Birthday Cake

So I tried this for the first time today, and I have mixed feelings about it. I think mostly they’re due to the service I got from David’s, so I don’t want to give the tea itself a bad rating due to bad service because it IS a really nice snack tea, but hopefully the next time I try some it’ll be better because I’m always a rooibos fan.

I went to the DT by my campus after class and picked up a specialty tin of The Skinny and a cup of Birthday Cake to go. I had a bit of a wait before I got my tea (and the employees kept leaving while I was getting everything and paying), but after I got my cup to go and had waited a bit for it to cool down I tried a sip and there was loose rooibos everywhere. So I opened the lid and sure enough, the tea bag had either ripped or not been sealed properly and it was everywhere. I decided to wait to try it until I got home and pour it into one of my mugs with a filter, since it was only a short subway ride, but I was really disappointed with the service.

The tea itself, as I said, makes for an excellent snack tea. It’s very sugary sweet (I had mine with a little bit of agave as well) and the flavouring in the tea comes out more than the rooibos/honeybush. I’m tending to side eye the prevelance of artificial flavours that David’s is relying on for their newer blenders these days, so I don’t think this’ll be something I’ll have too often, but it tastes like it sounds and is definitely a cake tea.

Here’s a secret that I try to hide from other tea lovers: I don’t really like rooibos teas, sometimes their smells will trick me into buying them (see: calming wellness tea from Teaopia that I ended up giving to my mother, and Orange Truffle from Teaopia, which I do enjoy drinking, but only when I’m sick) but at the end of the day they just aren’t my thing.
When I went to DT today (making a Happy Easter even happier) I had a list of their spiring teas I planned to stock up on, and this was not on my list. Actually it was on my “don’t accidentally purchase it because it says cake” list, and yes that was a category on my list. But then I smelled it. And saw the colourful sprinkles. And heard the girls in the shop talk about how amazing it is. And caved.
Which I am so glad I did. To me it smells like a coffee cake (never a bad thing), and tastes like those cakes that used to be at every birthday party you’d go to in elementary school (Never Ever a bad thing). I have celiac so not only is this a great tea in its own right but it also lets me enjoy the old tastes of my childhood.

I’m not a huge roobios fan, but i figured since its tea that smelled exactly like a cake I had to try it. Surprisingly it’s not overpoweringly sweet and it’s amazing. I think I should reconsider roobios teas because of this one. I’ll definitely pick up 100g of it when I run out.

so yummy!! and so cute to look at :)

I would rather have a birthday cake. It has a weird artificial taste I cant quite put my finger…. Maybe an artificial butter nut flavor. Or maybe its the sprinkles. It is the best roobios I have had from David but still dont like it.

I love this tea hot and cold! I will use the same tea leaves 3 times to refill my iced tea over and over. One of my all time favorites!! Very sweet and so refreshing!

Hello heaven! With milk, it’s simply the best thing.

The flavour was pretty boring to me and not very strong. It was very similar to red velvet cake which tastes better. Not a fan though of the sprinkles that are in it…really dont’ need the artificial colours and added sugar, so I wouldn’t buy this for myself (if was a gift).

I made this tonight as a latte (it isn’t too often I won’t drink something as a latte) and I really love this tea! I actually love it either straight too. It has a wonderful cake flavor, but it isn’t too overwhelming. I add a touch of sugar to mine which makes it the perfect treat. It curbs my sweet tooth!

Backlog:

Thank you so much Evol! I kept on staring at this for months going “Do I want this herbal? It smells so good…never mind I’m having some chamomile…Well, I should finally try this-oh, look, I need to finish of my green rooibos!…I’m going to get some-crap! High bloodsugar. This might not be a good idea-but the sugar is only in the sprinkles! But flavored tea on a high bloodsugar makes my stomach cramp…”

And finally, I needed an herbal last night. There are only few hours before my last semester begins at Michigan State. Despite technically going back for my student teaching the following year, that will be more like “work”. This will be the year that I will graduate. It’s like being at the last two chapters of a book. Luckily, there will be a few months before the release of the sequel. Unfortunately, this book is about to end and there will be time before the next installment. Let’s hope that character development is more interesting, and that there are less characters written off. Thus the sheer existential stress said that going without caffiene was the better option…never mind I drank a Dan Cong three hours before at 8:00 PM.

The tea was pretty lovely for comfort. More like pancakes and maple syrup than pure cakes, the red rooibos worked pretty well. Then again, I’ve had a vanilla rooibos with rock sugar one time and it tasted like a vanilla flavored and creamed coffee. Red rooibos, you are so elusively woody yet desserty at the same time. I got three solid cups, the thirds lighter. I am going to check it again this morning to see if I can brew one more cup. To think I was watching The Crown on Netflix when I drank this.