DAVIDsTEA

Sipdown

I haven’t been sleeping as well as I’d like to. Been getting Charlie horses in my leg for a few nights (I’m not going to assume it’s cramping from working out, so I’ll have the doctor look into it). The joys of aging, as they say. Anyway, I wanted to brew some sleepy time tea toward the end of the shift, and this was right on top of the sipdown pile.

I could stay all day in the dry leaf section of this tea. The lemongrass, apple, and florals all blend beautifully together. I brewed this for a while (until the water became room temp) and tossed it back after adding to ice. There was a blast of fruity flavors, and the lemongrass added a slight citrusy bite that was perfect. I slept like a baby until 06:00.

Much too sweet for me; threw it away. It would be worse with stevia, though. I would drink this tea if it didn’t have sweeteners (sugar, stevia, etc) at all.

I don’t think I’d enjoy this straight, but I drink it cold with almond/soy milk, and that makes it taste like a strawberry milkshake. It’s quite rich and desserty. Genuinely, it’s a great strawberry milkshake. The resteep tastes like beets.

Iced!

I believe I mentioned it last week in a tasting note, but I’ve been heavily involved the last few weeks in helping our social media team with some different content. Primarily for TikTok. I shared on instagram earlier in this week I small little round up/sneak peak of some beverage photos from a handful of the shoots I’ve been part of, and this was one of them.

The videos not out yet, but it’s just a little spotlight on some refreshing iced teas that have lemon in them. Very cute! The best part of all of these shoots is 100% getting to drink the teas afterwards – and in this case the handful of us involved all split up the four drinks, and I got a bright and pucker-y cup of strongly steeped pink lemonade. So refreshing after a long morning of being in the very, very hot sun.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8sdjY1O2cI/?img_index=1 (2nd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yogEDUqThvc

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Iced!

Another drink that I made at work this week, also using the strawberry popping boba we have in office. I mean, this was essentially just another way of making a strawberry lemonade but to be honest I enjoyed this a lot more than I do the Strawberry Lemonade tea was carry. The lemon is so much more front and center with a zingy sort of sweetness. Very commercial pink lemonade vibes. And then with each sip you get that burst of super sweet strawberry from the popping boba that balances out that acidity.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Last but not least from the recent 90s/2000s summer collection is Pink Lemon!

I think, flavourwise, this is probably the most straight forward of the blends other than perhaps the matchas!? Just a really punchy and lively tasting pink-lemonade inspired blend. We’ve carried a tea called Pink Lemonade before that was a rooibos base, but this is definitely different. I remember the rooibos blend was pretty polarizing because it had so much hibiscus and stevia in it and it really tasted more like a hibiscus lemonade. So, when working on this tea, we took those elements into consideration and ultimately created this tisane that doesn’t contain any stevia or hibiscus. Instead this tea gets its beautiful pink colour from light inclusions of beetroot and dragonfruit, which impact the flavour a lot less substantially to allow for a brighter and more true lemonade-like flavour.

It’s super iceable and definitely the most crowd-pleasing of the collection IMO. Very good as a tea pop, also, or spiked with some vodka or gin.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=8 (8th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEsv9wpm6m0

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tea Pop!

This was so smooth and refreshing with such a gentle yet well defined tropical flavour. It was also interesting because the fizz of the carbonated water (for whatever reason) seemed to bring out a little more of the coconut flavour so in some ways I felt like I was having an ultra smooth, hydrating mug of coconut water with a “squeeze” of fresh pineapple juice.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Next up in the new summer collection is a matcha that, honestly, is a pretty strong contender for being my favourite DT matcha of all time. Top three for sure, easily.

Like the other matcha that launched in this collection, this one is a bit more expensive than other organic flavoured matchas and that’s because this matcha is more like a “semi sweetened” version. It actually contains 40% less sugar than our usual flavoured matchas, which is why the cost is higher but also why the taste is a little less sweet and more matcha forward.

Even with the sugar reduction, though, I find the taste fairly rich. Well, the coconut element in particular. It’s pretty creamy and definitely has a bit of a “thickness” to it that I don’t think any of DT’s previous coconut matchas (coconut water/unsweetened coconut) have had. That makes sense though because pina coladas are very creamy, rich cocktails. The pineapple is fresh and tropical tasting and compliments the fresh, vegetal taste of the matcha really well. It’s no secret that I have a personal fondness for pineapple, so maybe that biases me a little bit but I really do think the balance of flavours here is really well done and the lower cane sugar amount makes for an almost more “mature” feeling take on a flavoured matcha that, at least for me, has been something I reach for more consistently than the full sweetened flavours.

