DAVIDsTEA

Iced Latte!

We were making matcha infused whipped cream at work today over lunch, and one of the flavours we made was banana. So, of course, I couldn’t turn down the oppertunity to have an iced banana matcha (happy Matcha Monday!) topped with banana matcha whipped cream. It was so good! Very, very rich but also quite fresh since the whipped cream was practically unsweetened save for the small amount of cane sugar in this semi sweetened matcha formulation – so that added an interesting twist. Kind of banana cream pie vibes overall.

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.

Of the new summer collection this is the only tea that you could maybe arguably say isn’t new since, a few summers back, we carried a non-organic banana flavoured matcha that sold out very, very quickly. I’m glad this tea is “back” though for people who loved the OG one or who didn’t get a chance to try it back then.

Honestly, it tastes very similar to the previous one. There are some key differences though, and it’s actually not because of the organic switch. Eagle eyed tea friends might notice that this matcha is more expensive than other organic flavoured matchas, and that’s because this matcha is more like a “semi sweetened” version. It actually contains 40% less sugar than our usual flavoured matchas, which is why the cost is higher but also why the taste is a little less sweet and more matcha forward.

Otherwise, it’s that same rich banana flavour that reads a little like banana taffy or runts. Very nostalgic (as is this whole collection), and so good with milk! I definitely like this one on its own, but I adore it either as a hot or iced latte – and I actually recently tried it as an iced latte with chocolate milk and that was INSANELY good tasting for a really decadent chocolate covered banana sort of profile.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=3 (3rd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3DkQTUHS8

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!

Made myself an iced mug of this tea when I got to the office this morning – both to cool down since it’s sooo hot out right now, and because I like starting my workday with something caffeinated and mate has been really helpful for me lately in regards to focusing. I’ve been drinking a lot of Jungle Crush lately, so I reached for this one instead to switch things up. Nice a peach-y, like the fresh peaches you get at roadside fruit stands. Not too sweet either!

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 this one over the weekend in the morning because I was craving that “Just Peachy” style of bright, juicy and slightly tangy Fuzzy Peach-like fruit note, but I also definitely needed a little caffeine and that bit of added focus from the green mate base. The subtle twist of ripe strawberry was also nice, though this is absolutely a peach forward 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.

This tea is actually the only store exclusive blend in the new drop. It’s a yerba mate based blend with a juicy, ripe peach flavour and a hint of strawberry to it. Very good iced, but actually I think this might actually be the only tea in the collection that I personally prefer hot.

The inspiration was sort of the fruit carts/stalls that are prolific in the summer in Venice Beach/LA in general or places like British Columbia (Vancouver/Kelowna/Victoria I’m looking at you!) where you can pick up baskets of perfectly juicy and ripe fruits. Definitely this is more peach than strawberry, but I do love how gorgeous the giant strawberry slices in the dry tea leaf look. As it compares to Just Peachy, I think this is slightly less sweet and also slightly less tart with a bit of a smooth and subtle grassiness from the mate used as the base. However, I definitely think if you enjoy one then you’ll likely enjoy the other – and I personally love having caffeinated fruity iced tea options and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

Of course I wish this was available for everyone to try, but so far pretty much every store exclusive blend where customers have been vocal about wanting it online has eventually launched there too – I mean, Jungle Crush and Peaches & Cream Oolong are both good examples of that. So, y’never know!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=4 (4th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc6JOIQFLmc

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.

Had this as a tea pop again yesterday because I’m just on such a grape kick right now. I love the citrusy edge that this otherwise deep purple grape flavoured blend has though. I wonder how many more times I’m going to end up making this over the coarse of the summer. Can’t stop. Won’t stop.

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.

Tea Pop!

We were filming some stuff this week that used this tea, so I reaped the benefits post-filming and enjoyed a juicy and vibrant Galactic Grape tea pop afterwards. Definitely like citrusy punch flavour with that sweet candy grape flavour layered on top. Not too sweet, though. Honestly, this has been one of my favourite new teas of the summer. So, so, so good as a tea pop! Like a more mellowed out grape soda.

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.

Next up in the latest collection… Galactic Grape!

Grape is another flavour that is a little bit polarizing, but there’s something so nostalgic to be about both grape soda and the most sour grape kind of candy that was so readily available growing up in the early 2000s – so those were sort of the inspirations and starting points for this blend.

