DavidsTea semi-annual sale

For all the DavidsTea fans out there:

Semi-Annual Sale - 50% off

Go nuts, spend your Christmas money! 

Day 24 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 24 and the last day of the Advent calendar! Today's tea is Santa's Secret - a black tea! (if it had been something herbal I would have lost it, ha ha!!).

From the website:

Need a little helper?

Ever wonder how Santa manages to deliver all those presents in just one night? Well here’s the hush-hush formula. He uses a special combination of Chinese black tea, peppermint leaves and spices – all sprinkled with real little candy canes. It’s both energizing and remarkably soothing. All Santa needs is one cup and his motto changes from “ho ho ho” to “go go go”.”

Best served: Hot Tea / Tea Latte / Tea Pop

Ingredients

Black tea, peppermint, sprinkles (sugar, rice flour, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, corn starch, natural and artificial flavours, cellulose gum, red 40 Lake, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, titanium dioxide (colour), polysorbate 60

Overall Impression: Now...let's take a look at all of those ingredients in the sprinkles - YIKES!! Aside from that, this was a really nice tea! The smell was great, the flavour was great...I'm actually just about to make myself another cup of it, and use up the rest of the tin. Way to go, DavidsTea, you ended on a high note (other than those sprinkles, aiee)!

Day 23 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 23 is a green tea - Kashmiri Chai. I love green teas, and I love chai, so I'm hoping this will be a good one.

From the website:

Kashmiri millionaires

If you’re looking for a lighter take on a traditional chai tea, this exotic green tea is for you. It’s inspired by the spiced teas of India’s Kashmir region, which often use a green tea base and lots of cardamom pods. Our version adds cinnamon, ginger and pretty marigold flowers to the mix, for a light and delicate chai you can sip on all day long. For an authentic touch, try brewing it with sugar and ground pistachios. Chai carumba!

Best served: Hot Tea

Kosher Organic

Ingredients

Organic : Green tea, cinnamon, cardamom seeds, ginger, cardamom husk, clove buds, marigold flowers.

Overall Impression: Finally a tea I can get behind for its lack of yucky ingredients! Smells very "chai" to me (yay!), but there's something bitter about the taste...I know I steeped it for too long, so that's the problem (got wrapped up in cleaning while it steeped, ha ha!). I've got enough left for another 16oz cup, so I'll make sure to steep it properly next time! This is a good one!

Day 22 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Today's tea is a pu'erh,  English Toffee. Pu'erh isn't quite a black tea, because it has undergone secondary oxidization and fermentation, but it is still caffeinated (yay!). It has been drunk in China for centuries to help with digestion, which is why I always like to have some hanging out in my tea cupboard.

From the website:

How sweet it is

Need a toffee break? This rich and decadent, all-natural blend of pu’erh, cocoa beans and caramel is the perfect sweet treat. With its mouth-watering aromas of caramel and browned butter, even steeping it feels like a luxury. But with all the benefits of pu’erh – and next to no calories – this is one little indulgence you can feel great about drinking. Try it with hot frothed milk and a shot of coffee liqueur. It just doesn’t get sweeter than that.

Best served: Hot Tea / Tea Latte

Ingredients

Pu'erh tea, cocoa beans, cocoa husk, caramel (condensed milk , sugar, glucose syrup, butterfat, sorbitol, mono and diglycerides), natural flavouring.

Overall Impression: This has a really smooth, velvety smell. The ingredients in the caramel pieces have me concerned (sugar AND glucose syrup...sorbitol, mono- and diglycerides, eek). The flavour isn't strong at all, and I can't even really taste the tea itself (which is one of the reasons why I like drinking tea). I don't dislike it, and I would drink it if someone gave it to me, but I wouldn't go out and buy it myself.
 

Day 21 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 21 is yet another fruit infusion *sob*. Spiced Apple is the "tea" of the day. From the website:

The apple of our eye

What does comfort mean to you? It might be a favourite sweater, an old family recipe or a perfect cup of tea. For us, it’s all about capturing warm and cozy flavours – like this sweet and spicy blend of apple, figs and chai spices. Laced with cinnamon and star anise, it brings back memories of apple picking, piping hot cider and fresh-from-the-oven pies. Basically, it’s like a hug in a cup. And whether you pair it with a good book or some great company, we guarantee it’s as comforting as it gets.

