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I’m still working on my stash from the 2015 Vancouver Tea Festival, luckily they seem to still be keeping well. The Young Mountain booth had some great samples and were promoting yearly visits to India for tea related tours which sounds pretty cool. I’d love to do that one day. This tea really stood out with it’s rich earthy flavour and deep amber hue. The tasting note describes it as hailing from the tropical Assam plain that stretches between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean. Very pleasant this morning even without cream and sugar as I ride out the last of my 16 hour intermittent fast.

I’ve had this as both a latte and brewed tea now. Both are excellent. The coconut and chocolate combination is always a winner for me and the pecans in this are also quite flavourful. It’s got a smooth and velvety flavour that is very pleasant combined with the earthy black tea flavour.

I just got around to trying this and love it. Now I’m wishing I had purchased “s’more”. See what I did there ?!? This reminds me of Stormy Night which is my highest rated tea. The chai flavour isn’t as bold as it could be and I miss the coconut in Stormy but otherwise this a nicely sweet and chocolaty tea. Graham crackers/baked goods really are prominent in the aroma. I’ve been torturing my work colleagues around my cubicle with it’s tantalizing smell and incurring visits from random people who have been told they must come and smell it.

This has an interesting flavour – a balance of both spice and mint. The spiciness comes from a variety of ingredients – fennel, licorice, cardamom, ginger and black pepper. It has a refreshing quality to it and makes for a nice early afternoon tea with a light amount of caffeine from the green tea base.

This is a pleasant enough oolong-pu’erh hybrid tea that was part of the resolutions pack I got from DAVIDs. It actually reminds me a bit of Murchie’s Christmas tea. The orange and citrus notes are most prominent with a bit of a ginger aftertaste.

Forever Nuts is what always come to mind first when I think of DAVIDs gift packs and sampler sets. I’ve heard it’s also one of their best selling teas, and recommend it often myself when someone is looking to start out their experience at DAVIDs. It’s a favourite go to for me, enjoyable any time of day but particular in the afternoon or evening given that it’s caffeine free. The blend of apples, cinnamon and nuts are perfectly balanced. Funny that it’s taken me this long to rate it. Better late than never I guess. I haven’t tried it as an iced tea, but I imagine it would fare well chilled too. The pink from the beet root is such a beautiful colour. I’ll definitely give it a go chilled this summer.

Wasn’t a fan of this one. I found the jasmine overpowering and the flavour quite bitter and overly floral. I tried it yesterday and thought I had just prepared it wrong, but today is no better. Time to move on to something else and drink a bunch of water to clear the palate.

Ooops, didn’t realize this was meant as a sleeping aid or before bed tea. I’m enjoying it this afternoon at work so hopefully I don’t curl up for slumber at my desk. There’s quite an assortment of ingredients in it and I’m enjoying the way the mint, vanilla, lemon and apple flavours all blend together. I don’t really pick up any apricot. Enjoyable overall. I don’t really have tea right before bed anyways as I try to avoid trips to the washroom through the night.

This is the final tea I brought home from the Murchie’s holiday pack my folks picked up during Christmas break. It has a pleasant aroma and reminds me of the hot mulled drinks brewed up slowly on a stove top at dinner parties. Apple isn’t a big favourite of mine – I’ve always opted for hot chocolate over hot apple cider. Still, it’s an enjoyable blend that definitely is reminiscent of the holidays.

The Buzz is a decent tea but I’m not sure when I’d really want to drink it. The caffeine rich yerba mate and matcha seem an odd pairing with the spicy ginger-citrusy flavours. The flavour is a bit too strong for the morning and wouldn’t be my tea of choice to start the day with. But to have it later in the day with the higher amount of caffeine also wouldn’t be ideal. I suspect it would sit in my cupboard waiting for the right time never quite arriving. Good thing I just got the little sample in the resolutions pack.