DAVIDsTEA

This is a queued tasting note.

Commute tea! Made this with some added cashew milk; it was pretty good. The milk tempered a lot of the sugary sweetness and I was left with a brew that was essentially caramel, subtle but juicy pineapple, coconut and a little bit of a nutty taste with a rich, creamy mouthfeel.

My friend Paige, whom I made a tea sampler for, just finished trying all of the teas in the sampler and this was her overall favourite. She was sad that it’s no longer for sale. Admittedly, I’ve found that this is losing some of its novelty to me. Considering passing along the rest to her…

This is a queued tasting note.

I’m pretty well still enjoying this tisane, though I find I have to be in the right sort of mood to do so. Like, the mug I brewed of this a few days ago was fine overall but it just wound up a little too one-dimensional sort of sweet. And that kind of flat, straight up sweetness was just kind of cloying. It may have been a little better if I could pick out notes like the cinnamon, coconut, or apple to differentiate between the sweetness but in at least this cup that wasn’t the case.

Evidently I’ll be waiting to enjoy this sometime when I’m really craving something sweet and not just when I sort of want a sweet cuppa…

This is a queued tasting note.

I thought a cold brew of this tea might be a bad idea but I tried it anyway. However, I was correct in my assumption. It’s not that it tasted bad, per say. I did finish the entire 25 oz. of it after all which I wouldn’t have done had I found it truly awful. It’s just that it was very, very sweet with a weird combination of notes (caramel, pineapple, cinnamon, apple) that are simply just way better suited to a hot preparation.

The pink colour was gorgeous though. Like a sunset.

When this tea came back in the summer I picked up one of the 100g packages they were selling in store because one of my bigger tea regrets last year was not grabbing more of this despite how costly it is per gram because of the weight.

I finally cracked open that package I’d picked up yesterday; the smell of the sweet caramel notes, whiff of cinnamon, and hint of fruity notes brought me back to last summer instantly. I was in a really good place last summer; financially, emotionally, mentally, at work, relationship wise. So the smell just made me feel really, really happy.

I brewed up a hot cup and apart from not looking pink (which this definitely did last year) the taste was pretty much 100% what I had remembered it being, which was wonderful because usually when you’re craving something from a long time ago/feeling nostalgic about a flavour experience it doesn’t meet the expectations you’ve built up for it in your head when you finally get a chance to recreate the experience.

I drank the first half of the mug plain, and then for the second half I added a splash of Chocolate Seasalted Caramel Liqueur – it actually blended with the tea almost seamlessly; the one thing that stood out was the additional, faint taste of chocolate in the finish of the sip. I’d drink it this way again.

Boozey tea is probably one of the best kind of tea, lets be real.

Sipdown (113)!

Made in my timolino, and finally a sipdown which is a little heart breaking. I really, really enjoyed this one; probably the best of the carnival teas. If only it wasn’t so heavy (and therefore not cost effective at all) I would have really stocked up!

This last cup was bliss. Caramel. Chewy Popcorn. And actually more of a candied fruit sweetness than usual; I really got the candied pineapple in this! Mmmm!

Big Brother Spoilers:

Well, Derrick won and Donny got America’s Favourite Player (with second and third runners up being Zach and Nicole; the BB16 Holy Trinity of fan favourites) so ALL IS RIGHT IN THE BIG BROTHER WORLD! Fun Fact: Donny technically won more money than second place winner Cody because Cody only got the 50K second place prize – Donny won the 25K AFP prize, 15K for Team America, and received his 14K Jury stipend (first and second place don’t receive their stipend).

But more importantly; the guy who watched ALL of his friends in the house systematically get evicted until he was completely isolated and alone and who felt like no one liked him despite being probably the kindest player ever got to hear on National television that out of a record breaking 10 Million plus AFP votes, he won by over 5 million. Donny got to hear just how adored and cherished he really is!

Slay Donny, slay.

But yeah, uhh, tea and stuff? I honestly think this was the perfect tea for the moment: Popcorn and a show – right? Kinda works as a theme. And, after doing a round of three black teas something caffeine free was absolutely necessary. I did think it was going to be sipping this one down though: I misjudged how much I had left.

That said, I’m so glad I’m not sipping it down because it’s phenomenal and as much as I want to decrease my cupboard size I also want to get in as many tasty cups of this sweet, accurate caramel popcorn tea as possible! Delicious!

I really need to sit down and make my BBCAN 3 Audition tape: I’ve figured out most of what I want to say, but I need to actually sit down and record it. That means finding a video camera, though…

Taken with milk.

And huge dramatic sigh, because every time I drink this tea I can see my 50g bag dramatically decreasing in size – and this one is just so good! I don’t want to run out yet. I’m not ready to run out yet.

Also; Big Brother Canada 3 casting applications are out! I’m so very, very excited because this is the first year I’m old enough to actually apply to the show! I’ve been watching since I was 10 – this is a very big deal to me! And now I have to figure out how to make the perfect application video…

I so badly want to be the first person to get to represent Saskatchewan on Big Brother! SO VERY BADLY.