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Apple (apple, citric acid), figs, cinnamon, star anise, chicory, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, natural apple and spice flavouring.

Overall Impression:  I really wanted to like this, because it's apple (and I love apple), but I really can't taste anything other than a bit of tart apple and a hint of black pepper. Maybe a splash of rum would help...

Day 20 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 20 is a black tea! Yay! Cardamom French Toast might be exactly what I need, as I sit here listening to a hail storm beat against my windows (eek!). This has a nice cinnamon smell to it, so let's look at what the website has to say:

Toastess with the mostess

Something about cardamom just puts us in a festive frame of mind. We love its rich, fragrant taste any way we can get it. One of our faves? The buttery, cardamom-scented Christmas breads popular in Sweden and Finland. And since cardamom toast is so great, it only stands to reason that cardamom French toast would be out of this world. With black tea, cardamom, cane sugar and cinnamon, this rich, sweet blend tastes just like the decadent breakfast of our dreams. Only this is one brunch item you’ll be wanting all day long.

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Black tea, cinnamon, lemon peel, coriander seeds, cardamom, coconut sugar, cane sugar, natural and artificial flavouring.

Overall Impression: Very nice, mild flavour, nothing overpowering, nothing sickly sweet. This one is good!

Day 19 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 19, and we have a green tea, Sweet Almond Green. Confession time - I cannot STAND the smell of sweet almond (like sweet almond oil makes me want to jump out of my skin). I don't know where this aversion came from, or how long I've had it...all I know is that when I get a whiff of sweet almond, I want to hurl. Blech. But despite that, I'm still going to drink this and give you my honest opinion...

From the website:

Nutty and nice

Our favourite part of the holiday season? The treats, of course. And those little almond-scented cookies have an extra-special place in our hearts. Buttery and sweet, with the nutty crunch of an almond on top, they’re a dangerously delicious part of any festive cookie spread. But with a nutty kiss of almond and an organic base of green tea, this sweet and subtle tea is our guilt-free version of the classic treat. Because indulging yourself should have no strings attached.

Best served: Hot Tea

Kosher Organic

Ingredients

Organic: Green tea, almonds, marigold flowers, cornflower petals. With natural almond flavouring.

Overall Impression: Thumbs up on the ingredient list, nothing chemical or bad-for-you stands out (although, who knows what exactly is in "natural almond flavouring"). The flavour is pretty mild, not strongly almond-y, but the smell overwhelms me when I have the mug up to my mouth so I'm smelling it as I'm drinking it. Ugh. I will finish this 16-oz mug though, because it's caffeinated, ha ha!

Day 18 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 18 - less than a week now til Christmas! Today's tea is yet another "fruit infusion" - Sleigh Ride. Seriously...I need caffeinated tea first thing in the morning. Especially today - I've got a dance practice followed by 6 hours of work at the pharmacy, and it's going to be a super busy day there. Luckily for me, I have a stash of Earl Grey for work!

From the website:

Giddy-up

Falling snow, popping chestnuts, cold hands and noses… yep, winter has arrived. But don’t worry, we have the perfect tea to warm you up all December long. Cinnamon, apples, raisins, almonds, and hibiscus combine for a tea that is sweet, tart and earthy. And beet pieces make it as nice and rosy as a caroler’s cheeks. So hop in your sleigh, snuggle up, and pass a thermos around. It’s lovely weather for a Sleigh Ride together.

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Apple, hibiscus blossoms, pineapple (pineapple, sugar), papaya (papaya, sugar), beetroot, cinnamon, raisins, coconut, roasted almonds (almonds, sugar, glucose syrup, vegetable fat, caramelized sugar syrup), popped rice, natural and artificial flavouring.

Overall Impression: The smell is nice and fruity/spicy, but all I can taste is the hibiscus (blech). Going into the home stretch of this advent calendar, I'm hoping for some good black teas for the next 6 days (fingers crossed!)

