Fava Tea Co.

A previous reviewer says this is like David’s Tea forever nuts with cinnamon. That description is spot-on.

This came in my January Sips by box. I think it’s my third by Fava Teas? I’ve liked them all so far.

First of all, this tea smells so wonderful. Such a festive and spiced citrus aroma! There are so many goodies mixed in. Big pieces of dried orange, pretty pink peppercorns, whole cloves and cardamom pods, and a generous amount of cinnamon chips.

It brews up to a dark reddish brown and smells sweet like Christmas. Upon first sip, I notice an unexpected creamy vanilla note. Oooh. The vanilla is followed by bright, sunny orange, then spices. The spices all sort of blend together, with cinnamon being the most noticeable. The clove and cardamom are there, but in the background. I didn’t see it in my sample, but I swear I also taste star anise. Or maybe allspice?

Basically, this tastes like a holiday dessert and I am here for it. Glad I got to try this.

EDIT: Cooled, this tastes like a spiced Creamcicle.

Sipdowns in 2019: 5

This one was on sample at the store and as soon as I tasted it I knew this was one I needed in my cupboard. So yummy! The coconut flavor is rich and creamy and natural and pairs perfectly with the white tea base. It’s delicious hot and even better iced. A new favorite!

Sip down! This is one of those teas that I’ve had in my cupboard for a loooong time, and every time I break it out, I really enjoy it but then I forget how much I enjoyed it so I don’t drink it again for a long time. I made a latte from it this morning, which I don’t think I’ve done before, and it is especially good. The tea has a creamy feel/flavor on its own, I imagine from the blue mallow and vanilla. The jasmine is extremely subtle, so anyone scared of floral teas need not be afraid. Really yummy cup, sad to see it go!

It makes me a little sad to see how underrated Fava Tea Company is in these parts. I think they deserve much more attention in the tea community (but I suppose there are many companies that do and I’m just biased since they’re local to me.)

I have a pretty vast tea collection and this is one of my favorites and one of very few repeat purchases. Usually by the time I’ve made it through 2 oz of one tea, there are a bunch of new teas out that I want to try to so it’s rare that I re-purchase something. This is an exception.

This tea is particularly pretty with its little tiny pink rosebuds. I find it to have a perfect balance between the fruit and floral notes. It has a bit of tartness to it that would probably lend well to iced tea, but also has a bit of chamomile so it’s usually a hot bedtime tea for me. The chamomile is barely detectable so this would probably be a safe bet for people who otherwise are not a huge fan of that.

I guess this is sort of a sipdown since I finished the last of my old batch, but I opened a brand new pouch and refilled my tin ASAP. This one will be staying on my shelf for a bit!

This is a nice, loose ripe pu-erh tea from a local shop. Easy to drink, but didn’t last very many steeps.

I feel bad for how I’m rating this tea. And ill tell you why…its because the smell of this tea is absolutely out of this world. It smells like cinnamon oatmeal cookies with brown sugar. But once steeped, that damn hibiscus ruins it completely. The steeped liquid still smells incredible, like snickerdoodles with just this yummy tiny hint of sweet plums; and the aftertaste is like cinnamon brown sugar cookies too! But the hibiscus overpowers EVERYTHING unfortunately. So the main flavor I’m getting is tart. And I hate it so much. Dear Fava, please make this without hibiscus next time because my rating would have been 100% without question. I can tell exactly what this would taste like without the hibiscus and it would be phenomenal! Why do these companies ruin these blends with hibiscus? Such a waste.

For whatever reason, pumpkin teas this season really dont smell or taste like actual pumpkin. More so, like pumpkin spice- which is just cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, etc….which is essentially chai. But not Pleasing Pumpkin! This one actual smells like pumpkin. As if I am smelling the inside of a pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Squash sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste is not as strong as the scent, but its still good and I will definitely purchase again. This is better than any pumpkin tea I’ve tasted so far :)

This tea contains apple pieces and whole marshmallows, so its both sweet and tart with an aftertaste of apple and nuts. Id say the apple is the most prevalent taste here, followed by the nuts and the marshmallows really just add sugar and not much else. I enjoy this blend but I dont think I would purchase again. If I want an apple/nut blend, Forever Nuts from DAVIDsTEA is much better.

So for this tea I have to respectfully disagree with the reviewers before me. I felt that this tea delivered in both smell and taste. The smell of this one is my favorite of any tea I’ve smelled lol. If you’ve ever had Forever Nuts from DAVID’s TEA its very similar to that, minus the apples and heavier on the cinnamon spice. Its not a hot cinnamon though (thank God because I hate hot cinnamon). Its more of a vanilla almond cinnamon. Its not so much nutty on taste as it is sweet almond, but it doesn’t take it too far that it crosses over into “cherry” territory; because in that case I would not like it. This really is one of my all-time favorites, and now that I am pregnant I am excited to sip on it all fall and winter since it is caffeine free, so I can have as much as I want!

