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The scent here is very fruity, which makes sense given the wide range of fruits listed in the ingredients. No particular fruit flavor stands out over the other. The cinnamon was evident to everyone who tried it, but not overpowering (which is how I would prefer it given I drank it iced). I would be interested in trying it hot.

The cinnamon here dominates the scent and flavor, especially early on in the sip when it’s piping hot. Rose is evident, but both cinnamon and rose fade overall as it cools. This seems like a better fit for a quick, hot sipdown when you want something a little warming.

I wanted to love this based on the description. It’s a pleasant enough green tea dominated by an artificial strawberry flavor and scent. The other fruits are masked heavily by this. I will admit that I’m not a big fan of how strawberry often comes across in teas, despite loving both strawberries and strawberry candy flavors; if you do enjoy strawberry in tea, this would be worth trying.
Both hot and iced, the tea felt similar.

A chocolate mint that brings the chocolate in particular. The mint here is noticeable at first, but as it cools the chocolate dominates. I can’t place why it feels a little like chocolate covered candied fruit, since there’s not fruit to speak of in the ingredients, but I definitely get that vibe more than the Thin Mint claimed in their description.

I’ve been getting so many variations of chai from sipsby that while most of them are fine I had no real expectations for this particular tea. It was a pleasant surprise. This is spice-forward in the best way. I love a heavy hand with spices and rank some other Davidson’s teas among my favorites for this reason. The blending on this is done well in particular; no one spice completely overwhelms the others, and I do still taste the tea both hot and as it cools.
I completely forgot to set the timer for steeping and wonder how much that factored in here! I’ll have to get more and experiment.

Even though bergamot and citrus are not listed anywhere, this reminded me strongly of an earl grey lavender tea and gave me (and my partner!) a bit of citrus flavor.
Unfortunately for me, the lavender dominates; perhaps that’s due to my own sensitivity to lavender or perhaps it really is that strong. I’ll never know, but my partner wound up drinking most of this cup for me.

A smooth green tea with clear presence of jasmine. Despite ingredients, neither cup in my sample gave me much in the way of fruit, apple, or other flavors I’d expect with apple pieces (though I’m not even sure I saw any in my bag). I tend to prefer a much stronger jasmine if I’m going that route, so this one isn’t for me, but it’s not a bad cup.

I have an August tasting box and am excited to go through each of the teas. Trying to remember to make notes so I know which ones to repurchase!

Silencio is interesting. The smell is a strong pineapple; I actually noticed the pineapple smell several rooms over in my house while it was steeping! It didn’t give the same pineapple taste, however. The original sip is fairly bitter, but the cacao smooths it out a bit in the aftertaste. I cannot begin to explain why it reminds me of a coffee cocktail – maybe just the combo of bitter and cacao?
The spice is there, but much more subtle than the packaging implies. I notice the pineapple flavor only really as it cools.

Bold, different, and kind of a warm & cozy tea, but ultimately not one I think I’d seek out for repurchase.

Actual conversation with partner:
“You said you wanted a ginger tea. Try this.”
“Is it good? Wow, it definitely smells like ginger. …oh yeah, that’s SUPER ginger.”

So it lives up to its name.

I was kind of dreading this actually. I like ginger but normally find it too astringent in my tea. This one worked for me in the best way. The spice of both the ginger and the peppercorns is warming, and it’s all well balanced. It also makes me think of honey on the initial sip. I could see this being a lovely tea for a cold (that doesn’t taste medicinal at all).

Bonus, I didn’t realize it was a green rooibos tea, so I’ll be more willing to try those in the future. Sorry red rooibos.

DAVIDsTEA advent, day 13

So here’s the thing. I LOVE cinnamon. Especially cinnamon candies. I buy the sizzling cinnamon Jelly Belly packs on their own, and I use the cinnamon fire Jolly Ranchers to get through busy work days, and I’ve been known to use cinnamon mouthwash and floss.

And I want to love this tea in the same way, because I get that Big Red scent right off the top of it before it’s brewed, but the rooibos! Ugh, the rooibos.

I know this tea is a smash hit with so many people. Or at least, it seems that way, because this tea gets lumped in with a bunch of sampler packs. I love a good sampler pack but I always have to hesitate when I see this tea is in it. I struggle so hard with this tea I don’t buy OTHER tea when they’re packaged together.

Truthfully, this is just a personal problem with rooibos, and I’m sure it would be delicious for others. But also, if you know of a good red hot cinnamon tea that doesn’t use rooibos, or if there’s a way to help overwhelm the wood and dirt taste I get from the rooibos and enjoy this one, I’m all ears.

DAVIDsTEA caffeine free advent, day 13