People familiar with Maui Madness or Witchy Watermelon will instantly recognize the purple sweet potato pieces that make up a lot of the base of this blend. There’s also a bit of butterfly pea flower included, and the combination of these two ingredients creates a fun purple colour that’s a bit deeper than Maui Madness/Witchy Watermelon when steeped. It’s very pretty, and I think fun and kid friendly too.

In terms of taste this is definitely bright with a little bit of a top note acidity or slight sourness to it – like I said, one of the inspirations was sour grape candies but also we gave this tea a little bit of a citrus-y fruit flare too to give it a little more dimension and juiciness. Think grape fruit punch! You still get that deeper and more iconic “purple tasting grape” note after that initial brightness that anchors the blend, though. I don’t mind it hot, but I really love this tea cold brewed or iced. I just find it super refreshing. Also really good as a tea pop for a lighter taste grape soda alternative.

Another big part of this blend that I’m really proud of is that it’s totally free of stevia or other sweeteners/candied fruits. We already know stevia can be polarizing (and actually EVERY tea in this collection is stevia free) but something we especially hear in the summer is that people wish there were fruity/flavourful iced tea options without candied fruits so I definitely had that in mind when crafting this blend.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=2 (2nd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao3osYLAf0g

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.

It’s become a bit of a root beer sort of summer for me because this past week I found myself making this tea again. Only this time I did it as a tea pop with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream for a root beer float sort of vibe. I do enjoy this tea a lot as an iced latte because it has that float sort of vibe, but I have to admit that it’s hard to top making an actual float. The thick, creamy mouthfeel from the vanilla ice cream just really adds a lot to that super rich taste.

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 this bad boy as a tea pop today for some stuff we were filming for social and I got to enjoy the post-filming spoils all to myself. So sweet and earthy with that rich sarsaparilla-like taste and a hint of vanilla and licorice root in the finish. So good!

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.

Tea Pop!

Making another tea pop at the office this afternoon because it is HOT and tea pops are more fun feeling than regular iced tea while still being a great way to cool down. I went with two perfect spoons but a slightly longer steep time for my concentrate instead of the recommend four perfect spoons and I’m finding the balance better this way. Still sweet and licorice-y in the finish and plenty earthy from the roots but the overall profile is really channeling the taste of “Dad’s Root Beer”. Definitely one of the better independent root beer brands, IMO…

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.

Cold Brew!

Enjoyed this cold brew over the weekend! This is one of my favourite new DT blends of the summer, and I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with different ways of brewing this tea. I feel like, as a cold brew, this is quite soda-like minus of course the fizz. But it’s got such a similar rich, thick mouthfeel from the inclusion of licorice root and the exact right rich, brown sweetness.

You do need to be careful with the steep time because the licorice root can be quite pronounced in the finish (semi the case with this brew). However, as a cold brew, this doesn’t get quite as earthy from the pu’erh and all the roots as when you steep it hot.

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.

DT’s newest summer collection launched earlier this week and I’m honestly SO EXCITED about it because it means that after more than a year of waiting I can finally talk about these teas! It’s actually a pretty big drop with seven new teas – eight if you count the one returning matcha that is now available in organic. I don’t think we’ve had this many new blends launching all together in nearly two years!

I’m also really in love with the collection overall because it has such a cool theme to it. Basically, about four years ago, one of my favourite bands described their latest album as “drenched in nostalgia,” and I think that phrase has been living rent-free in my head ever since. It also PERFECTLY describes these teas. They’re all super refreshing and iceable with a strong late 90s and 2000s retro sort of vibe that takes me immediately back to some of my best memories of summer vacations growing up. Though it’s mighty hard to pick a favourite I think, gun to my head, it might be this one!?

DAVIDsTEA has carried a root beer tea before nearly a decade ago – I actually really enjoyed it a lot. So, when re-imagining what a “modern” root beer tea from DT might look like I knew it was important for there to be differentiating qualities. Though I don’t think there’s anything wrong with inclusions like white chocolate (which was in the old tea for the “float” element) in a blend, when beginning development I took a lot more inspiration from the ongoing prebiotic & gut-friendly soda trend (ex Poppi or OliPop) that’s been popping off lately – no pun intended. I also wanted to look at more traditional ingredients used in brewing root beer to create something with a more “old fashioned root beer” sorta vibe that was as functional as it was flavourful. Very much this idea of putting the roots back in rootbeer.