To that point, I actually have a kilo bag of this on my desk that I’ve nearly gone through because it very regularly ends up being the tea I reach for in the afternoons as, like, a post lunch latte and little caffeinated pick me up. And, y’all, it’s so good as a latte. Hot or iced. But, also, very good plain and as a tea pop too. Really, I have yet to find a preperation method that I don’t like with this matcha!!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=7 (7th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA7XIru89U4

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Cold Brew!

Just finished off this cold brew while eating dinner and starting to wind down for the night. Heavy emphasis on the cherry, for sure, but in a way that was somewhere between fresh cherry juice and the sweeter taste of a melted cherry popsicle. That was supported with some citrusy top notes and a surprisingly strong smooth, floral and distinct tasting oolong note in the finish.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

One of the things I worked on this past week was a Cherry Limeade recipe video for DT’s social channels – specifically, we made this tea into a slushie! Basically a “full circle moment” in a way, since that’s the inspo of the blend. It was really easy to do. Basically, we made a very strong cup of the tea with some fresh lime and agave and then froze it, and the next morning blended it all up with some extra water to give it more of the slush consistency. Best part was 100% eating it after the video was finished. So refreshing and juicy with a balanced cherry and citrus flavour! Yum!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8sdjY1O2cI/?img_index=1 (Third Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifK5RIx1CjE

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Wow, I am really getting in a lot of writing today with these new teas!

This is one of the new teas from this summer’s 90s/2000s inspired collection. Though I know Cherry Limeade as a beverage has been around for decades it’s something that I personally really associate with the late 2000s as well as, specially, the fast-food chain Sonic’s very iconic Cherry Limeade slushies. That said, this is 100% a flavour I’m starting to see pop up pretty much everywhere and it really good me interesting in exploring it in tea form.

I love that it’s on an oolong base since that’s a tea type we rarely release new blends on, and I think that despite having pretty bold flavours you actually can taste the oolong in the blend just a bit. It adds a nice soft floral undertone that offsets the tartness of the cherry and citrus, and rounds out the cup a little more than it would be otherwise.

DT has definitely had A LOT of cherry teas so I think it’s a fair question to ask how this compares to others. I find the cherry notes in this blend are brighter and a little less sweet than the dark/heavy flavours of Cherry Berry Punch or Cherry Lucuma, and also less sour than Very Cherry. The tartness is comparable to Sweet Tart, in my opinion, but the overall flavour is less candy-like.

And then, of course, you have the limeade aspect. Technically, there is no lime in this tea and I think that it’s a fair criticism to point that out – I can totally understand expecting lime and then being disappointed when you don’t see it in the ingredients list. Really the only thing I can say to that is that we did try versions that included lime and in all our blind tastings we also felt like the versions without the lime actually tasted more like a limeade. It’s still bright and a little tart, with a distinct zesty citrusy flavour. Flavours are weird like like that sometimes – when you’re not staring at visual cues your brain often does a scarily good job at filling in the gaps. We still wanted to have something in the blend as an homage/nod to the lime though, and that’s where those gorgeous pomelo cubes come in. In the dry leaf they have a really lime-like appearance and provide a contrast of bright green against the red that winks at the inspiration.

Really, I think this tea is best iced. That’s pretty much exclusively how I’ve been drinking it the last year-ish, but of course there’s nothing to say it’s not good hot either if that’s more your jam. I think there’s a lot of fun cocktail things you can do with this blend too. I mean, it would be a great addition to a tea-based Cherry Lime Rickey, and if you wanna get really wild you could infuse it straight in vodka for a punchy cherry flavour you can add to other drinks.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=6 (6th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZwmciiLFPA

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

I’ve been craving this tea for the last couple of days, so I ended up making myself a mug to enjoy this evening after I got home from work. Sweet but not too syrupy/cloying – I’ve always loved that the full bodied black tea base helps balance out those melted popsicle notes. Cherry in particular came through today, but accented by blueberry and blue raspberry with a little sweet lemon on the finish. Slick, in a good way.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tea Pop!