Ok, I’ve spent the morning lounging around talking to Steepster people on the chat thing, playing OctoDad, and watching TV – now to crack into the backlog I’ve got going on. Even if I don’t finish it, I feel like I owe it to myself to at least start it. Urgh.

I drank this one after my visit with my father, which went pretty good overall I suppose; he took Tre and I grocery shopping (I mean, we paid for our food – he just provided a car so that for once we didn’t have to make the awful walk home with tons of food or make several very small trips to the store), and then we went out for supper. And he actually brought me some “teaware” (at least, that’s how it’ll be used) from his trip to Yellowstone at the beginning of the month: a new 30 oz. waterbottle/thermos (it’s lavender purple and sleek with a cute blackbear on it) which is awesome because I’ve been meaning to replace the nasty, old dented red one I’ve had for years now (since 10th grade? So… Four years). Seriously; the red one at one point had this very elaborate Cthulu design on it which wore off the bottle two years ago; that’s how well used that water bottle was!

This new one is amazing though; aside from looking pretty it has yet to retain funky smells/flavour and make tea taste mildly metallic which is amazing; because those traits certainly put a bit of a damper on drinking cold brews at work.

He also brought me back this huge ass motherfucking Yellowstone mug. And, the mug is beautiful – it’s shiny black on the bottom half with silhouettes of different wilderness things/stuff related to Yellowstone and then the top half is a semi-matte metallic dark blue modeled to look like the night sky. Problem? Well, it’s easily 30oz. if not more – which means that brewing stuff in it? Not so much an option. I’ve been using it for matcha milk (but not totally full; that’s be ridiculous) and for matcha milkshakes.

Anyway; this tea was a sweet treat to end the evening with. I added in some milk and had it in my glass perfect octopus mug from DT and it was so beautiful; maybe even the prettiest tea I’ve enjoyed in that mug thus far. It was this amazingly soft, pastel pink! And it was a bit of a mind fuck too; because it tasted like sticky delicious caramel popcorn (just like the name) – but that’s not pink. So pretty! I think that’s the only way to drink this one now.

So glad I redeemed points for more of this one! I couldn’t have justified getting more any other way, and it’s delicious so I’m happy to have it around!

Link Drop Before Note/Story: http://www.upworthy.com/2-nerd-guys-shut-down-the-fake-geek-girl-myth-with-the-kind-of-logic-spock-would-be-proud-of?g=4&c=ufb1

So way back last week on my day out of the house shopping and running errands and stuff I stopped at two tea stores: Tea Desire, and DAVIDsTEA. At both I ended up stocking up on stuff. I also went to the Post Office and mailed off a birthday present for my little sister (more on that in another tea note coming up right away), and packages for VariaTEA and Cameron B.

From Tea Desire I got 50g of Sweet Toffee and 50g of Prickly Pear, since Prickly Pear was also the tea sample of the day I didn’t try it out since I’ve had it before and know I don’t love it hot nearly as much as I do cold brewed/iced. From DAVIDsTEA I got a bit more; 50g of Kiwi’s Big Adventure, 50g of this one (I redeemed my points for this one; it was the only way I could justify getting more given how heavy it is), 16g of Sangria, and 26g of Cotton Candy. I also got this one as a hot latte to go because I’ve thought it would be fantastic that way since first trying it. And man, I was SO right!

This was very rich and sweet (so not for people who are wary of sugared up tea blends), but that’s exactly what I was expecting given what this tea is based on. It had very, very strong caramel notes and a rich, buttery flavour that was distinctly like popcorn as well as cream and coconut notes. Even a week later I’m very fondly remembering it.

Just so good overall.

Sad Sipdown (148/155)!

This is what I chose to christen my new Adeline Horse mug with and I don’t regret the choice because this tasted like sticky, sweet caramel popcorn with coconut and fruit and just a whole mess of deliciousness – but I do still feel a little conflicted.

Like I said with my first cup; I didn’t want to love this one! But sadly I really, really do; it’s a fantastic late night herbal option and has some crazy delicious caramel flavour to it. Problem? Well, it’s super crazy heavy and therefore really not so cost effective. I bought 24g to mess around with, and that was enough for exactly two cups! I feel like it’d be a crime to spend $15 for four cups of tea. I just can’t justify that.

But I want MORE. Maybe I’ll just have to rely on my crazy tea twin VariaTEA who is sitting pretty with 250g of this one…

Damnit. Why is this so good!?

Damnit.

Turns out I like this one a lot more than I wanted to. Ugh.

I made it for my breakfast tea today because I actually, for once, woke up in time to make tea for breakfast and not be rushed drinking it. It’s sorta weird when that happens, not going to lie; I’m so used to waking up just minutes before I need to start getting ready for work.

