DAVIDsTEA

Iced Tea!

A few days ago right at the start of when I thought I might be getting sick I ended up making a giant iced mug of this. I figured the elderberry couldn’t hurt, and regardless those deeper purple and jammy berry notes with the hint of tartness were exactly what I was craving in the moment. So good iced! Very different from any of my other berry blends from DT as well…

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 new one from the Wellness Wonders collection!

In terms of flavour this is probably my personal favourite of the new blends in this collection. Elderberry can be tricky to work with since it’s pretty pungent and intense and can sometimes come off as medicinal. However, during the development stage of this tea, people were so consistently surprised and impressed with how pleasant and approachable the tart yet jammy berry flavour was. Just a bit of tangy, acidic and bright hibiscus at the top of each sip before relaxing into a deeper, “purple berry” sort of flavour with a mild floral undertone from the elderflower. I know kombucha can be polarizing because of its vinegar-y funk, but I think this is just enough of a nod to that flavour to be accurate to the namesake without going full funk. It’s just refreshing and balanced!

In terms of function the stars here really are the two namesake ingredients: elderberry for immunity and kombucha powder for gut health/digestion. With how prominent an ingredient elderberry has become for its association with immunity I found it weird we didn’t have a tea where that was the star ingredient, so that was the initial spark of this blend.

Just because that was the initial inspiration doesn’t mean it’s not also just a delicious tea regardless of whether you care about functional benefits or not. I’ve been drinking this tea a lot but hot and iced. Mostly iced or cold brewed, if I’m being honest. It’s got a rich and refreshing flavour and great natural sweetness. I also avoided using ingredients like candied fruit and stevia. Without getting into the stevia debate, I know that both can be polarizing for different reasons – especially candied fruit when it comes to blends meant to support wellness. Since I really believe this tea can be a good fit for all different types of consumers, I really wanted to develop it without either – and I think it came out great!

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.

How have I not reviewed this tea again since it launched!?

Honestly, I drink this blend a lot. It’s just rich enough of a vanilla flavour to me to work when I’m craving something a little more indulgent, but no so rich that it doesn’t work when I just want something easy breezy and relaxing. Plus, added probiotics!!

I made it last night and I added a thick layer of vanilla cold foam because I was in a sweeter sort of mood. Honestly, the tea didn’t really need the cold foam because it was plenty creamy enough all on its own. It did make for a more fun time though, and maybe I needed that more than the decadence.

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.

Well, looks like the dashboard is back up – so this seems like as good a time as any to talk about DT’s newest collection, which launched a little less than a week ago…

I’ve worked on wellness teas before like Immunity SOS & Coffee Break, both of which are being refeatured in this collection. However, this is the first proper wellness “campaign” (ie. multiple teas in one release) where every single tea released is something that I developed. It’s sort of both a personal and profession milestone moment.

This tea in particular is probably one of the most interesting teas I’ve ever developed purely because the process was so significantly different than the normal development for a loose leaf tea. And why exactly was that? Without getting too deep into the nitty gritty, the tldr is that this tea was blended with added probiotics! It’s not actually the first time DT has released a probiotic boosted blend (anyone else remember Probiotea?) but it is the first time I’ve made one. It was actually a very surreal experience having the tables flip from being the one in store selling Probiotea to now re-imagining the concept. We did use the same strain of probiotics (GanedenBC30) since they’re just so well suited to tea because they’re shelf stable and heat resistant. Just really good at taking a beating and still doing their job – which is good because this blend is actually formulated with enough added probiotics that regular consumption of a 16 oz mug of it has noticeable digestive benefits.

I didn’t want to solely lean on the probiotics though, which is why I incorporated other gut-friendly ingredients like oat straw and chicory root, the latter of which is the ingredient with the highest naturally occurring inulin content – a water soluble prebiotic fiber. Part of why I liked working on this tea is because I feel like people are more ready for a blend like this now than they were when Probiotea originally released. It was still crazy cool and innovative back then, but talking about gut health and digestion was so taboo. It’s still kind of like that, but I feel like the consumer awareness and acceptance of that type of language has changed SO MUCH. We live in a world now where brands like BelliWelli go viral because of positive reception to slogans like “Hot Girls have IBS” and it’s not irregular at all to get targeted ads and product recommendations for shakes, yogurts, pills and other things promising to improve your gut health and help you poop better. More people know not just what probiotics are but also understand the differences between pre and pro and their individual importances.

In additional to all of that, I feel like I also got the added boon of knowing all the friction points people had with the original tea – probably the biggest of which was simply the flavour direction. It was a very minty profile with a lot of sarsaparilla. I liked it, but I remember people finding it almost tooth paste-like. The sarsaparilla was especially polarizing. So when I was trying to figure out the flavour profile of this tea I knew I wanted something that people would be more likely to routine around because probiotics are most effective when consumed daily and that was less polarizing overall. I took a lot of inspiration from Greek Yogurt (another probiotic) profiles, and that eventually led to the decision to just make this a simple, smooth and creamy vanilla flavour. It’s definitely not overly sweet or super rich, but I like the pureplay vanilla notes here. They come out more as the tea slightly cools or with a splash of milk. Personally, I’ve really been enjoying it as a late night cuppa – especially when I’ve wanted something just a little bit decadent but without being sugary and cloying. It’s just enough to satisfy those cravings (for me at least).

