DAVIDsTEA

Cold Brew!

Though the sweet and boozy notes of Prosecco were the strongest flavour in this brew, I did feel like I got more distinct grassy undertones from the green tea than I’ve ever tasted in another steep of this. Not sure if that’s because of the steeping method or if my nearly finished sample bag just had more green tea at the bottom of it from not being shaken before scooping the tea leaf each time I’ve made this in the past…

Aside from those two flavours, the cranberry and strawberry notes were pretty even and a very well balanced mix of tart and sweet fruity flavours.

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.

Made myself a mug of this yesterday morning. On one hand it did feel a little weird to be kick starting my work week with a prosseco flavoured tea. On the other hand, it was exactly the sort of lightly tart, juicy and effervescent sort of profile I needed to put a little pep in my step that early in the day.

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.

Iced!

I say every year that one of the faults of Adventageddon is that I’m so busy drinking advent teas that I kind of miss out on having the teas already in my stash that are more seasonally appropriate. Yes, I have the odd Candy Cane Crush in the summer and that sort of thing, but there’s something to making Christmas/Winter teas during Christmas/Winter that I miss out on a bit…

So, on one of the days I finished advent teas early a week or so ago I went looking to find an iced tea and I took the opportunity to enjoy this sweet, effervescent blend that was released as part of our winter collection. It’s boozy in a playful way with ripe strawberry and crisp, tart cranberry notes. Very yummy iced!

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.

Oh, hello there new tea!

This one launched earlier in the month and is currently a store exclusive blend.

Y’all know how I normally feel about green teas, but I really enjoy this particular one. We release so many decadent blends around winter that it was nice to work on something a little bit brighter and juicy. I had this idea for, essentially, a cranberry prosecco. Something sweet yet tart that felt celebratory and kind of rode the middle ground between being a more proper winter flavour and also sort of having a New Year’s vibe.

So, that’s exactly what this is.

The top of the sip is lively yet crisp with most of the cranberry flavour making itself known in that initial taste. From there, the profile slides into something sweeter and more boozy – prosecco/champagne with a complimentary fruity note of sweet, ripe strawberries to carry through the “red” profile from top of the sip all the way until the finish. Practically effervescent. It’s also playful while, in my mind, having a sort of sophistication to it. Makes me think of the Squish prosecco/sparkling wine gummy bears that I loved so much back when I was working in DT stores in Saskatchewan.

Good hot, but IMO better cold – either iced or cold brewed. It’s also a fun one to make tea based cocktails with – a mimosa with this would be so good.

Obviously I’d love if every tea I got to develop was available on all channels, and I empathize with the people who are frustrated about store exclusive blends. However, just because something starts in stores doesn’t mean it’ll only be in stores. Peaches & Cream Oolong was store exclusive at first, but it did so well and there was so much interest in it that it’s now online too…

So, fingers crossed!

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.

Huh, I haven’t written a note for this one yet?? It’s a damn decent fruity herbal! Bolder with a many minute steep, syrupy. Many fruits here but the flavor that does mostly take center stage is “guava”. I like it! A deep fuchsia brew but NOT tart. Not hibiscus tart. I wouldn’t have even guessed there was hibiscus here. But… maybe the hibiscus has faded with age?!?! I would normally say all the other flavors fade with age and somehow hibiscus gets stronger, but not here. It’s good stuff! I only have a little remaining now…

TTB tea! I was excited to see this one! You know…it’s pretty accurately named! It’s a mild chai, and I really could imagine this as being fortune cookie flavored. I’m impressed!

This has been a pleasant dessert tea… it doesn’t really taste like pumpkin or creme brulee to me, but I do like it. I mostly smell and taste the cocoa, on a sweet appley base. There are some nutty and toffee undertones, but the chocolate flavor dominates too much to read those as a caramel or burnt sugar note for me. It’s very sweet, but is nice for an evening sweet tooth craving. I also really enjoyed it as a latte with vanilla almond milk.