Day 17 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Getting closer to Christmas!! Today's tea is a black tea (yay!!), Chocolate Covered Almond. I'm so happy for another black tea.

From the website:

You’ll go nuts for it

Sweet, crunchy and totally addictive, chocolate almonds are a classic for a reason. Whether you want to satisfy a sweet tooth, need an afternoon pick-me-up or are looking for the perfect holiday treat to serve your guests, the answer is always an almond covered in a thick layer of chocolate. And this rich and nutty black tea is every bit as tasty. It’s got cocoa, carob and tons of yummy almond bits, plus an energizing shot of roasted yerba mate to add a warming toasted almond flavour. This little indulgence is so good, you won’t even realize you’ve gone back for seconds.

Ingredients

Cocoa nibs, roasted carob, black tea, almonds, yerba mate, sugar, natural and artificial chocolate and cream-almond flavouring.

Overall Impression:  Who doesn't love chocolate-covered almonds?!?! I'm surprised that the first ingredient listed is cocoa nibs - shouldn't the black tea be the main ingredient? And sugar...surely if people want sugar in their tea, they can put it in themselves? This has a really mild sweet flavour...I can almost taste the chocolate...but mostly I taste sugar (when you don't eat sugar for a long time, you  *really* notice it when you have it again). This tea is okay, but after drinking it, I feel like my mouth is coated with something (which I'm guessing is the sugar). Not something I would buy again.

Day 16 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Closer to Christmas! Today's tea is Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, which is another herbal infusion.

From the website:

Picture parfait

The ancient Chinese used it in medicine. The medieval Europeans traded for it along the Silk Road. And today we love it in pies, sauces, muffins or just plain, dipped in a little sugar. But the best way to eat rhubarb is with sweet, ripe strawberries. Like in this refreshingly fruity, deep red tisane. It tastes as bright and juicy as a fresh-picked berry, with a tart rhubarb punch and a subtle hint of yogurt creaminess. We love it hot or iced, or as the base for sweet, zippy sangria. Now that’s a beautiful thing. Caffeine-free.

Best served: Hot Tea / Iced Tea / Tea Pop

Ingredients

Apple, hibiscus, raisins, carrot, yogurt bits (milk powder, sugar, maltodextrin, modified starch, citric acid), beetroot, strawberry, rhubarb, natural and artificial flavouring.

 

Overall Impression: Okay, this smells fruity and actually tastes quite nice. The hibiscus isn't overpowering, which is good. Not a fan of the ingredients in the "yogurt bits" but this is something I might drink once in a while.

Day 15 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 15 is an oolong tea! Coconut Cream Pie is today's surprise, and I'm happy for an oolong.

From the website:

Cream of the cup

Rich coconut. Creamy white chocolate. And a golden, buttery crust. Can anything top a coconut cream pie? It’s a dessert so dreamy, so fluffy, it’s like eating a deliciously retro cloud. If we had our way, we’d be snacking on coconut-filled custard 24/7. Lucky for us, this tea came along. It’s an unbelievably decadent blend of toasted coconut, white chocolate and cane sugar, all on a base of smooth-drinking oolong. The best part? It’s an all-natural blend. We’ve got pie hopes for this one…

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Oolong tea, white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, butter oil, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), coconut, toasted coconut (coconut, sugar, dextrose, salt), cane sugar, natural coconut flavouring.

Overall impression: Again...some not-so-healthy ingredients. It smells faintly of white chocolate and coconut. The flavour is extremely mild...a little sweet...but I can really smell the white chocolate as I'm drinking it. It's not bad, but not amazing either. Meh.

Day 14 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 14 - only 10 days to go until Christmas! Today's tea is Irish Breakfast - finally a black tea! Yay! I was having a conversation yesterday with Dominique and we said that we need more black teas...and voila! Irish Breakfast.

From the website:

The steepin’ Irish

Ireland is one of the biggest tea drinking countries around. And trust us, they know their stuff. Traditionally, they go for strong black tea, often simmered on the stove all day long. And this rich, full bodied black tea is no exception. A blend of teas from Assam and Sri Lanka, it brews up nutty, fruity and bold, with hints of wild dark honey – and a robust taste that can stand up to a bit of milk and sugar. If there’s a better way to start the day, we don’t wanna know about it.