This is a long tasting note, I know. A lot of work went into this tea though, and I learnt a whole lot through the process. I know it’s a bit of an expensive blend (probiotics are not cheap y’all), but I personally think it’s worth it for the combination of function and flavour. Definitely looking forward to seeing what other people think, though!

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.

Peach flavour tasted artificial but I still liked it. A bit too sweet.

“Teas I drink in a day Friday 12/22/23” 5
MUG: DT tumbler 20 oz white with red/green/pink candy cane stripes
STYLE: cold brew
DRANK: evening time
NOTES: I had this teabag hot earlier in the week, cold steeped the tea bag in 12-14 oz water and then mixed with maybe 2-4 oz of left of that RMD. Obviously, the weather has been mild as I am still drinking plenty of cold brew. :)

Instagram post, pic 5 is packaging & 6 is picture with teas 4&5, @teawithjann vlogmas playing, snacks from @dessertbydeb box that arrived that day, and one my kids (my kitten Sherbet, one of my two girls): https://www.instagram.com/tiffanydrinkstea/p/C1Mj4I1Odn7/?img_index=6

Homemade Advent Exchange Tea #12

This is a wonderful mint blend. I normally do not drink green/mint combos since I stick to non caffeinated mint herbals instead. I did like how the tea make this a bit more well rounded and varied. Mint is great, but the addition of tannin and vegetal flavours really brings nuance to the drink and even a bit of sweetness. The mint was very fresh, as evidenced by how potent it was when I forgot about my cup and let it steep for 30 minutes. The upside is that I diluted it and made multiple cups out of the one steeping.

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 19

I am on break from school/work/internship, so I started my vacation with a relaxing bath that included tea, chocolate, a candle, and a book. Bliss!

My serving included a LOT of whole chamomile flowers/buds, so this was a very chamomile-forward cup laced with a bit of licorice sweetness. A nice relaxing blend.

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 16

Alas, this one doesn’t do it for me. It has that kind of musty “stale coffee” flavoring that I dislike in tea, and then the apple sweetness is weirdly cloying. The cardamom just feels discordant. :(

Day 16 DAVIDs Tea Advent Calendar 2023

After an evening of gift wrapping and a chilly dog walk, it was nice to sit with a mug near the lights of the Christmas tree and listening to music. I steeped for about 3 minutes. Reading the ingredient list, I was pretty sure this one wasn’t going to be a hit. I found it to be tart, sour and hibiscus heavy. I had hoped something a bit lighter as a white tea. It was enjoyable enough but I probably wouldn’t pick it out for myself again.

Happy New Year, steepers! Obviously I’ve been drinking this latke tea during Hanukkah. It still reads as apple-cinnamon pancake to me. I find it too sweet and not savory enough to read as potato per se. But it’s tasty for a sweet pancake tea, I appreciate that it even exists, and I respect the effort.

This is a really hard flavor to land. As far as I know, Butiki is the only other company that has ever put out a latke blend. I appreciate the effort, care, and ambition that goes into doing a blend like this. And I wanted to make sure that I gave it full consideration so I’ve had it a few times now before finally sitting down to write up a note.

No doubt, this is a delicious blend. Apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, nice woody rooibos base. Big cozy fall vibes. But it’s apple-cinnamon pancake, not apple-cinnamon potato pancake. For one mug, I went out of my way to add extra bits of potato from the blend to see if that would help. That definitely upped the potato-starchy element, but it still leaned too sweet. I even tried adding salt, which used to work to bring out the savory aspects of Butiki’s blend, but didn’t seem to do much here. This is definitely a very DavidsTea take on the concept, which is to say that it skews sweeter than I’d ideally like it to be for a latke blend. I realize that most of DavidsTea’s market probably won’t be clamoring at the doors for a tea to be more savory, though, so this is just a matter of my preference.

Day 14 DAVIDs Tea Advent Calendar

Baked good teas can be hit or miss but this is for sure a hit! This is so fun, delicious, and sweet. A fantastic dessert tea. I definitely would get this again.

Another sipdown from the past week! My nephew and sister stayed with us for a bit, and I made a big pot of this tea to finish off the packet (which I got from a TTB). My sister loves rooibos but doesn’t like fruity or floral flavors, and my nephew loves chai, so this was the perfect choice for all of us. I still maintain that this is basically liquefied red cinnamon candy hearts rather than chai, but still — it’s a fun one! Very kid-friendly, as long as the kid in question enjoys cinnamon.

Sharing tea with loved ones brings me great joy, so it was delightful to finish off this tea alongside family. :)

2024 sipdown count: 16

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 13

This tea is the liquefied version of those red cinnamon heart candies I used to get for Valentine’s Day as a kid (…from my parents). It’s got strong Big Red gum energy, but with honey-like sweetness added in.

I dunno, I kinda dig it?! It’s fun and kitschy. I’m not sure I could drink more than a small cup at a time, but I could imagine it satisfying a very specific craving every so often. Arby suggested adding milk, so I’ll add a splash of oat milk next time I brew it up.

