Second Cup

Mild and decent for bagged tea! Tastes great in a latte.

Good as a latte. Not my favourite English breakfast blend but overall decent for bagged tea!

One of the morning I was visiting stores I showed up at the mall before it had actually opened, so to kill time I grabbed a tea at a Second Cup nearby that was open. Obviously I didn’t expect great tea – their whole thing is the coffee, and for most coffee shops tea is but an afterthought. This was pretty dreadful though; really tannic and bitter, after a very conservative two minute steep. I drowned the cup with milk and honey – and that made it consumable…

To be completely honest I was very disappointed with this tea. I have many friends who enjoy going to Second Cup so I decided to try this earl grey, as I usually love it in other locations. I prepared it the same way as I would anywhere else, and I would say that it is just a grade above Tim Hortons. They clearly use bergamot flavouring, and not REAL bergamot. It tastes artificial and the black tea quality is less than poor. I think the reason why it is slightly above Timmy’s is because of the slight mandarin flavour which does give it a unique taste, although not the one you search for in Earl Grey. I would definitely recommend going for a higher brand such as Teavana, Tazo, or Mountain Rose, all of which use real bergamot and high quality loose leaf tea. All in all, I would never recommend this tea and I will never buy it again.

This tea is absolutely amazing! With a blend of flavour and warmth, never have I had such a lovely tea. I deeply enjoy every cup of this delcious blend, making it my go to for cozy winter days.

This is one of my most anticipated holiday teas! I prefer to drink it in a latte with some vanilla syrup. Second cup refers to it as the Holiday London Fog. Delicious! I purchased three boxes before they sold out of it! Although I love this tea, I’m not really a fan of it unless it is made into a latte. That disappoints me!

I’m actually sipping on a matcha frappé from here rather than the hot version. My mom is moving to a nearby apartment and I’ve been going like crazy over the past day moving stuff with a tiny flatbed, so now it’s time for a break. Remedy is packed with people so I opted for Second Cup instead. I was also tempted to go to DAVIDs for something but this place has better seating.

This is tasty. Creamy, icy cold, with that refreshing matcha bite. A good choice after all!

Another one I had with a friend when we were hanging out at Second Cup the other day. I would have liked more bergamot but it’s not terrible or anything.

Had this yesterday with a friend after a long weird day. It was vaguely maple-y but it was pleasant with milk and sugar. I still wish we just went to Remedy instead for either a chai or a cup of Kusmi, Sloane, etc instead since this isn’t worth $2.50, in my opinion.

I don’t know what I was expecting; obviously a maple tea, especially a rooibos, is going to be really sweet. For the most part it was good but I started tasting something aspartame-y halfway through. Other than that they got the maple flavour bang on!

My Mom used to buy this for us every year for Christmas and I never drank it. Found the latest box in the back of my cupboard and thought I’d give it a try, even though I could remember what it tasted like a bit.

For me, not so much a hit. It’s really hard on cherry which gives it a kind of candy flavour. I don’t pick up any orange at all. Brought it to work and shared and co-workers seemed to like it much more than I. I’ll let them finish off the rest.

I ordered this in a moment of weakness. Added some milk n sugar. It was pretty good, but not very pumpkin like. There was some flavour but not much. And something fruity, almost apple like. Not sure I’ll get this again. The creaminess is enticing, I’m just not sure about the astringent/apple part.
Rating: 79

Much better than expected. Cherry, amaretto-ish flavour in an average black tea base. Best strong, with a splash of cream and a pinch of sugar.

I got this at Second Cup in place of a Caramel Rooibos I had tried there earlier (and loved), but which they don’t seem to carry any more. I enjoyed this one as well, and it smelled wonderful! A great tea to have on a fall day. Will definitely try again when I go back to Second Cup.

So second cup didn’t have any Earl Grey today, so I decided to try out their jasmine tea. Its pretty good for a bagged jasmine tea, no complaints here, wasn’t overpowering. I like the smell of the tea, through I wish the scent were just a bit more stronger. The smell of jasmine is so inviting.

Huge bag, great smell, really looked forwards to this.

My god was it awful. Couldn’t finish it. Something harsh overpowered everything, there was no balance whatsoever.

So few hours later and I’m still kind of buzzing.. .loving this drink.

Well, Today I decided to be adventurous and try out a Matcha latte from Second Cup. Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous ordering it, but good thing I did, it is yummy and I know it will give me a much needed energy boost in a little while. I started tasting the foam at the top and the earthy taste was really strong, but once you mix it, it is a delightful taste. The earthiness is still there, but it is subtle and subdued. I am so happy second cup does lactose-free lattes. Yumm.

Had this scrumptious tea lat week on friday for breakfast. It woke me up nicely and the taste was sublime.

Its rather a good tea for being out. I really love this tea because I can just leave the bag in and the taste doesn’t get overpowering. I love adding milk into it once in a while, but drinking it black is equally nice. It is really a comforting tea to drink… definitely a keeper on those cold days.

So I wasn’t going to write a review for this, being a simple bagged and iced herbal… but it surprised me and did the job I needed it for (hydration and calmness!) aaaaaand it was darn tasty.
Oh and the following story turned rant was requested, kindof. This is the end of my tea review. start rant
See, I was having a terrible day at work, and then I had man troubles (no offense guys! I only wish the one I am referring to would see reason!!)
Then… seeing that my gym session was cancelled(so frustrated over that!), I decided to pop into my friend’s bbq, in the suburbs. Only my man friend was being difficult and I was running late… I had brand new platform heels on (the old ones went kaput) and the screen showing my go train timings was broken! ah! so when the green vested official looking lady asked me where I was going and she told me my train had been moved from it’s usual track to another one, well I believed her. But guess what? after I got on, I realized it was going the wrong direction! so I got off at the next station and (in my new heels) scrambled to catch the opposite train, and missed it by maybe 15 seconds.
Ugh!!! anyhow, I was in a terrible mood at that point so cabbed it back to union and went home, being in no condition to be faced with socializing until after a few hrs sleep. (did I mention that I become a temporary zombie most Friday nights?)
Tomorrow, I have a dentist app and then a date!
So. That was my day. Sorry for the rant folks. I feel better now. and calmer! The End

Backlog from this week. Tuesday I think.
I’ve had a looooong one and somehow this just slipped my mind. Work has been hectic, and then I’ve been dealing with a bunch of supposedly unrelated health issues (five of them! I’m not whining, at all, but it’s a bit overwhelming)
Second Cup is so easy for me, being that there is one housed on the ground level of our building. Expensive, but handy.
So the tea… It doesn’t say on the advertisement that it’s a rooibos, so I was expecting a black tea! but then I saw larger one later on and saw that did so I suppose I should have looked there first. Oh well.
Nonetheless, I was mightily confused when I was sipping… there was SO much astringency going on, and it didn’t quite fit my idea of black astringency. As the cup cooled, I figured out it was rooibos, thankfully.
The Maple aspect was intense. I felt as if I was drinking syrup! and the flavour was spot on. It really needs milk to get there, sadly. I had hoped to go without.
Now, Maple syrup is not my fave sweet. Chocolate is better :P
Still, now I am curious… I need to try Oh Canada from DT again just to see how it compares!
Overall, I’d say this is really well done for a Maple tea. If you like that sort of thing, make sure you try it out :)