Della Terra Teas

I used up the last of this in a cold brew along with some of Tea Desire’s Champagne Cassis and the result is lovely, better than either alone. It’s kind of like bubblegum but in a good way.

Will I miss it? Not really, but it makes a not bad cold brew.

Yeesh, as soon as I cut open the pouch, my heart sank. The dry leaf smells like those cheap orange candies filled with sticky sweet syrup in the middle that you used to pick up at parades when you were a kid. You would think that it would smell realistic, like marmalade, especially since DTT was generous with the orange rind, but I guess not.

Hot, it’s a hot mess. Tastes just like how it smells, like overly sweet artificial orange candy. The second steep was meh, still chemical.

I figured I might as well try this cold-steeped, and so, so glad that I did. It is so much better. It’s still on the artificial side, but at least the bitterness from the orange rind is coming out a bit more and giving this a bit of a boost. Plus it reminds me more of an orange popsicle.

Definitely not a repurchase, but cold-steeping it is from now on.

OK, this really does taste like melted strawberry ice cream…or what I remember of my childhood treat, considering I can’t eat ice cream anymore.

The strawberry is a terrific punch of flavor, and I enjoy the ice cream flavoring. There is a funny aftertaste, which reminds me of freezer burn – you know, that sticky stuff that forms on older-freezed goods? Apropos, but kind of icky.

The ingredients list chocolate but I don’t really taste it. Maybe that’s the after taste? IDK…

I’d love to try this iced, especially with these infused ice-cubes. I did that once for Swampwater, and once for Strawberry Lemonade (Teavana) and it rocked!

I am KILLING it with the sipdowns lately! Down to… 71? At least for the next two days, until I get my new 52Teas order in, haha. Also, apparently my tastebuds are going to ignore the season and pretend that pumpkin is acceptable to drink year round. Which it is, I guess… but it’s 70 degrees outside. And I’m drinking this hot. For someone who primarly lives on iced tea come hot weather, I’m not sure I know who I am anymore.

I reread my old tasting note about this one before making it and it’s a good thing I did. My instinct was to drink it plain but apparently that did not go to plan before. So, I trusted myself and added milk and sugar.

Do you know, the pumpkin really came out this way? Last time was mostly spice, this time seems more like pumpkin filling. I get this idea of a cinnamon pastry crust but mostly in the aftertaste – it is pumpkin pie filling, front and center.

I liked this better with additives, but it still wouldn’t be my go to pumpkin tea. Glad I got to try it though!

This was another sample from momo!

This one smells and looks a lot like the Pumpkin chai from DAVID’s. It is super heavy on the spices of the pie rather than pumpkin itself. I get a whole lot of cinnamon, and maybe clove/nutmeg.

I used 1.5 tsp. leaf for a 10 oz. cup and drank it straight. I think it would benefit from cream and sugar mostly because it had a thinner texture and taste. Once steeped the spices were still very present in the smell but the taste was pretty watery until it started to cool down some. Even once it cooled the pumpkin note was barely there – drowned out by the spice.

I think in terms of pumpkin flavor the Pumpkin Creme Brulee by Butiki was more authentic so if you want to actually taste pumpkin I would go with that. But if you like the whole pumpkin pie experience then this one is certainly not a bad option. Then again, it is April so I’m pretty sure no one’s REALLY thinking about pumpkin pie right now anyway – I’m just that weird that I can stand it all year round!

I’m not going to try to describe this citrus spice concoction. It isn’t half bad with some cream though.

I wish I’d tried this back when there were still sunny fall afternoons. It would’ve been perfect. It warms you up and freshens things out.

This smells nicely like dark chocolate. I hadn’t had much luck with chocolate teas, but I like the flavour of this one a lot. And I liked the hints of citrus. (Though I did have it with oranges… which only made it better).

cherry cough syrup drizzled on inferior quality chocolate? apparently. ick. Not a fan of this one in the least. It’s not a terrible tea but i for sure would prefer to not drink it than drink it since there are so many other teas out there that have better flavour and tea notes to them. Happy to have tried it but that’s about as far as that goes. eesh

As i was brewing this up i was trying to figure out what it was reminding me of. kittenna nailed it – David’s tea: glitter n gold. Less gold spinkles, more cinnamon and less sweet than David’s IMO. Over all not a bad tea but i really only needed this one cup to drink. The rest can go into the swap box!

Made this one as a cold brew. Brewed for approximately 12 hours. It turned out wonderful and I am glad that I tried it as a cold brew.

To me, it tastes like peach iced tea. The black tea base is very mellow with notes of peach. There are lighter notes of mango. There s also a very light note of vanilla. The tea has a slight fruity sweetness.

Very refreshing cold brewed tea.

This one smells and tastes delicious. The dry tea smells of sweet mango and peach. Almost like candy.

The brewed tea has a light black tea base with sweet peach and mango flavour. Both peach and mango are present but I find the peach is more predominate.

Overall is very delicious. The black blend does not overtake the fruitiness, but the fruitiness is also not too sweet or fake. Impressed with the flavour profile of this tea.

This tea smells so good. I like the minty chocolate. The flavour is really good, creamy chocolate mint.

I’ve had other chocolate mint teas, but the vanilla is a great addition.

Oh man kittenna you were so right. DO. NOT. LIKE.

Dry aroma? Wonderful pear. Steeped tea? Floral mess of grossness. Yeah, I am not having this. Someday we’ll find a good pear tea, but until then this is for sure not it. Into the swap box it goes.