So, to that point, there’s actually four different kinds of roots in this tea: burdock, dandelion, chicory, and licorice root. Though burdock and dandelion root both have their own associated health benefits I think they also contribute quite nicely to the flavour of the blend by adding a rich and slightly roasty/earthy flavour that gives the blend a lot of depth. The chicory root does this too, but it’s actually there more-so because it has an incredibly high amount of naturally occuring inulin – a water soluble and prebiotic fiber that’s great for your gut. The licorice root, on top of being adaptogenic, is added for it’s mouth-coating sweetness that helps emulate not just the taste but the texture of soda.

I also deliberately used pu’erh as the base because it doesn’t just taste good, but pu’erh has also traditionally been consumed as a digestive aid and is purportedly also prebiotic – so much gut health goodness.

Now, those are a lot of strong flavours so I think this is a good time to point out that this is a STRONG tasting tea. It steeps very quickly and intensely, and if you leave it brewing for more than a few minutes you’ll get both a robust earthiness to the taste but also a lot of that licorce root sweetness. Sometimes, however, that’s a good thing! It means you can make a pretty strong concentrate without a ton of tea leaf – and this tea is INSANELY GOOD as both a teapop (duh) and as an iced latte for that sort of root beer float kinda vibe. Both of which are recipes that use a more concentrated brew of tea as the base of the drink.

All in all, this will probably be the most polarizing tea of the bunch. However, if you like root beer, pu’erh or other earthy tasting ingredients, or are looking for a “cleaner soda alternative” then I think it’s pretty spectacular! Also, holy hell the dry leaf smells sooooo good. I have a tin of it on my desk at work right now, and multiple times a day I pop the lid off just to smell the rich root beer aroma.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=1 (1st Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g5_9fuxkak

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.

TTB tea! This does taste a little like lychee! It’s light and fruity. Not my favorite, but not bad! I wish the flavor were even stronger and juicier, but I do enjoy the authentic flavor. Sometimes it’s a little herbaceous or plain.

Not a true sipdown because I have another bag, but this one is done. I like this! I had better notes jotted down somewhere, but from memory: I like the floral jasmine here, I recall the underlying oolong being smooth and creamy, and it resteeps well Western-style as well as being good for grandpa-style brewing.

I’ve been disappointed lately with the cinnamon teas, I’ve had in my cabinet. Most seem to be light in the cinnamon and needing a boost of “something” to add to the flavor. This one was a contender this morning and while the scent of cinnamon was strong while steeping, sadly, it is not a strong cinnamon while sipping. It’s sweet and also missing the spice flavors that I equate to chai. I am unsure how long this tea bag has been in my cabinet. Perhaps long enough that it lost is spicey edge. Through those disappointments, I will say, I did enjoy this mug. It was great for a rainy spring day and gave a cozy feel. There was an appley taste to it with the sweetness and cinnamon. I didn’t bother to add any milk or honey but did think about it.

Day 9 Davids Tea 2023 Advent Calendar

My last sample from the Advent calendar. Its not as good as I seem to remember but it’s not bad. I find it more nutty than caramel. Definite buttery taste and heavy on the salt. The last sip was room temp and actually tasted more caramel than when it was hot.

Day 11 Davids Tea 2023 Advent Calendar

Down to my last 2 advent calendar samples to note. Milk Oolong is a new term for me, so I Googled to get a bit more educated while sipping. I enjoyed watching this one steep as the leaves really unfurled and filled the infuser. I find this to be very floral and dark with a creamy feel and taste. I did not expect the floral taste initially but based on what I just read on Mr Google, it sounds as if this tea is exactly as it’s supposed to be. I’m enjoying it more with each sip. Might try a second steeping to see how it stands up

Sipdown and backlog

I’ve been drinking too much puerh and oolong lately, that I’ve avoided the flavored tea sipdown pile for too long. This was a leftover from the Christmas Advent season and I was ready to start digging into the pile again. I drank this hot during work last night because I wanted something sweet, but I’m doing the best to avoid the Thin Mint cookies in my freezer.

This is a good brew though. I noted, “strong berry notes, tastes like hot juice (mix of cranberry and grape), and sweet.” I’d imagine this would’ve made for a beautiful iced tea, too.

I totally get the Mexican candy vibe this is going for. In some sips, I taste a really nice combo of slightly sour candylike watermelon plus that kick of heat. I just wish there could be a smaller amount of beet in there because often it overpowers the other flavors. Definite points for creativity on this one.

Day 2 Davids Tea 2023 Advent Calendar

I actually have a pouch of this somewhere in my tea cabinet as well and I’m glad because I enjoyed this one. Being “from the north” sweet potato pie is not a common occurrence for meals. Our family sure loves sweet potatoes though.
I steeped for about 5 minutes at 200F. The blend looked interesting with chopped nuts and marshmallow bits. Its definitely sweet as I would expect and has a caramelized sugar taste. Definitely gives off vibes of cozy, warm, and comfort. Next time I drink this, I think I’ll make it as a latte to bump up the dessert factor.

