So I have a job interview at a university tomorrow morning and I’m semi-stressing out. On the way to Dollarama to grab a folder for tomorrow’s reference list/resume and a stapler, I passed a DAVIDs and it reminded me of the winter collection that just rolled out so I decided to swing by on the way back (and also made stops at… five different grocery stores/pharmacies to look for discounted Halloween chocolate when I realized such sales happen!) to grab some small amounts of some.
I feel horrible saying this but the sales associate was so damn annoying. Just as I was about to reach the tins of the winter collection on the counter, I was stopped in my tracks…
SA: Oh ma gaaaaaaaaah have you checked out the Advent calendars?
Me: I know about it but it’s not really my thing.
SA: Reeeeeally?! starts walking over to display of them and motions me to follow
Me: Oh yes, they’re very beautifully designed.
SA: talks for about two minutes straight about the features and how amazing the product is … and they’re selling like hotcakes! They won’t be around for long! One lady came in earlier and bought TEN OF THEM.
Me: Wow! Well, I’m interested in trying a few of the new teas.
SA: Well, check this out. turns around to face the winter collection display shelves You can smell them here since we just poured them into these little glasses so they’re nice and fresh. proceeds to talk about every single one for another few minutes
Me: Mmm, I love the smell of the Cardamom French Toast especially. And the Sweet Almond Green is so Amaretto.
SA: You can buy all of these in this collection because really, 25g gives you an idea of what they’re all like and it’s a really good price. [which is always bullshit]
Me: No thanks, I always get a little of the ones I’m interested in and then decide on what I want more of.
SA: Oh ok, then [clearly not happy with my answer]
So choosing the above two plus this one, I wanted 10-14g of this one and around 20g of the other two, because of course, one only needs to try them once or twice in order to get an idea of how it tastes.
For this tea in particular, on the first pour, she managed to get 12g in here, so I thought she’d print off the sticker and that would be that, seeing I asked for 10-14g. But she then proceeded to scoop more, and right when she was about to pour it in, dumping the first two grams in (out of, I’d say was another ten grams in the scoop), I said it was ok, that that would be enough, and I tried to say it in the kindest way possible. Then she went on and on about how sometimes the above smaller amounts aren’t enough because teas are heavier, blah blah blah, and would only be enough for one cup. Seriously? What are you making, an udon bowl full of tea in one go?
I’m sorry, but I’m noticing this behaviour more and more at DAVIDs. Always trying to sell the collections and saying it’s cheaper, overpouring, claiming 10-20g isn’t enough to even make one cup, etc. Yes, there are heavier teas out there, like Banana Nut Bread, which I can see needing like 8g of for one standard-sized cup, but man oh man.
The 14g ended up making one Nordic-sized mug + one standard-cup of tea for my mother and me. I guess this is where the actual tea review kicks in (sorry)!
I didn’t even notice that this was a pu-erh blend in the store. But I can tell from the smell of the loose leaf alone that it’s not going to be too earthy or dirty. Or fishy. Or anything else bad that pu-erh can sometimes be. There’s a generous amount of chocolate chips in the mix, so let’s go…
The Stevia Monster is out full force in this one. It’s seriously overpowering those earthy pu-erh notes that are struggling to be noticed. The liquor is murky, probably from all the chocolate, yet, I don’t taste much chocolate in here. It’s there but it’s a little waxy. The kind of waxy I get from other DAVIDs chocolate blends like Love Tea #7 and Chocolate Chili Chai. Cheap waxy chocolate lollipops shaped into roses and witches and shit that you get as a kid, because children don’t deserve better-quality chocolate or something.
Seriously, this reminds me of sitting on the swingset in the backyard when I was around six-years-old, and my dad brought me a heart-shaped chocolate lollipop for Valentine’s Day. A very nice gesture, for sure. This tea tastes like that first bite of the waxy chocolate whilst smelling the earth from our nearby garden.
But that stevia, though.
TLDR: Hot Chocolate = waxy chocolate lollipops on Stevia ‘roids. Sales associate tried to sell me shit I didn’t want.