Both the dry and brewed aroma of this tea is heavenly. Although this tea lists black tea as part of the base I don’t get a significant aroma or taste – which is fine by me! The blueberry and crumble flavors are in perfect balance and one doesn’t overpower the other allowing for a truly delectable dessert tea. I am not one to add sweetener to my teas however the sprinkles add a good level of sweetness without being overly sugar laden. Overall, the flavor profile replicates it’s namesake to a tea! ;)

SIPDOWN! Thanks to kittenna for parting with some of her dear chocolate pumpkin pie. I can understand why she likes this one so much as it would be a good travel mug tea. I like that this version is a bit more muted in the spice department than the non chocolate version. I’m not sure which i’d prefer though as I seem to be out of my pumpkin mood – likely because it’s SPRING! it’s SPRING! and spicier teas (chai’s for example) tend to be what i prefer drinking in fall and winter.

overall this is a good little cup of tea and resteeps pretty well.

Came as a free sample with my order. Bottom line: a really really really tart strawberry flavor. You won’t be needing any sweetener for this one!

I don’t think the water that comes out of our office water cooler is hot enough. I taste lots of black tea and the malty-ness comes off on the very end. I wish it was malt bally all the way through…cause I love Whoppers! Dry is smells delish and steeped it’s just a bit mellower. The dry leaves do look “wet” as antoher Steepster put it…I was afraid they really were, lol! It was somewhat yummy but…like I said the parameters that may make it extra yummy were off.

So I’ve been on a cold brew kick, because I am trying to sip down a bunch of teas but want to save a few for hot summer days and I need to know what works. So I’m trying some out now, or else I’ll end up saving them all until summer! and that is a month or two away still…
Anyhow. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that apply jolly rancher is hidden in the cold brew! mind you, that fake chocolate note is there as well but I can manage. Yep, this one will be a cold brew tea from now on. Or perhaps sun tea!
Bumping the rating one or two points, from 73 :P

Apples: check!
Chocolate: check!
Green/Black tea: not so much in the first steep. Will see what #2 brings.

So the first part of the sip fills my mouth with apple flavour. Baked apples. And then as I swallow, I taste chocolate. Artificial chocolate, but it’s quite noticeable for me. I’m also getting some sort of caramel note.
Adding 1/2 tsp of sugar made things pop alot more. Before that, it was kinda muted but then I should have let the cup cool a bit beforehand.
Also, I need to play around with the parameters here, given that there are two types of tea in the blend. Next time I’ll try boiling, as recommended by DT.

SIPDOWN! I am cold brewing the rest of my sample, hoping it doesn’t get too strong, but if I had only used half of it only the munched up green tea bits would be left for the next one. Ah and I need a sipdown tonight..I need about 20 actually..I had to return to the mall today because I got my grad dress yesterday and they did not remove the magnetic tag (sigh) and bad, bad me, I had to have tried birthday cake and red velvet cake last night…so yes, I picked some up (and some Ceylon Star and Stormy Night), so now I cannot go back there, especially because it was the SAME GIRL working there when my friend went last night, and when mom and I went last week. LOL tea addict, yes, yes indeed I am. Miraculously, my cupboard is just under 100, and IT IS STAYING THAT WAY. I am on the verge of cancelling my TOMC from Verdant until I sip down more teas. Yes, I will probably do that. Anyways, see previous notes on this tea, hoping it tastes good once it is finished cold steeping :)

So I have had a bit left in my sample pack of this, so I decided to cold brew it. Did it for about 24 hours, and it is pretty good! The veggie flavors definitely come out a lot more in the cold brew, particularly the peas and corn. This is actually super satisfying and refreshing, it’s a bit heavier it seems, so a bit more staying power, but refreshing enough with the light peach flavor and fresh vegetables. This was a nice experiment, and I will probably cold brew the rest of my sample as well! See previous notes on this tea, brewed hot :)

I got this as a free sample in my last Della Terra order, I was very pleased I got this one, because it was almost in my order! I had a cup a few weeks ago but forgot to log it, so I will now, as this is most definitely an Eastery tea due to the name!

I was unsure of what to expect looking at the dry blend. There were a few peas, quite a bit of corn, some carrot bits, and the tea itself. The peas had me the most worried, because I really hate cooked peas (raw are delicious though, and pea pods are fine haha). But the dry smell is pleasantly peachy and very light. I steeped for 2 minutes. The steeped smell is peach once again, but with a different, full smell from the vegetables. I think it’s the corn that’s causing it. It smells quite mouthwatering and refreshing.

The taste is very light and quite delicious. First I get a wonderful mouthfeel, kind of thick yet light, from the vegetables. There’s a mild corn taste, and mid-sip the peach really shines. The tea base goes perfectly with this blend as well. The aftertaste tapers off and leaves a clean feeling in the mouth. I don’t get much lemongrass anywhere, but this tea is still pretty good!

Overall, an interesting tea, I wasn’t sure what I would get with so many vegetables in the blend. But they add more to the feel of the tea rather than any strong veggie flavors, and the peach brings it together nicely. Thanks for the sample Della Terra!

I was a little concerned becuase the outside of the sealed package smelled very sweet and fruity. It was contaminated from all the other teas I had bought. But once I opened the bag and smelled, it was sweet green tea and lemongrass. The tea itself was not contaminated.

The brewing tea smells of very sweet green tea and slight lemongrass. Not sugar sweet, but how vegetables can be sweet, like sweet carrots. There is a strong smell of peach.

The tea tastes like a vegetal green tea base with a light lemongrass flavour. You can taste the sweetness from the carrots and peas. There is the sweetness of the peach at the end of the sip.

Overall I am surprised. I was expecting this tea to taste more like a soup broth base. But it is actually a good tea. The vegetables in this blend add more of a sweet flavour than a vegetable flavour. I am quite impressed and am thinking I will have to keep this blend around. I think it would make a great after meal drink.