Sipdown
After a long day at the hospital visiting a precious baby and their parents, having to drive the most chaotic way home – thanks to the highway constantly being shutdown for construction (welcome to Ohio) – and the snow (making a loud and brief return to the land), I needed a big mug of tea. I reached into the sipdown pile blindly and grabbed this tea. I really love the play that DT has with their Earl Grey blends. This was one of the special EG blends remaining from a couple of years ago, when I discovered DT, after had been given a sample of their Coffee Puerh through an online tea swap. I knew of their existence, of course, they are one of the bigger tea distributors, but the Columbus, Ohio location had closed well before the time I had learned of their existence in our state (I always assumed they were solely Canada based).

Anyway, I had 4tsp of this sitting in the bag. I had the intention of making this as an iced cup. I was video gaming while making the cup, thus, in my hurry, made it a hot cup of tea. Let me note that this, in no way will sway my opinion of this blend, since the final dregs of the highly over brewed and overly bitter mug was the error of my multitasking. One must admit the fault of their hand, if there’s the knowing that the tea usually makes a lovely cuppa. However, before I close on this review, if you’re ever curious what this will taste like, with the intention of it being enough leaf to be watered down by ice and not as a hot cuppa, imagine yourself drinking a very, very bitter hot mug of IPA beer.

Latte! …kinda.

So, this Superfood Latte powder actually released a few months ago, but I’ve been putting off writing the tasting note for it because it’s one of the handful of teas that have come out that I’m allergic to (the chaga – I’m allergic to mushrooms). It’s so incredibly hard and frustrating doing the research and development on teas that I can’t drink…

But, as I do every time we launch a tea I’m allergic to, I will drink a few sips of it once. Don’t worry, I do it in a controlled way. It’s just important to me to have more than a conceptual idea of the taste once we begin selling a tea so that I can take that into account when we start receiving feedback, seeing sales, etc.

Like all these Superfood Powders, this was developed with a specific function in mind. In this case, we were looking at more of a “mood boost” kind of vibe from the combination of the theobromine in the cocoa, the adaptogenic chaga, and chili which can cause the release of endorphins.

Honestly, it’s close to what I was picturing taste wise. Fairly rich hot cocoa kind of profile, though not too sweet at all. I think that’s kind of nice with a hot chocolate sort of blend because you get a little more control there with how you want the final cup to taste. Definitely can’t taste the mushrooms at all, though I do get maybe just a bit of the earthier undertone of the beets in the blend. I think it adds depth of flavour. The chili is the interesting part to me. It’s lighter than I expected, and without having more than just my few baby sips it’s hard for me to gauge whether it’s one of those kind of heats that stays a whisper or if it slowly builds in intensity on the palate over the coarse of a full mug. I’ve heard both from different coworkers.

So, anyway, this is officially in the flavour memory bank now!

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.

Gongfu!

Yes, I know it’s not typical to brew a Darjeeling gongfu, but it actually worked out very nicely. And experimentation is fun.

I drank this while rereading some of my favourite poems from my friend yogateapoetry’s debut collection of poetry, “What Will People Say.” I’ve read through her work about twice now – once straight through and once more broken up into pieces. One thing I haven’t done yet is explore any of the well thought out tea pairings that Taniya has curated for the different parts in the sections, and I thought it was about time that I did so.

I don’t want to spoil anything too heavily for anyone who hasn’t read/finished the book yet, but Darjeeling is the pairing suggested for the final part of the collection – which is why I’m drinking this first flush Darjeeling blend this afternoon. It’s approachable and soothing for a Darjeeling with really minimal astringency; with that said it still had some of the hallmark tasting notes such as gentle florals, a crisp mineral finish and that rich, clean and earthy note of cooling petrichor. It feels like a fresh breath of mountain air on a cool morning, and in many ways that in and of itself feels is something I associate with the sensation of being light and unburdened. I think it’s a very fitting pairing for the poems in this section, and it’s honestly really enhanced my read-through.

If you haven’t checked out yogateapoetry’s debut work yet I would HIGHLY recommend it. It’s even National Poetry Month, so you really can’t ask for a better excuse than that. And read it with a good cup of tea. Seriously.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5eMVonOx-G/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDHxNmJtqno

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.