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I finally hit my sweet spot with this one. You know, the parameters that make it juust right. I realized that this is not a timolino tea (which is how I usually make tea at work); I guess the leaves don’t have enough room to expand in that little basket so it leads to a weaker brew with a bit of sourness.

So now I give those little guys lots of room to do their thing, and I can really taste the difference. SO much richer and more chocolatey! I’ve taken this off the work tea rotation and designated it as an at-home treat tea, which makes me love it even more. Up goes my rating!

Oh wow. This smells so good that I would buy it as potpourri and fill sachets of it and put them everywhere. But I don’t think they would last long before I started steeping them!

It’s undeniably pie. The sweet and slightly tart filling hits you first, followed by buttery pie crust. There’s also a floral note that rounds it out nicely. Thanks for the sample Stacy. I can’t wait till Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black is back in stock so I can place an order and get my hands on more of this!

In the spirit of getting back to mindful tea drinking, I bought myself a cute little teapot and matching cups. My other teapot is huge, so I rarely get to use it (as I’m surrounded by coffee drinkers!) But this one is small, so that even when I’m having tea on my own it can feel like a special occasion. Since the set is a peppermint color, I thought it would be appropriate to try it with this tea first!

This is a perfect bedtime tea for warm summer nights. It’s comforting but the mint makes it refreshing as well. The marshmallow root adds a nuance that other mint chocolate teas lack, kind of a fluffy or creamy undertone. When I smelled the empty cup afterwards, it smelled like sweet butter….mmm! It’s not very chocolatey, but it’s a nice treat compared to plain peppermint tea. Overall, it was a solo tea party success!

Oh Steepster! It’s been too long!

This past month has been a real challenge. First a close family member passed away, then things took a bad turn at work, and now a major problem has surfaced in my personal life. I’ve had trouble sleeping so I’ve been limiting my tea drinking to earlier in the day only. And I’ve been drinking it mostly to wake up, rather than enjoying it like I used to. But I want to change that; I want to get back to savoring it.

One of my favorite things about tea is the way it allows you to slow down and focus on the moment, and I think I need that right now. It’s the first day of a new month, and today I’m going to start over, beginning with mindful tea drinking. Because sometimes all you can do is focus on the things you can control, one step at a time.

So I’m starting with one of my favorite soothing teas. Thank you AureliaFish for sending some of this my way to hold me over until my order came in. This tea is so lovely and delicate; beautiful long white leaves softly kissed with jasmine. It’s crisp yet cozy, subtle yet complex, savory yet sweet. It reminds me that life can be complicated, but there is beauty to be found if you take the time to look for it.

The last few teas I’ve tried from Davids have been a letdown, but I gotta say I’m pretty impressed with this one! I iced it and though the sip starts out tart, the strawberry sweetness soon takes over. But I think it’s the hint of creaminess from the yogurt that really makes it shine. I’m not sure how I’d feel about this hot, but iced it reminds me of a more creamy and dessert-y tasting strawberry lemonade.

I’m tempted to add some tea leaves to it (cause sometimes you just want legit iced tea, ya know?), but I don’t want to ruin it. Has anyone ever tried doing this with tisanes?

Oh man am I glad to have this back in my cupboard. After a long spell of tea blahs and a hectic tea-less weekend, this is really hitting the spot today. It’s got a little more fruity sweetness than I remember, which is perfect for summer weather. I love the fact that it has so much flavor without any additions. I need to make sure I don’t run out of this again!

I’m having a case of the tea blahs lately, and it looks like some others have been too. Could it be the change in weather? It’s likely, but I decided the solution was that I need some new teas to get excited about, so I ordered a whole bunch. Like budget out the window, recklessly adding things to my cart like a maniac. Oops.

I decided to go with a tried and true tea today so I’m sipping on a creamy, beany cup of this. It’s good, but I’m not feeling it the way I usually do. I know it’s not the tea’s fault, so I should probably save the last bit of this for a time when I can really appreciate it. In the meantime maybe I should clear some space for the truckload I’ve got on the way.

I bought this cause it was in the 2 for $5 pre-packs and I’m a sucker for a deal. And for chocolate. This tastes surprisingly mild, like cocoa powder with a dash of cinnamon. It’s alright, but I finished it and considering I’m more happy about freeing up cupboard space than sad about running out of it, I think it’s a pretty good indication that I won’t buy it again. Which may not be option anyways, cause it looks like it’s being discontinued. Ah well, no tears here.

You know that feeling when you drink a tea and feel like you’ve reunited with an old friend? This is one of those teas for me. I don’t have it often but every time I do, I can’t help but slow down and savor it. It’s so creamy and juicy, yet so light and subtle and natural. It’s an oasis in the middle of a busy afternoon. I would never ever have thought a cantaloupe tea would become such a favorite, but I guess tea love is blind!

Chai was a staple in my house growing up, and my mom used to make it with a lot of bite. It was a kind of rite of passage as a kid; starting out with just a sprinkle of spices and moving up to more and more. “More masala!” I would say with bravado in attempt to prove my grown-up-ness. “I can take it!” And then I would very slowly sip on it and try not to make faces, until eventually I started to actually enjoy it.

So of course compared to my earlier experiences, the spice level in this is pretty mellow. But it is the most authentic chai blend I have tried, with its whole cardamom pods and fennel seeds. I can see why this is so loved. The laoshan black makes for a nice smooth base, and the ingredients are extremely well balanced. Except for the goji berries; I think it could do without those.

Ideally I’d like to make my own chai spice but I probably won’t get to it, and will likely pick up more of this with my next order. And I’ll leave the super spicy chai for visits to my mom’s house. After all, I’ve got nothing to prove now ;)