Janet Barclay Send Message

The flavouring may be natural, but it smells and tastes artificial – maybe there’s just too much of it. The tea is also very sweet, considering it contains no sweetener.

I’ve had worse but I won’t buy this one again.

I like oolong tea, but rarely buy it, probably because it’s more expensive than other types. I’m glad I decided to try this one, because it’s lovely. It has a wonderful aroma – I would love to eat cookies that taste the way it smells!

I really like dark chocolate, cinnamon, coconut, and vanilla, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with this one, but I’m not sold on cinnamon and chocolate together. It might be amazing “as a latte with a shot of Baileys” as suggested on the DAVIDsTEA website, but I never drink tea that way so am unlikely to find out.

Another thing – the chocolate is delicious, but leaves a greasy film on my mug and tea strainer, so it’s impossible to just rinse and reuse them. I’m sure that’s not a very good practice anyway!

Very pleasant aroma and flavour.

I was concerned that I might not like this when I realized hibiscus was the #2 listed ingredient, but I needn’t have worried. This tastes fresh and fruity and smells amazing. Even my husband, who doesn’t drink tea, likes the aroma!

I was worried this might be too sweet, but not bad at all. It’s definitely sweet, but it is Caramel after all.

I like green tea, and I feel good knowing it’s got health benefits. I especially like flavoured (or scented) green tea, and since I also like mint tea, I didn’t hesitate to order 100 grams of Marrakesh Mint – a risk I don’t usually take on new-to-me flavours – when placing my first order from Tea Squared. I’m glad I did, because I can see myself drinking it often!

There used to be a shop next door to me, called Serenity Coffee & Tea. Their specialty was the individual coffee pods, and you could purchase individual pods in order to try different flavours, unlike most stores where you have to buy a whole box. I don’t buy coffee that way though – I went there for the tea, and that’s where I discovered Tea Squared. Unfortunately, they couldn’t compete with the big box stores and they closed a while back.

I recently remembered enjoying Tea Squared, so I found their website and placed my first order. Along with the several flavours I selected, they sent me three samples, including Uncle Grey. They refer to it as “the smoother cousin of the pretentious Earl” which I find quite amusing, but I did enjoy it more than regular Earl Grey or any of the other variations I’ve tried to date. Another one to remember for later!

When I became a daily tea drinker in 2015, one of the first flavours I was introduced to was Forever Nuts from DAVIDsTEA, which is amazing. Shortly afterwards I tried Toasted Almond Brittle and found it to be almost the same, but I haven’t had it since.

Forever Nuts has become a staple for me, so when I ran out while the stores were closed due to COVID-19, I needed to place an online order. I’ve ordered from DAVIDs a few times with no problem, but I remembered one time they shipped via Purolator, whose drivers have a nasty habit of leaving an “attempted delivery” notice and driving away without actually buzzing to see if anyone is home. As a result, I had to pick it up at their shipping centre, which is a further drive than if I’d just gone to the store in the first place. I really didn’t want to risk that happening this time, but I remembered having this similar tea before and with the help of my old spreadsheet, I was able to track it down.

I was super excited to receive my order but as soon as I opened the package, I knew from the fragrance that it wasn’t the same, and my first cup confirmed it. The ingredients are similar, but Forever Nuts has “Artificial sweet roasted almond flavouring” whereas as Toasted Almond Brittle has natural flavour, and it makes me sad to realize that it’s the artificial flavouring that makes Forever Nuts so magical. I can only assume that because I hadn’t been drinking it very long when I tried Toasted Almond Brittle the first time, I didn’t realize how different they actually are.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’ll admit that I do like Toasted Almond Brittle, but I don’t love it. I don’t know whether I would bother getting it again, simply because there are so many other flavours I like better, including others from Tea Squared.

This was the second sample I received from Tea Squared, the first being Moroccan Mate. I enjoyed both of them but it’s hard to say which one I liked better. May have to try them both again.

This tea is refreshing and relaxing. It seems to have the perfect blend of lavender with the other ingredients, as you can definitely taste it, but it’s never overpowering. I would probably buy it again.