Continuing on with my tasting of Fava teas! This one’s a winner. It legitimately smells and tastes like carrot cake, with just the right balance of sweet and spicy. I would definitely drink it again!

Trying another new-to-me blend from Fava. This one’s a miss for me. I love a strong chai with well-balanced spices and a flavorful base, but this doesn’t tick any of those boxes. The cinnamon is overwhelming whatever other spices are present and the base tea seems surprisingly thin and lackluster for a puerh. It was okay hot, but I really didn’t care for it as it cooled down; the lack of depth became even more pronounced and I started to notice an unpleasant sour aftertaste. I’ll give it another shot with milk and/or sweetener to finish off my sample, but I doubt this is something I’ll be purchasing in the future.

Fava is my local independent tea shop and I’m on a quest to try all of their tea…which is going to take a while, because they have a lot! So far, it’s been hit and miss: they have several blends that I adore (Cloud 9 and Roasted Almond Chai), others that I really don’t care for (such as Raspberry Rose and Two to Mango) and quite a few that I’m just ambivalent about. This one falls in the ambivalent category. I’m getting bread and nuts, but none of the sweet maple flavor I was hoping for. It’s okay, but not something I’m likely to purchase.

This is a pleasant rooibos, if not a particularly distinctive one. The rooibos itself is really nice, smooth and not too strong—probably among the nicest I’ve had, actually. It’s sweet and lightly spiced, but eggnog? Not really. I don’t detect even the faintest hint of nutmeg. This is another one of those blends I would probably have liked more with a different name, but I’m enjoying it pretty well as is.

Yet another sample from my swap with Inkling! I was really excited to try this one, because I’m always on the lookout for herbals that are a little different than the usual. I have to say, though, this is one of those hibiscus-less fruit blends that make me appreciate the ubiquity of hibiscus. There’s just nothing to it; it lacks body—this blend is like tart sugar water. I think I can taste a tiny hint of kiwi, but it’s barely there. I’m glad to have had a chance to try Cloud 9, but it’s definitely not for me.

This is a very yummy tea. It goes down smoothly and is pleasant tasting. I used agave and steeped for 3 minutes- 2.5 tsp in 16oz of hot water. It’s sweet and nutty!

Thank you to Inkling for this sample!

After drinking this a few times, I recommend slightly cooler water (90 *C) instead of boiling water. It produces a better and creamier flavour. I do not think the flavour of this blend is strong enough to be cold-brewed, though..

Brew: Very dark amber (probably due to my long steep time), quite aromatic. It smells very nutty to me. I can also smell hints of honey, spices, and rooibos. It tastes slightly sweet, in the woody way that rooibos so often does. I believe this has red and green rooibos in it, or at least it tastes as such. Notes of spices (nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon), savannah grass, , and cream. I like that it isn’t overwhelming spiced and that it doesn’t use stevia/cinnamon/licorice root to make the blend extremely sweet. This lets the natural flavours of the rooibos do all the talking, and I love it. Rooibos has plenty of sweetness and woody/mineral flavour on its own.

Too often, blends try to cover up their mediocre quality rooibos with artificial flavours. A good rooibos blend can have all the natural flavours of the base come through in a way that actually improves it as a whole. I guess what I’m saying is that I approve of higher quality (and fresher) rooibos, and I appreciate it when tea shops know their ingredients well enough to showcase the base so confidently.

Here’s Hoping TTB

I’m not in love with this but I don’t hate it either. It’s tart, there’s definitely a layer of hibiscus in this one and the blueberries are the star player. But there’s also some creamy notes, a little bit of baked bread/pastry, and I am picking up the caramel (how come I can’t find a tea that tastes like caramel but I can find the notes in teas that I don’t want to taste like caramel??) I might hold on to this simply because there’s only enough for one or two more cups and maybe by then I’ll be able to decide if I like it or not :P

Sample from VariaTEA This one is way too sweet for me. WAY too sweet. For me, this doesn’t taste like straight maple syrup, it tastes like artificial maple flavour. It’s again, not a bad tea but i think it would have been better if i’d made it as a latte to cut through some of the sweetness. Still, glad to have tried it!

I was at my local Fava Tea Company store today picking up some tea for my friend’s bridal shower. I need more tea like I need a hole in the head. But I was sucked in by the new seasonal blends and ended up purchasing an ounce of this one to sample. No regrets! This blend is smooth and creamy with a light blend of spices that really does remind me of eggnog. It’s good on its own, but I’m betting it would be amazing as a latte! I may be going back for more…