(Just to note, I have stolen VariaTEA’s fantastic idea for introducing each letter/tea, since I saw one of her notes before I wrote this – so thank you!)

So, Apple Custard. Pretty much as good as it ever was. Creamy delicious apple custard. I am moderately concerned that I couldn’t find an already-opened bag of this, and had to open a new 50g – I’ll be upset if I have less than 150g left. I expect it may be just not be in the usual bin and there might be a couple bags floating about somewhere.

Sipdown! 55/365

This is a cheater sipdown, for sure; I have tons of this left, but it’s a 25g package so I feel it’s worthy. Anyhow, had this yesterday and it was delicious like always. I just can’t get over the sweet, creamy aroma, which for once actually translates into the flavour.

Not sure this is a 95 anymore, but I still like it as a delicious, creamy, sweet non-caffeinated option. Yum.

Backlog.

The other tea I drank during the stupid overnight shift. Also just “okay”, but probably because the water from the Keurig wasn’t hot enough, and because I didn’t let it steep long enough. Second infusion was better as I left it much, much longer.

I dislike putting herbals in my travel mugs because they tend to “go bad” more quickly than regular teas, which can cause smells since I don’t always have time to wash my Timolinos immediately. However, I really wanted some Apple Custard, so did so anyhow. Which was okay, except that you really lose out on the aroma when drinking from a travel mug, and that’s half of the experience with this tea (and many others). It was still good though.

Made some of this into an eggnog latte shortly before coming home from my holiday, and although it was certainly tasty, I don’t think the flavour is bold enough for the eggnog (and since I have to use so much tea for a regular cup to begin with, I felt it was a bit of a waste to use like 5tbsp for one eggnog latte, just so I could taste the custardy-apple.

Dug into my new bag of this tonight. Yum. I don’t think I will regret my 250g purchase of this, and I love that it came in 5 separate bags, so I can keep most of the tea nicely sealed up until I need it :)

Sipdown! 978.

Another tea shared with my boyfriend’s mom. I don’t think she was as much a fan of it as I am, but that’s ok. Regretting a bit that I only got one infusion out of it, though, since it was pretty late in the evening and she must have discarded the tea before I went upstairs. Ah well. Creamy apple yum.

Soooo tasty, but still not sure if I want to stock up on it before winter’s over. Such a heavy tea, but so creamy and sweet and delicious.

Yum. Picked up another 24g of this to mix with the 24g of essentially custard-flavoured coriander seed that I previously purchased, and had to brew up a trial cup. Still a win, but I think a bit of the amazingness has worn off… but only a bit, because I still quite enjoyed it. And tbh, eating the raisins/apple pieces out of the infuser is pretty darn delicious too :D

Second cup decidedly not as good as the first. BUT. I also got the “bottom of the barrel”, as in, the tea guide called for another bag of tea to put in after he took out my 24g. So, I mostly got coriander seeds. The aroma is still there, though, and a bit of the flavour, although the chamomile is a touch more overwhelming. I’m pretty sure that if I go back and get a bagful that’s not from the bottom, it will be tastier, so I will probably do that and just mix the two. Annoying, but not the end of the world. 95% sure I’ll get at least 100g of this one…

Picked up a free sample of this on Oct 31st, since I needed a pick-me-up. And OMG… this is amazing. It does smell exactly like apple custard, very strongly custard-vanilla, with fruity apple and a bit of chamomile. Flavour is similar though a bit lighter than I’d like… but at least it does actually taste like it smells! The chamomile fits in quite well (and makes me think that this is the Buttercream alternative for this year). I’m really quite impressed… and have been craving it since I first had it yesterday. This might be a 100g+ purchase for me, but I’ll get another small sample first to be sure. So delicious.

I sampled this in store today. It was okay, but really made no impression on me. It just tasted kind of weak and generic? I was expecting much more, since I’ve ready lots of good reviews of it.

Pass the Stash TTB #10

I’m in utter love with this. LOVE. This tastes like buttered rum. Amazing. I really don’t know how David’s did it but it’s amazing. This is delicious.

Oddly enough, I had some rum last night at a Halloween party though I don’t normally drink it, so I have the flavor at the front of my memory right now. This tea mimics it very well.

So my brew last time was weak, so I over leafed and over steeped this and oh my lord was that a mistake. The smell is nauseating, like Christmas threw up in my cup.

It’s bad. It’s so bad. I’m not going to rate it because I may have just screwed it up, but it is awful.

I snagged an advent calendar! And I even managed to grab one in store for my sister in law. After last year’s hour sell-out, I wasn’t taking any chances. I had mine shipped to my folks in Tennessee, because that’s where we’ll be spending Christmas and it seemed like a good way to have a variety of teas on hand without carting them across the border.

While we were at the mall, I picked up 20g of the new teas and this is the one I am the most excited about. I adore the Sugar Plum Fairy tea by Celestial Seasonings and stock up every time I see it. I’ve been dying to find a loose leaf replacement and I hope this is the one.

It smells so good. So good. Cinnamony goodness. The tea itself is yummy, but there’s an odd licorice sweetness in the middle of the sip. I do not think I’ll be replacing my beloved sugar plum fairy with this any time soon, and I don’t even know if I’ll restock after this 20g runs out. I need another cup or two to help me decide.

Pass the Stash TTB #8

I have’t been getting through the box as fast as I’d hoped. Stupid life. But I’m really glad I grabbed this tea just now because it is amazing. A bit of sugar and it’s liquid blueberry jam in my mouth. And we all know my love affair with blueberries. So good.

Definitely staying with me.

Thank you CHAroma for sending a sample of this a while back! A few days ago I was planning on this tea for Halloween. Hope everyone had a great Halloween! I was sipping on 52Teas Candy Corn today too. (No actual bag of candy corn is in my possession this year! HOW?) Even though the black tea leaves here look on the smaller size, the brewed mug is very light. The pumpkin sprinkles are adorable. I love the squash/carrot gives the blend SOME sort of vegetation (though they seemed to be lacking in my infuser) but why don’t pumpkin teas actually have pumpkin? It seems like even one pumpkin would be enough ingredients for a LOT of tea. The flavor here only had hints of squash. I wouldn’t say this is a typical chai… it isn’t very spicy (mostly cinnamon). But it’s a nice one. Reminds me of Della Terra’s Pumpkin Pie.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // just boiled // 4 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 min

This is the first yellow tea I’ve tried and the only one that Davids Tea offers. They dry smell of the leaf is slightly muted, smelling sort of dusty, earthy, and grassy. I had the baristas at David’s brew this for me, so I hope the temp and time are good to go. The first sip feels almost caramel-like with something sweet, almost like honey. Further tasting brings out fruitier notes, maybe currant, maybe peach, maybe grape. This is lighter and nuttier than the other limited tea from Davids, the Blue Mountain Twirl. I’m not sure what yellow teas are known for, but this does feel somewhere between a green and a black tea, with light color and grassier, hay flavors, along with something tart and savory. I think I like the Blue Mountain Twirl better than Yellow Gem because prefer slightly bolder, brasher flavors, but both are delicious to this inexperienced tea sipper. Worth the try!

good

I bought a cup of this flavor as an indulgence, since I knew it would have a sweet kick to it. There is a good strong coffee flavor to this tea, since there are literal coffee beans in the mix, but the caffeine lift ends up being mostly from the mate tea. This tastes like a sort of grassy version of a coffee late. The white chocolate chips are very sweet and creamy, and the blend is not too bitter overall. It actually errs more on the dusty, green mate flavor side of things more than a true coffee flavor. It was a fun cup to order but too sweet for me to order on a regular basis.