Best served: Hot Tea / Tea Latte

Kosher

Ingredients

Black teas from Assam, India and Dimbulla, Ceylon

Overall Impression:  Just what I wanted! I love breakfast teas...English, Irish, French, all of them! I can taste the maltiness of the Assam and the sweetness of the Ceylon (Ceylon is my favourite black tea), this is just great!

Day 13 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 13 and yet another non-tea "tea". Today's is Creme Caramel Rooibos, which is a non-caffeinated rooibos drink. Please...give me 24 days of "real" tea, made from leaves of the camellia sinensis plant (which has caffeine!). I also have an issue with rooibos - most of the time, I find it has a smoky/burnt flavour which I don't like. When I try a rooibos that doesn't have that flavour, I'm surprised.

Okay, from the website:

Sheer decadence

There are few dessert teas more satisfying than Crème Caramel Rooibos. Smooth, sweet and creamy, it’s a taste sensation. And the best part is it's made with South African rooibos, which is caffeine-free, nutty and naturally sweet. So indulge in a caramel dream. At zero calories, it might be the healthiest thing you do all day.

Best served: Hot Tea / Tea Latte

Ingredients

Rooibos, caramel pieces (condensed milk, sugar, glucose syrup, butterfat, sorbitol, monoglycerides and diglycerides), natural and artificial flavouring.

Look at the ingredients in the caramel pieces: sorbitol, monoglycerides, diglycerides, glucose syrup, etc. Ick!

Overall Impression: Mellow and sweet...not much of a flavour beyond "sweet". No smoky/burnt flavour to this rooibos, but I steeped it at 80 degrees instead of 100, so maybe that made a difference. I wouldn't buy this because I just don't buy rooibos "teas" any more.

Day 12 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 12's tea is Bear Trap, which is yet another "herbal infusion". Okay...hibiscus is the #1 ingredient (not a fan), rose hip shells (not a rose fan), and what is "natural red fruit flavouring"?

From the website:

It'll work every time

Seriously, this might be the best way to stop a bear in its tracks. They love berries, and this tea is full of them. The aroma of black currants, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries is totally irresistible. Plus it’s calming, which is important when taming wild animals. Just don’t try to take it away from them.

Best served: Hot Tea / Iced Tea / Tea Pop

Kosher

Ingredients

Hibiscus, elderberries, rose hip shells, apple, papaya (papaya, sugar), lemon verbena, black currants, blueberries, strawberry leaves, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, morello cherries, natural red fruit flavouring.



Overall Impression: Tart...and that's because of the hibiscus. I can't really taste anything else other than the hibiscus. This would make a good iced tea, but not something that I'll be buying. 

Days 10 and 11 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Okay - I had a super busy day yesterday and I wasn't home long enough to drink my tea of the day, so today is a double-whammy.

Day 10's tea is Green Passionfruit, which is a green tea with mostly pineapple.

From the website:

A passion for fashion

Want to stay ahead of the curve? Take it from us. Passion fruit is the next big thing. It’s popping up on fancy menus all over the world. Can’t say we’re surprised – its sharp, tangy taste is unique, addictive and totally out of this world. And this all-natural green tea blend is a great way to get a taste. With sweet pineapple, pretty flower petals and a big hit of passion fruit essence, it’s sure to be all the rage. Try it over ice or infused into your next martini. (MK Kosher).

Best served: Hot Tea / Iced Tea / Tea Pop

Kosher

Ingredients

Pineapple (pineapple, cane sugar, citric acid, sulfites), green tea, black currants, cornflower petals, calendula petals, safflowers, natural passion fruit flavouring.

Overall Impression:  The first thing my eyes zeroed in on in the ingredient list was "sulfites". Say what?? Eek, not something I want to consume. This tea smells nice, tastes faintly fruity, and I think it would make a good iced tea too. I do like green teas with a bit of fruit added, but the sulfites in the pineapple have turned me off.

Day 11's tea is Hot Chocolate, which is a pu'erh/black tea blend with added chocolatey stuff.

