DAVIDsTEA

Sipdown. This one’s so old that I actually bought it in-store as part of a set back when DavidsTea still had stores in the U.S. I only really drink it when I have a sore throat or am sick. Mostly it just tastes like licorice root – at this point that’s all it tastes like, but I don’t remember it ever tasting like more. It does still have a bit of a demulcent effect, which is really all I need from it. And this counts as a tea bought “in-store” for ashmanra’s sipdown challenge.

Pretty strong tea, especially for a fruity one, which can sometimes be weak and watery.
This one has a lot of flavour, even if the taste is fairly one-note.
Straightforward pomegranate, sweet (too sweet at first sip but I got used to it), sour, hibiscus (tart.)
It was fine but I don’t find it special enough to purchase a full pouch.

This is very floral, but cold, it’s all right! It’s also quite fruity. It’s not a bad combination! It can easily get oversteeped and become a bit tart and strange though.

Sipdown

It’s about time to make the hour drive into the office. I really rely on the cuppa during that drive. I’ve been brewing this one every Tuesday for a few Tuesdays, for the tea is warming and inviting. I dig adding foamed oat milk to the tea since it really enhances the nuttiness in the tea. I feel a bit sad that this is gone, since it has been tradition to sip for the drive…Thankfully, like the majority of tea heads, I’ve more tea to choose for the upcoming office days :)

This one is just “alright” for me.
The flavours aren’t very distinguishable, leaving a “swampwater” impression.
In a word – muddled.
It’s a touch too sweet, I can detect a phoney maple note and something fruity/apple-like but the oolong is wasted as it’s completely smothered.
This came in a sampler pack and out of the 6 I’ve sampled so far, this is my least favourite.

yuck. getting into matcha, this has been my least favorite so far. Not a lot of value for the money, and weak weak flavor.

This tea is my daily driver alternating with cream of earl grey. If you have a bit of a sweet tooth and love chocolate, you’ll love this! The steeping has a wide margin for error, so if you’re working with a regular boiler / percolator that doesn’t do specific heat other than “boil” — this is a good option. Keeps good flavor for a long time.

I loved this tea. Very sweet, chocolatey and tastes like a good breakfast tea.

Reading some other reviews, this tea is finnicky! I’ve only ever steeped it in my loose leaf steeper and drained — maybe leaving it in too long or at the wrong temperature makes a big difference. I find that to be true for plenty of rooibos!

Adventageddon Day 13

Had this as a bit hot mug of tea with one of the fancy schmancy marshmallows I bought specifically for adventageddon. It was definitely intensely rich, but I love the extra creaminess from these marshmallows that just turn into a rich layer of goo on the top of the mug, and marshmallows and maple is a pretty splendid combination. Definitely a sweet start to the day!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDiNdwYye3L/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDiNdwYye3L/?img_index=1

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Another quickie note just to say this newly organic tea is back up on the website now – and as a core flavour!! I was so bummed when we discontinued this flavour because it’s so good for matcha lattes, and then when we started the giant project of converting all of our matchas to organic I was very worried this was a flavour that wouldn’t work well in matcha. Organic fruit flavourgs are much easier in organic but “sweet browns”, and really decadent flavours in general, are much more challenging…

However, I think this might actually be the best organic version of any of the flavours except for, maybe, vanilla – and really with vanilla it’s more the sugar difference than a flavouring difference. It’s got that perfect rich maple-y goodness that I’ve missed, and I’m just SO THRILLED to have virtually unlimited maple matcha lattes at the office again.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Adventageddon Day 3

Tea Pop!

I ended up drinking this matcha later in the afternoon at work, and since we have sparkling water on tap I thought I’d try this flavour out as a tea pop for the first time. I used the full packet of matcha which was maybe a little strong, but ultimately I really enjoyed the balance of sweet and floral flavours with the effervescence of the sparkling water. In general I find the sakura notes of this matcha are a little more elevated feeling, but with this method in particular that seemed especially true.

What was kind of interesting was that I did get some undertones of anise that I can’t totally pinpoint the source of. I’ve never tasted that in this particular matcha before, so I wonder if the new steeping method brought them out?

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDIdoKPSOFh/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUNVYGp3yk&ab_channel=PearlyDrops

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Just a quickie tasting note, as I’ve been doing for all the recent organic matcha conversions. In case you’ve missed it, we’ve been slowly converting all of our core/seasonal matcha flavours to organic. It’s been a long process, but I’m excited by the two we just rereleased: this one and maple.

If I’m being honest, I was deeply worried that we wouldn’t be able to achieve this flavour in organic – the range of flavourings available in organic is quite a bit less diverse than both artificlal and natural flavourings, and often even if you can find an organic version it’s usually less potent tasting. I’m super happy with this one though! It tastes so close to the previous version (which I’m a major fan of personally), but perhaps just marginally less sweet. Honestly, even if it’s subtle, I kind of like that change.