It’s really, really good! It’s pretty much smooth toffee/caramel with hints of coconut and a kind of pineapple juice sweetness to it and the whole thing comes together in a way that perfectly emulates sticky, “smack your lips chewing” caramel popcorn to a tee. And, now I want to go pick up more of it because it’s really good. Downside? It’s sorta like Spiced Fig in that it’s a very heavy blend with huge pieces of stuff in it…

So, not really cost effective overall. Blah. Now I have to decide whether I really want this one. Boo to that.

One of my favorites — sadly just finished my bag and it appears that this was a seasonal item.

Another tea I haven’t had in ages. However, I recently reorganized the shelf with all of my rooibos tea tins and as part of that I brought a bunch of more neglected blends to the front for quick access. This was a nice evening cuppa. At first it read mostly just as sweet, but as it started to cool down that more distinct and almost vanillin-tasting spun sugar note really started to come through in such a comforting, nostalgic sorta way.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Steeped this one up a few nights ago because I was just craving something simple and sweet. Big check on both accounts. I love that the sweetness is so airy and light – definitely mirrors cotton candy in that way. I did taste the hazelnut brittle on the tail end of the sip which was interesting since I normally can’t pick up on the hazelnut in this blend.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Needed something a little sweet as an afternoon pick-me-up today, and this was the first thing I saw in the office kitchen while looking for that next cuppa. Honestly, though it was sweet, this was less sugary than I remembered it tasting. Definitely nostalgic, with that airy spun sugar quality that you would want out of a cotton candy inspired tea.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Hot cuppa! It’s been a while since I last had this tea and I just had the strongest and most unexpected craving for it. Mostly tasted like sweet and nutty rooibos, but you could really taste the cotton candy in the exhale after a sip. To clarify, though, the nuttiness was from the rooibos itself and not from the brittle pieces.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Cold Brew!

Not much to write here other than the fact it was the delicious and nostalgic fairy floss flavour I know and love with this blend. Definitely sweet but not heavy and I think that’s perfect for Cotton Candy!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Adventaggedon Day 14: Tea 3/8

Cotton Candy is not a winter/festive flavour so it’s definitely weird to me that this is now the third cotton candy inspired tea I’ve gotten across all the advents. It’s my favourite of the three though even if it was a little too rich/sweet for the mood and physical state I was in today. Because of that I only made a very small cup of it which smelled amazing though it tasted a little weaker than the aroma until it started cooling down. There’s something very nostalgic about Cotton Candy – both the tea and just in general.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Half sipdown.

Only a half because it was one bag finished off, but them immediately replaced with a new and fresher bag. It was a late night cuppa though, and not a bad one. Less flavourful/intense and distinctly cotton candy than I used to find it but good for curbing some late night sugar cravings…

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Cold Brew!

Had this one on my way to work on, I think, Tuesday. It wasn’t bad, but I feel like the flavour of this is just less intense/rich than it used to be? It’s not from the tea leaf being old; I just restocked with a very fresh bag of this tea – so maybe it’s just that my palate has changed enough from when I first liked this tea that the magic has been lost!?

What I ended up finding was that this tasted like a very sweet, woody rooibos with lots of the sugar “brittle” notes from the hazelnut mixture in the ingredients list. It was fine, and refreshing but not memorable.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Another sweet, decadent dessert-type tea steeped up during an evening when I was feeling a particularly intense sweet tooth. I’ll be real though, my sample of this tea is fairly old so it’s lost some of the “oomph” it once had. It still tastes really good, with that spun sugar sweetness – but the taste of the rooibos is stronger/more distinctly honeyed wood and the nuttyness of the brittle pieces comes through more distinctly too – it’s less generic sugary sweet overall. Usually that’s actually a good thing – but for a cotton candy blend? Debatable…

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Iced tea with milk! Reminded me a little bit of Dairy Queen’s Cotton Candy blizzard flavour that they bring back most summers – but less sweet. That’s a good comparison, for the record – especially the less sweet part. Really enjoyed this one!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Drank this one today.

I could tell it was a very fresh production because it still had that strong, almost booze-y. sweet cotton candy taste to it – from the flavouring still needing to air out a little bit. Still tasted good, just a wee bit strong.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Latte!

I went out yesterday afternoon with a coworker to have tea/brunch, and then explore one of the neighborhoods in the city that I haven’t been in before – this isn’t the tea that we met up to have, but rather a tea that I grabbed a few hours later while we were walking through one of the downtown streets on the way to the metro; because we just happened to walk by a DAVIDsTEA and, of course, I can always go for another tea.

So, I have no freaking clue why this latte in particular was SO FREAKING GOOD but I am not kidding when I say that this was the best Cotton Candy latte that I have ever had, and I’ve had a fair few of them. Like, someone get this tea guide an award because it was bloody amazing. So sweet and distinctly cotton candy flavored, and creamy with just the right amount of froth to milk ratio. Like, it was heaven in a cup!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.