From the website:

Feeling hot, hot, hot

We take hot chocolate pretty seriously around here. It’s gotta be rich, decadent and mega-creamy. And after searching high and low for the ultimate hot chocolate tea, we finally found the perfect blend. We took a flavourful base of pu’erh and black tea, then we added real cocoa nibs and fudgy chocolate chips. The result? An uber-chocolately blend worthy of the name Hot Chocolate. Dark, sweet and totally satisfying, it’s the perfect winter treat.

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Pu'erh tea, black tea, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), chocolate curls (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, whey powder, lactose, soy lecithin, vanilla), stevia extract, nat

Overall impression: Again, lots of added stuff to give a "good" flavour. It's sweet without being sickly sweet...I could see myself adding some whipped cream and a shot of Baileys to this to make it a nice Christmas morning treat (which I might just do with the remainder of my tin!)

Day 9 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 9's tea is one that I already have in my collection! Forever Nuts is an herbal tea (sadly, today is a day off for me and I need caffeine rather badly right now...sob...) that is soooooooooo delicious!!! It smells like granola, tastes like granola...makes me wish it was in solid form so I could eat it, ha ha!!

From the website:

For almond lovers

It looks all normal when it’s loose. But steep it and you’ll see that it’s nuts. Within seconds, this tempting jumble of almond slices and chunks, apple bits and cinnamon bark starts turning a crazy shade of pink. Why? Because it contains a hint of beetroot. That’s what gives this rich almond tea its earthy depth and its all-natural signature colour. Deliciously nutty, decidedly addictive. Caffeine-free.

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot, artificial flavouring.

Overall impression: I love this tea (even if there's no caffeine in it). I have a cute tin of it in my tea cupboard already, but I will definitely buy more of it in the future. Makes a great autumn/winter tea!

 

Day 8 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 8's tea is Ginger Pear, which is the first white tea of the calendar! I love white teas because of their light flavours - nothing heavy, nothing overpowering, just a hint of something, and a hint of caffeine. I've read that there are many health benefits to white tea but I haven't seen the actual scientific tests to prove those claims...so I'll just continue to drink tea because I enjoy it, ha ha!

This is my second tin so far that I had to break into with my box cutter because the lid was too tight to unscrew. Boo!

From the website:

Together forever

Some flavours are just made for each other. Pear and ginger are definitely two of them. The combo of sweet, delicate pear and warm, spicy ginger is more than the sum of its parts – especially in this perfectly balanced, organic white tea. With ginger, cinnamon, pear, apple and rosehips, it’s lightly spiced, lushly fruity and deliciously comforting. No wonder pear and ginger are so inseparable. They’re just so good together.

Best served: Hot Tea

Organic

Ingredients

Organic: Ginger, apple, cinnamon, white tea, pear, rosehip. With natural quince, pear, apple and cinnamon flavouring.

Overall impression: Now...I have a love/hate relationship with ginger. If it's in ginger cookies or gingerbread, I love it...anything else, not so much. With this tea, I can taste the pear, but then it gets crowded out by the ginger, which makes my mouth/tongue hot and tingly. For me, this is a sign that I'm taking in too much ginger for my palate. And the more I drink, the more I dislike it. Blech. I think DavidsTea should stick to just having this as a pear tea, forget the ginger.

 

Day 7 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 7's tea is Nutty and Spice - a spicy oolong!

From the website:

A festive treat

If there’s one thing that never fails to remind us of the holidays, it’s a freshly baked spice cake. And this warm, buttery oolong is as festive as it gets. First, we start with a jolly jumble of walnuts and pistachios. Then, we add a bright burst of sweet cranberries and pineapple. And finally, we sprinkle in a merry dash of cinnamon to keep you nice and cozy. Whether you have it straight up or with a splash of milk, this is one tea that’ll have you singing “Deck the Halls” in no time. Warning: may induce feelings of holiday cheer.