I really enjoy this. I’m a Nutella fan, and the flavor is pretty spot on here. The chocolate note is rich and fudgey and hits first, with a sweet nuttiness filling out the end of the sip and lingering on my tongue. I’m not a big fan of pu’erh, but find that most of the aspects of it that I don’t like are lost in this blend — I don’t get any unpleasant dirty flavors but it definitely creates a richer, mouth-coating base which is really working for me. It would probably make a nice latte, but I’ve been enjoying it plenty straight-up.

We’re getting snow here in North Dakota so I thought I would brew up something summery. This one is certainly not bad. I’ve had it for a few years though and I think maybe some flavor has faded. I was hoping for that juicy, sweet explosion of flavor I get when I bite into a peach. I was disappointed because I didn’t get that.

However, the flavor though mild was pleasant. Just a tad artificially sweet, but not bad.

Just a quick tasting note to document the fact this tea launched about a week back! It’s the next up in the ongoing conversion of DT’s flavoured matchas to organic. Tastes exactly like the previous non-organic one, but I guess technically a whole new tea.

I’ve personally pretty much hit my fill of pumpkin teas for the month of October, but I did sneak in a couple Pumpkin Pie Matcha lattes at the office over the past few months while waiting for this one to launch officially.

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.

Brewed this one up last night because I was just in the mood for something a little more simple and straight forward, but still a bit cozier. It was a little bit more of an apple forward cuppa with soft undertones of cinnamon and nutmeg, but in that sort of baked apple way that’s less bright/juicy tasting. I still kind of wish we’d leaned more into the potato part of this blend, but it was a tough thing to balance when everyone has a different idea of what is too savory when it comes to tea. At least you get a bit of a thicker and more starchy mouthfeel from the potato inclusion.

I should try to remember next time I make this to add a pinch of salt after steeping…

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 had a pretty surreal experience earlier this week…

So, here in Montreal there’s this INFAMOUS Jewish brunch spot called Arthur’s. They don’t take reservations, and to get in for brunch you usually have to wait in line for over an hour. Always busy. So delicious though, with the best cottage cheese pancakes and amazing latkes.

Well, a few coworkers and I went for breakfast there earlier this week specifically because they’re carrying this tea is part of their menu for the winter. It was absolutely wild going to this beloved restaurant (that I’ve been a fan of since moving to MTL) and ordering a tea off the menu that I developed and getting to just sit there and, well, drink it.

I mean, DAVIDsTEA is carried in several different cafes and we’ve had lots of different pop ups and events since I’ve started working there where I was able to got and order one of our teas. However, the teas featured are usually our best sellers. Stuff we’ve carried since before I was an employee or that was developed when I was working in stores or just a data assistant in the lab. This was different. It felt different. It was really, really cool.

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.

This is the other new winter/holiday tea that released this past week! As an online exclusive…

Many of us long time users here on Steepster probably don’t even bat an eye at a Latke inspired tea thanks to Butiki’s infamous and fabulous Latkes & Applesauce green tea blend. However, when I first tested the waters within our office about developing a latke tea with actual potato in it I definitely got a lot of strange looks.

This is very much an interpretation of a latkes and applesauce profile in DAVIDsTEA’s style but I have to fully confess that, when tasting initial versions of this tea, I definitely had my very fond memories of Butiki’s blend in mind. I knew how good a latke blend could be and that pushed me really hard to get the exact right balance of warming, cozy cinnamon and nutmeg and sweet, baked apple notes. The potato adds a subtle starchy quality, and the rooibos we used as the base leans into that element of the profile and ties everything together. Plus, I loved the idea of having a caffeine free blend so that this tea could be enjoyed later in the evenings for any families lighting candles together.

It’s gonna be so interesting seeing what most people think of this tea because, truthfully, it is a very weird thing to have potato in a blend and so many people do associate latkes with being more savory or oily. I think this is such a soft, cozy tea though. Like the more mature, toned down version of Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, almost. Not red hot cinnamon flavouring in the slightest.

