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This is a pleasant afternoon tea today. It’s my Friday before 5 days off from work so I’m in good spirits. Happy Kombucha has a lovely tropical aroma and flavour. I haven’t tried a lot of fruity oolong blends except Shaktea’s Guava Melon Oolong . I like this one more though, the flavour is more complex and less subject to the occasional bitter flavours I noticed in Shaktea’s. I don’t really notice the safflowers or kombucha flavour. There’s a peachy taste even though there isn’t actual peach in it. Interesting. I’d buy this again.

I think this tea does better in the container than brewed up. It’s a very pretty tea with the snowflakes, white chocolate and candy cane pieces and smells quite nice. Brewed up, the tea takes on a cloudy brown colour that as other reviewers have noted isn’t very appetizing looking. The flavour is quite sweet, a bit too much for a morning black tea I find. All in all, I prefer Santa’s secret if I’m looking for a morning black tea with a holiday splash. The black tea flavour is lost in all the sweetness of this tea. Still, it’s not horrible, just incredibly sweet.

This is my penultimate tea to review from the Murchies holiday pack I brought home with me from the holidays. This has a lovely minty aroma and flavour. The spearmint and peppermint blend nicely with the rooibos flavour for a caffeine free afternoon or evening tea. There’s a hint of vanilla. Candy cane is an apt description for this creamy minty blend.

Wow another DAVIDs tea with hibiscus that I don’t immediately hate haha. Maybe my tastes are changing. I had this as iced tea with my family while I was home for the holidays. I think I prefer it chilled actually. That said, it is enjoyable heated too. The hibiscus gives it a pretty pink colour and my colleague remarked that it reminds her of the beach and Hawaii. There’s a nice creaminess from the coconut and the mango and pineapple give it a pleasant tropical flavour.

This is a pleasant black tea blend of Ceylon and Assam. It makes a really nice breakfast tea as there’s a good amount of caffeine and a stronger flavour. I had it without cream and sugar, but I can see this being nicely complemented by either. I wouldn’t rush out for it again – I tend to prefer additional flavours but for purists, I can see this being a real hit! It had a hint of malt and plums that came out for me.

This was another holiday tea from Murchie’s that was quite nice. The aroma and flavour reminds me a bit of DAVIDs Cinnamon French Toast. I can see why another reviewer was reminded of pancake syrup! It has a nice roasted and nutty flavour and some sweetness to it, but not overly so. It evokes the lazy mornings of Christmas holidays for me, something I could use right now! Thankfully it’s Friday and I have a weekend waiting to start for me just around the corner.

I prefer the Coconut Oolong from DAVIDs to this Coconut Cream Pie flavour. Coconut Cream Pie is also nice and creamy but the roasted coconut comes out much more clean and crisp in Coconut Oolong. The white chocolate in this is pleasant, don’t get me wrong, but it just doesn’t win me over the same way. There’s a more artificial sweetness to this one.

I’m reviewing this a bit past Christmas, but it was feeling like the right day for a holiday spice pick me up. I enjoyed this tea during the holidays with my family and brought back enough for a review. It’s a lovely tea, that has more of a subtle holiday profile than the DAVIDs holiday teas I’m used to. There’s the unmistakable flavour of oranges, cinnamon and cloves but in a balanced way that allows the Ceylon and Keemun black tea flavours a nice share of the spotlight. Quite enjoyable overall and a favourite I’ll look for during the holidays again.

This is a nice substitute for hot chocolate without all of the calories and sugar. It has a decadent creamy flavour and rich chocolaty aroma. The flavour is quite satisfying and although it’s a bit sweet to start the day with, no complaints on my part this morning. I think I’m making colleagues jealous as the chocolaty aroma wafts around the office. If you are craving a simple chocolate tea, this fits the bill nicely I think. I tend to prefer other ingredients and flavours in addition to chocolate myself though. I guess I’m not enough of a chocolate purist.

This is a lovely “stir-in London Fog” mix that I picked up at Victoria’s Tea Festival. The micro-milled Earl Grey is blended with vanilla sugar and the flavour is actually quite balanced. It’s fast and easy to prepare. I’ve had JagaSilk’s Earl Grey alone and it’s excellent. I think that’s the real secret to any great London Fog and it isn’t lost in this instant mix. I’ve been content to have the Chai mixes with water, but there’s something almost sacrilege to making this with anything but steamed milk. Might just be me though.