Ingredients

Oolong tea, roasted chicory root, pineapple (pineapple, suga r), papaya (papaya, sugar), cinnamon, walnuts, ginger, apple, rose pepper, roasted almonds (almonds, caramelized sugar), cardamom, almonds, pistachios, cranberries, rose blossoms, natural and art

Overall Impression: Smells lovely, and I always enjoy oolongs, but this one doesn't really seem to have a flavour other than "sweet". I can't pick out any specific flavours, so I might give this one a miss when I go to buy tea at the store (but I will enjoy it for the caffeine, hah!)

 

Day 6 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 6's tea is Apple Cider. Right off the bat - THIS SMELLS AMAZING!!!!!! I seriously can't stop smelling it! This is an herbal tea, so no caffeine (will have to make some double Chai when I get to work). I'm wondering if maybe a splash of rum would make this a good nighttime drink, perfect for a winter's evening? I'll try it with the remainder of this sample.

From the website:

A winter classic

As soon as the snowflakes start to fall, all we can think about is curling up with a hot cup of old-fashioned apple cider – the fresh, unfiltered apple juice you can only seem to find when the cold weather sets in. And we captured the taste of our favourite seasonal drink in this apple-packed blend. With a sweet, clean apple taste and a hint of creaminess, it’s like a warm and comforting hug in a cup. The only thing missing is the cinnamon stick.

Ingredients

Apple, apple pomace (pomace, citric acid), sweet blackberry leaves, apple flavouring (artificial apple flavouring, concentrated apple juice), artificial vanilla and cream flavouring.

Overall impression:  This is pretty tart, but I love it! I hate anything that's too sweet, so this is perfect for me...almost like the flavour of a tart green apple candy. I'll report back on how it tastes with rum!

Day 5 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 5 is Coffee Cake and it smells divine! It's a black tea (black tea = caffeine, yay!) that smells like caramel! There was also a bonus gift for today - a coupon for $5 off my next purchase of $20 or more. Thank you, DavidsTea!

From the website:

Take the cake

There’s nothing more nostalgic than a classic coffee cake. Just picture it. That dense, yellow cake, dotted with fruit and topped with crumbled brown sugar. And this sweet, fragrant black tea blend is every bit as satisfying. It has all the aroma of a fresh baked coffee cake, plus an energy boost from rich black tea and a fruity hint of cherry and pineapple. Now getting that fresh-from-the-bakery taste is so simple, it’s a piece of cake.

Ingredients

Black tea, candied fruit (cranberries, sugar, cherry juice, citric acid, natural cherry flavour, elderberry juice, sunflower oil), pineapple (sugar cane, pineapples, citric acid), natural and artificial flavouring.


Overall impression: 
This has a very nice, smooth flavour. I don't add milk or sweetener to my black teas any more, but I think this would be fantastic with a bit of milk and sugar to bring out the flavour. I might have to do that the next time I go to my parents' house! I would definitely buy this tea again.

 

Day 4 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Day 4's tea is Serenity Now

Today is another herbal tea, one which I haven't tried before. Normally, I don't like hibiscus in my teas because it's so strong and tart, and I also don't like rosehips because of the smell/taste. Luckily for this tea, the hibiscus isn't overpowering...I think because of the spearmint and lavender. The lavender though...not my favourite flavour either (anything that has a flowery scent does not translate well to my taste buds).


From the website:

Zen and sensibility

So maybe you burned dinner. Maybe the dishwasher broke. Again. Maybe you just forgot to hit “save.” Life is full of stressful surprises. But lucky for us, life is also full of tea. And this oh-so-soothing blend is a guaranteed one-way ticket to your happy place. It’s got serene strawberries, harmonious hibiscus and restful rosehips, all in a base of low-key lavender. So get that kettle started and brace yourself for the rush of calm. Bring it on, life. We got this.

Best served: Hot Tea / Iced Tea

Organic

Ingredients

Organic: Currants, rosehips, apple, lavender, spearmint, hibiscus


Overall Impression: The flavour is *interesting* but it seems like a bunch of different ingredients are competing with each other to be tasted first. The more I sip it, the weirder it gets. I definitely won't be buying this one for the tea cupboard.