Only time will tell.

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 23

Y’know, yesterday’s DT tea was Silent Night and I wrote about how impactful it was for me to hear someone describe that as a “holiday classic.” Well, today’s tea is kind of quickly becoming another of those staple holiday blends – so a bit of an emotional one-two-punch for me at the tail end of advent season…

I’m not personally the biggest fan of coffee, which is so weird to me because I typically love roasted flavours. However, despite that, this blend is very special feeling to me. One of my DREAM concepts when I started working in R&D was to create a “Jack Frost” inspired tea blend, so this rich and creamy peppermint mocha blend was some wish fulfillment on my part.

I actually smell the aroma of coffee more than I taste it, but I think it’s lightly there alongside a very smooth and welcoming blend of black tea and pu’erh and then lightly sweet and decadent swirls of milk chocolate and mint. Ever so slightly cooling on the backend of the sip. I said a few days ago in another tasting note that I’ve kind of shifted in flavour preferences from wanting the INTENSE sweetness of Candy Cane Crush to something more like a middle ground between that tea and Santa’s Secret, and I feel like this tea does a good job of striking that balance. It also feels very “old school” DT in the way that blends like Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Chili Chai, or Coffee Cake do.

I guess, overall, what I’m saying is a really love the balance of flavours and winter-y, romanticized feeling of this tea. It’s exactly what I wanted it to be. And I’m forever grateful that we kept the name Jack Frosted Mocha instead of just calling it Peppermint Mocha.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DD79dBPyeuo/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2_IXfqYOWo&ab_channel=BennyBellson

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 feel like I’m in this super weird limbo right now of being really into Halloween season and wanting to revisit all my pumpkin and otherwise Halloween-y blends but also starting to feel REALLY hyped for the holidays.

At work we’re heavy in producing all of the winter teas right now, and this one just came back in stock. I remember in the tea lab the day we were QC tasting it the whole building smelled delightfully of mint chocolate, and when I got home I just made myself the BIGGEST mug of this. Super, super smooth notes of milk chocolate with coffee undertones and then that sweet minty finish. So happy with this blend. I think it nails that peppermint mocha vibe.

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.

A late night cuppa from earlier in the week!

I was in one of those moods where I couldn’t exactly figure out what tea I wanted, so I picked this one at random. I think it was a good choice because those smooth, creamy mint and milk chocolate notes were neither too weak/thin or too intense and sweet for the kind of middling vibe I was in. The coffee was light, but that gentle touch to differentiate it from the standard mint chocolate blend was perfect.

I’m still really proud of this tea!

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.

Welp. Personally I think it feels too early in the year, but that hasn’t stopped the first wave of winter/holiday teas from launching. There are many returning teas like Candy Cane Crush, Sleigh Ride, and Alpine Punch – but also a few new ones, like this tea! Truthfully, I think this is pretty easily my favourite of the new teas this year – though Latke Love has a special place in my heart too.

So, some back story. For essentially as long as I’ve been in R&D I’ve wanted to include Jack Frost in the name of a tea blend/as a tea inspiration. I actually pitched the name “Jack Frosted Orange” for the white chocolate, orange, and peppermint blend that eventually ended up being named North Star. So finally getting that win through this blend feels a bit like a personal achievement – and I really do think this was the perfect tea to use that naming inspiration with!

Essentially, this tea is meant to be a peppermint mocha. Basically a well balanced trio of peppermint, milk chocolate, and coffee. A little more emphasis on the mint chocolate though, if I’m being honest. This tea has the absolute cutest (and most delicious) mini mint chocolate chips in it – I kind of lost my mind the first time I saw them. They have such an incredible visual impact. In my personal opinion, they’re the most interest chocolate addition we’ve ever used in tea. The base is a mix of pu’erh and black tea. I love the body the pu’erh gives and that slight earthiness leans in nicely to the chocolate/coffee, and the black tea is just so smooth.