I have a lot of the non-organic version of this at home still so I’m probably not bringing some of this one home any time soon – but I’ve been drinking it a lot at the office lately. Especially as an iced matcha latte!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

I really appreciate that David’s Tea sticks to its French roots and includes French on all its packaging. The Vervain root plays a pretty strong role in the dry aroma. Medicinal, menthol, lemongrass, and a clean sensation in the nostrils. The wet leaf is a nice and pleasant calming mix of earthy aromas. The lemon flavor though is not as strong as I was expecting. Higher in lemongrass and valerian notes than it is in lemon. An earthy yet herbaceous mix.

This is pretty darn good!
It’s become cold again tonight after being mild for a few days (which was lovely) so I wanted something that would give me cozy, comforting vibes in a mug.
This is doing the trick!
I love Tim Horton’s steeped tea and this reminds me of a chocolate-infused version of that and I’m here for it!

I had a very busy day today and wanted to reward myself with something decadent so I decided on a mug of this tea.
Good grief, it’s bloody delicious!
After it steeped, I took a few good gulps of it and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the flavour without adding my vegan cream. This one really doesn’t need anything added to be yummy but like I said before, I’m rewarding myself so I added my vegan cream and it was the special treat that I had wanted/needed.
I don’t know that I would necessarily say that this tastes like a S’more per se but it is very dessert-like, some kind of gourmet cookie comes to mind.
I happily sucked this back like there was no tomorrow!

Backlog 1/21/24
(Catching up from Advent)

I drank this in the morning alongside my oatmeal yesterday. It was a good balance to the sweet Maple Nut cereal. I noted a sweet creamy vanilla bite with a marshmallow finish. It didn’t necessarily make me think of Christmas, but it was lovely, nonetheless.

Cheers and happy sipping!

Another from CameronB!  Thanks so much!     Very intrigued by this one.  Strawberry!  Cream!  Milk oolong!    I used half a sample for the mug.  I was hoping for more strawberry — there is a hint of something red here but it reminds me more like beets… I don’t mean the color of the cup, as this is in a dark mug so I can’t tell what color it is anyway.  I was a little scared at the mention of the stevia, but it isn’t overdone here — I can’t really tell it’s here.  I’m also glad the hibiscus isn’t overdone.  The cream aspect is almost more in the texture of the tea than the flavor.   The cream does linger through all the steeps but whatever the berry aspect should be keeps changing.  By the third steep the “berry” is mostly a hint of hibiscus.  The milk oolong is the perfect base for this blend though.  The flavors do tend to get even better as the mug cools.  I like this blend but don’t love it. If only there was a great strawberry flavor here…  I’m not sure I would buy a bunch to stock up, but an occasional sample would be great.   I bet it ends up being one of those blends that likes to linger in my mind though….
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug  // 22 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2  minute steep
Steep #2 // 11 minutes after boiling // 2 min
Steep #3 // 1 minute after boiling // 3 min
Steep #4 // just boiled // 5 min

TTB tea! I definitely taste the vanilla. I also taste some cinnamon. It’s not too spicy or hearty. With milk and sugar, it’s enjoyable, but I wish other spices came through more to round out the flavor profile better. It was a little thin. My partner says this one tastes like cinnamon rolls.

TTB tea! This tastes pretty cleaner-like. I don’t taste any cayenne. DavidsTea usually does an okay lemon flavor, but I had to pour this one out. It looks like some of the reviews mention the same thing, but others don’t, so it may depend on the batch.

Day 15 DAVIDs Tea Advent Calendar 2023

When I opened this one I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it. Turns out my nose deceived me and the blend is lovely. There is a marshmallow/vanilla creaminess that I enjoy. Wish this was a year round flavor. I would definitely serve this to guests. Sadly it’s no longer listed on the website, so I guess I’ll hope for it to come back next holiday season

TTB tea! I wouldn’t call this one tart. It was a gentle, refreshing lemon. It was simple, but I enjoyed it cold. The second time I tried this, I must have oversteeped it because there was still no sourness, but too much savory herb flavor came through with only a hint of lemon.

TTB tea! I didn’t love this one hot. The coffee flavor was a little dirt-like. Once it cooled and had extra sugar and almond milk, I think it tasted pretty okay. Not as good as their other coffee-inspired flavors, but it was fine! I definitely get the coffee vibe, but not mocha specifically, and nothing even slightly like chai.

I picked up two bags of this at some point. I’m at the bottom of the first bag, so I dumped the crumbs that were left in my steeping basket and added a small scoop from the new bag. This cup is tasting like a morphing of hot apple cider and mulled wine. The finish has a weird flatness to it. I don’t recall my other cups of this tasting quite like that and I’m attributing it all to it being the bottom of the bag dust. I do recall enjoying previous cups of this. I also could have sworn that I had written a tasting note on this before, but I don’t see it now.

Day 10 DAVIDs Tea Advent Calendar 2023

This is not for me. I find if weird and honestly don’t want to finish the mug. Very sweet and reminds me of Hot Tang. And yes, Hot Tang is a drink I’ve had the pleasure of while on camping trips. But this is not what I’m looking for in a mug of tea.