I feel like “Chai” is a bit misleading, though… this is pretty much pure cinnamon, with just a smidge of apple sweetness!

Day 13 Davids Tea Advent Calendar

It’s chamomile with no frills. I think it’s been a while since I’ve had a basic chamomile tea with no other herbal add ins. It feels silky and reminds me of summer. It’s kind of mellow, not bad, but not super exciting either. Here’s hoping for a good night sleep!

Naturally, I had to include this in my Hanukkah tea lineup. Funnily enough, even though this is more intensely sweet than the DT latke blend, I like this better. I think because it’s trying to match a purely sweet flavor profile, I’m not having that feeling of wanting it to be something else (in the case of the latke blend, more savory). The DT Hanukkah gift set should just be a bundle of these two blends instead of a random assortment of teabags with a worse cost-to-tea ratio than the advent calendars. But I digress!
I like this one hot and unadulterated. The notes of jam, powdered sugar, and seemingly specifically fried pastry are just spot on.

Damn Kelly, you knocked this one out of the park!

I know this isn’t actually a Hanukkah tea, but jelly donuts (sufganiyot) are a Hanukkah food so I saved it to enjoy for the holiday. And I’m glad I did because the actual sufganiyot I had today were, sadly, not particularly good. This tea, on the other hand, is. It’s a dead ringer for the flavor profile: red berry jammy, powdered sugar, and pastry. The stevia isn’t even gumming up the works. I am getting almost a raspberry quality to the jam, not just strawberry. I tried this as a latte but I actually prefer it hot and undoctored. It’s more “strawberry milk” as a latte but more “jelly donut covered in powdered sugar” undoctored. Definitely not for someone who doesn’t like flavored teas or sweet teas – it is very sweet – but this hits a very particular cultural note for me very well. I’ve still got the latke tea tucked away to try too!

Homemade Advent Calendar from Arby: Day 7

I’m behind! We were out of town this weekend visiting family. I did bring a few of the bagged teas from my homemade advent, but alas — tragedy struck, and my lavender-scented hand sanitizer leaked all over them. :( That and the fact that I’d have to heat my water in a hotel Keurig didn’t lead to any enjoyable tea sessions while we were away.

One tea bag in a paper envelope is probably too lavender-soaked to drink, but a few were OK, including this one. I drank it when we returned home, exhausted from getting up super early after we changed our flight to avoid bad weather.

Aaaaaaaanywaaaaay… what an odd tea! But I kinda like it? The eartht pu’erh sitting behind the lighter coffee flavor is fun and unexpected, and then the vanilla arrives at the end. It’s definitely a novelty, but one I might crave at unexpected moments?!

Day 6 of Around the World Advent Calendar 2023 features this tea.

Notes from box: Experience the craftsmanship of family-owned Jun Chiyabari tea garden with this vibrant tea from the high mountains of Nepal’s Hile-Dhankutu.

My notes: This tea has a floral and vegetal smell, like a deliciously fresh meadow perfume. The liquor produced is light and crisply grassy and highly drinkable, but not very memorable. However, this does not bother me. It could be that my palate is just not refined enough to truly appreciate it, and drinking it was a fine way to spend an hour in the afternoon. For me, enjoyable and forgettable in equal measures.

Day 10 of Around the World Advent Calendar 2023 features this tea.

Notes from box: Take in the oh so cool & refreshing & minty taste of the Pacific Northwest with every sip.

My notes: Lovely peppermint tea. I always oversteep a bit with peppermint, so my tea was caramel-colored by the time I drank it. I’m not sure that I’m feeling any special “amour” from this tea, and again, the leaves were pretty dried and grey (as seems to be the sad trend for the 2023 Around the World Advent Calendar), but it was delicious and minty smooth.

Day 7 of Around the World Advent Calendar 2023 features this tea.

Notes from box: Straight from the heart of sunny & scenic Croatia comes this aromatic, caffeine-free treat for you to love.

My notes: This is a bunch of lovely hay-scented flowers with an intoxicatingly calm aroma. They are a mustard yellow color and, if I have to be critical, look a little dusty and over-dry. The tea is mild and buttery and light and everything chamomile should be. If you are looking for something stronger, move along. This will not do it for you.

Day 8 of Around the World Advent Calendar 2023 features this tea.

Notes from box: Travel across the globe with this black tea featuring Saigon cinnamon that’s best served with condensed milk, hot or iced.

My notes: I brewed this tea strong (went past the 5-minute mark) because I find Davids Tea black teas to be very light and mild. It made a caramel-red liquor that was smooth and rich. However, for a chai, this was not spicy at all. There was a slight warming after swallowing that was very ginger-forward. After waiting for about 8-10 minutes of steeping, the tea was a tad bit spicier (which was enjoyable) but no longer hot. The flavorings are mild here and, unusually for me, I appreciated the cream flavoring, as it added a dairy note that was pleasant. Adding any real dairy to the tea, as suggested on the box note, would have dulled any flavor and created a cup of white, mild nothing. I did not finish my cold cup.