Day 3 - DavidsTea Advent Calendar

Day 3 today, and my tea is  Genmaicha!!!! I love this tea! It's been a favourite of mine for a long time now. It consists of a Japanese green tea with toasted and popped rice (looks like tiny pieces of popcorn). I love the smell of it (that nutty rice smell) and I love the flavour too - no sweetness, and a hint of toastiness. 

From the DavidsTea website:

Watch out, it's addictive

 

Some people call Genmaicha “popcorn tea” because it contains whole roasted grains of brown rice, some of which have popped. Others call it the Rice Krispie of green teas. Either way, genmaicha was originally drunk by poor Japanese who used the rice as a filler because they couldn’t afford enough tea leaves. It soon became all the rage. Today, everyone is addicted to its sweet, roasted rice flavour. (MK Kosher).

Best served: Hot Tea

Kosher

Ingredients

Steamed green tea from Japan, roasted and popped rice.

Tasting notes: Roasted, Sweet, Vegetal

Overall impression: LOVE IT!!! I should really have this in my cupboard as a staple, I love it that much!

 

Day 2 - DavidsTea Advent calendar

Getting closer to Christmas! Today's tea is Jumpy Monkey which is a mate blend (caffeine, yes!!). No problems today opening the tin, but I'm sure that I'll come across more. I *think* I've tried this one before, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm definitely needing some caffeine this morning, as it's Friday and a 5-day work week - I'm tired! The dry tea looks nice with the coffee beans and smells great too. The steeped tea smells amazing - a hint of coffee, with some sweetness too. Note: I can't drink coffee. Sometimes I can handle a shot of espresso in a latte, but a regular cup of coffee I can't do - upset stomach and jitters, yuck. Tea is my caffeine go-to, but I still love the smell of coffee...

From the DavidsTea website:

Sweet energy

This brew gives you a tasty boost with a unique combination of exotic ingredients. It combines freshly roasted peaberry coffee beans with Argentine maté, and laces them with almonds, white chocolate and other roasted barks and roots. The result is sweet, rich and deliciously satisfying. Plus it’s a sweet treat you can enjoy guilt-free, as this blend has virtually no calories. No wonder they say maté makes you efficient.

Best served: Tea Latte

Ingredients

Roasted yerba mate, green yerba mate, white chocolate (sugar , cocoa butter, milk powder, butter oil, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), carob, baba budan coffee, green peaberry coffee, Brazil green coffee, Kenya green coffee, chicory, olive leaf, almonds, ar (somehow all of the pages get cut off in the midst of the ingredient list)

View Nutrition Facts

Allergens: almonds, milk, soy

 Overall impression: very smooth, a little sweet...but I would buy this!

Day 1 - DavidsTea Advent Calendar

December 1st!!!! That means Day 1 of my advent calendar from DavidsTea. I haven't bought much from Davids in the last couple of years because more and more of their teas have added ingredients that I'm not a fan of, or that I don't think belong in tea (stevia added to green tea?!?! Why???). Having said that though, I'm a sucker for advertising and slick packaging, and I splurged and bought the advent calendar this year!

Day 1's tea is Snow Day

Baby, it’s cold outside

Got a blizzard on the way? Score! There’s no better excuse to cozy up inside with a great cup of tea. And this all natural chocolate-mint tisane is the perfect way to warm up on a chilly winter day. With peppermint, cacao nibs and dark chocolate drops, it’s sweet, creamy and oh-so comforting. The best part? Cute little snowflake-shaped sprinkles that add a touch of sweetness. Bring it on, winter!

Best served: Hot Tea

Ingredients

Peppermint leaves, cocoa beans, cocoa husk, chocolate drops (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sunflower lecithin), white chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, sunflower lecithin), sugar sprinkles (sugar, rice flour, canol

My only issue was the tin...I couldn't get the lid off! This happened the last time I had the tea advent calendar, half of the tins I wasn't able to open. This time I tried using my handy lid opener (which still didn't work), so I resorted to my box cutter to cut out the plastic from the lid. Boo!

 Overall impression: this is really sweet, which isn't my thing any more. It leaves a nice minty aftertaste though, which reminds me of After 8 mints. It smells festive, and I like the look of the snowflakes in the dry tea, but it's not a tea that I will go out to buy.