When I’ve described this tea to people in our office, I usually say that it’s somewhere in between the intensity of Santa’s Secret and Candy Cane Crush – just with different flavours. Basically, a nice happy medium between a delicate tasting blend and a super rich one. It sort of has that “old school” DT vibe to me that I associate with blends like Red Velvet Cake or Coffee Cake. It’s amazing as a latte – both hot and iced.

I’m always really excited to see what people think of new blends, but this one I’m especially curious to hear about. It’s the first “big holiday tea” that I fully did the development for, so I definitely feel like I have more personal stakes in the reception of this blend…

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.

So this is a new addition to our “Garden To Cup” collection. Essentially, all of our straight teas/tisanes. We haven’t carried a straight green mate in about five years, so it’s really refreshing to have one back in the assortment. I think it’s always kind of sad to not have at least one straight version in each tea type category. For a while, we had a straight Guayusa that I really liked, but that one’s been discontinued for a while too…

Not a ton to say about this one as it’s a very classic tasting greener yerba mate. Fans of straight mate will, I’m sure, love this one and also it’s super approachable for people looking to get into straight mate for the first time.

Full transparency, I wrote the tasting notes that are used on the website to describe the tea (as I now do with all new tea releases) so I obviously agree with them. Basically, I think this tea has lush notes of fresh dew and sweet grass with a subtle earthy undertone. IMO very fresh and really reminiscent of that “rain forest taste” I associate with mate…

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.

My cups of this have been a bit hit or miss… it’s hard for me to get consistent cups with a good amount of both black tea and chunky fruit, so some cups have been very underwhelming while others have been quite nice.

The steeped aroma is very pleasant. It’s sort of a sweet cream with some fruity undertones on the nose. I steep this on the longer side for me with blacks, due to wanting to let the fruit have a chance, so the black tea has been coming out a bit more metallic/tannic than I personally prefer, but it isn’t bad. A little malty, a little coppery, and a little more autumn leaf. The fruitiness is there, but mostly comes out as a generic and very sweet “fruit flavor” than distinct fruits — I’ve had a few cups where a pear note popped a little more for me, and I could almost make out cranberry in the aftertaste (cranberry being a notoriously hard flavor for me to ever taste in tea). Most of the time I just get a sweet “pear mascarading as bubblegum” vibe.

Enjoyable, but not something I think I’ll miss once I’ve finished off the last few cups remaining in the bag.

Cold, rainy Fall nights call for cozy teas.
I don’t think this necessarily reads “cappuccino” to me but what I do get is fruity, acidic, vanillic, sweet and creamy. For a black tea, it’s pretty smooth without any bitterness which I appreciate.

I can’t in good conscience, give this anything less than an 80 due to the fact that I added my Silk Vanilla Almond Creamer to it and when I add that to just about anything, it makes it delicious so take that for whatever it’s worth.
It’s chocolatey (like a burnt dark chocolate), nutty (not necessarily hazelnut), toasty, sweet (I can tell it’s stevia) and maybe a tad artificial tasting but I don’t care, I really enjoyed my mug without regret and I’d happily drink it the same way again.

Strange VariaTEA TTB #26

The dry leaf of this blend is LOVELY, with big chunks of cinnamon sticks and curls of coconut and it actually does smell like a cookie! I brewed it as an unsweetened latte and found the flavor to be more “cookie” than “chai”…definitely leaning more into a sweet, baked goods cinnamon flavor than the more spicy ginger and cardamom I associate with chai. I really liked the flavor as I was sipping, but (as with too many David’s Tea blends) the stevia took over in the aftertaste and tainted the experience for me. Without the stevia, I think this would be a favorite for me!

Strange VariaTEA TTB #20

I wouldn’t mind using this blend as potpourri, because it smells amazing! Unfortunately, the flavor didn’t live up to the aroma for me personally. WAY too much hibiscus, and I also found the mix of hibiscus and mint a bit odd.