Currently sipping on this blend as a tea pop and really enjoying it! It starts off initially a bit brisk and bitter with more of a lemony note, but then very quickly slides into fruity sweetness with very ice pop-like notes of cherry and blue raspberry. Not too sweet at all, but very nostalgic and reminiscent of its inspiration! I love that I can still taste the black tea with all the fruity flavours too.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

From the new 90s/2000s inspired summer collection! I really love this whole collection and it’s so hard to pick favourites, but this is definitely one of my top picks.

As is probably obvious from the name, it’s inspired by the red/white/blue Rocket Popsicles that many of us grew up with as kids. I learned during the development that there are actually a bunch of regional names for them like Firecrackers and Bomb Pops. To me, though, Rocket is the most iconic.

This is definitely a flavour that is having a moment right now – especially in the RTD world. This past year I’ve seen so many Rocket Popsicle inspired energy drinks, sodas, sports drinks, and even craft beers. The blend has red sprinkles and this blue-ish cotton candy bits as a visual homage to the popsicle inspiration, and I think on the black tea base they really pop visually and add a fun element to this tea.

The original popsicle is blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon lime flavoured and I think this tea hits all of those notes pretty dang well – maybe a little less on the lime? We also added some blueberry to ours, though it’s not as distinct tasting as you might think. Sure, if you really focus in while tasting you can pick apart this very juicy layering of fruits but as a tea just casually sipped on I really think it just creates a very authentic flavour of a melted ice pop with all of those notes kind of bleeding together into one sweet, fruity, and nostalgic taste. And yes, it is a sweet tea – but popsicles are sweet! I don’t think this would taste like the inspiration otherwise. This is also one of the blends in the collection that (at least in my opinion) is pretty equally good both hot and iced.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=5 (5th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5_ZbP1vug

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Iced Latte!

We were making matcha infused whipped cream at work today over lunch, and one of the flavours we made was banana. So, of course, I couldn’t turn down the oppertunity to have an iced banana matcha (happy Matcha Monday!) topped with banana matcha whipped cream. It was so good! Very, very rich but also quite fresh since the whipped cream was practically unsweetened save for the small amount of cane sugar in this semi sweetened matcha formulation – so that added an interesting twist. Kind of banana cream pie vibes overall.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Of the new summer collection this is the only tea that you could maybe arguably say isn’t new since, a few summers back, we carried a non-organic banana flavoured matcha that sold out very, very quickly. I’m glad this tea is “back” though for people who loved the OG one or who didn’t get a chance to try it back then.

Honestly, it tastes very similar to the previous one. There are some key differences though, and it’s actually not because of the organic switch. Eagle eyed tea friends might notice that this matcha is more expensive than other organic flavoured matchas, and that’s because this matcha is more like a “semi sweetened” version. It actually contains 40% less sugar than our usual flavoured matchas, which is why the cost is higher but also why the taste is a little less sweet and more matcha forward.

Otherwise, it’s that same rich banana flavour that reads a little like banana taffy or runts. Very nostalgic (as is this whole collection), and so good with milk! I definitely like this one on its own, but I adore it either as a hot or iced latte – and I actually recently tried it as an iced latte with chocolate milk and that was INSANELY good tasting for a really decadent chocolate covered banana sort of profile.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=3 (3rd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3DkQTUHS8

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Iced!

Made myself an iced mug of this tea when I got to the office this morning – both to cool down since it’s sooo hot out right now, and because I like starting my workday with something caffeinated and mate has been really helpful for me lately in regards to focusing. I’ve been drinking a lot of Jungle Crush lately, so I reached for this one instead to switch things up. Nice a peach-y, like the fresh peaches you get at roadside fruit stands. Not too sweet either!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Made this one over the weekend in the morning because I was craving that “Just Peachy” style of bright, juicy and slightly tangy Fuzzy Peach-like fruit note, but I also definitely needed a little caffeine and that bit of added focus from the green mate base. The subtle twist of ripe strawberry was also nice, though this is absolutely a peach forward blend.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

This tea is actually the only store exclusive blend in the new drop. It’s a yerba mate based blend with a juicy, ripe peach flavour and a hint of strawberry to it. Very good iced, but actually I think this might actually be the only tea in the collection that I personally prefer hot.

The inspiration was sort of the fruit carts/stalls that are prolific in the summer in Venice Beach/LA in general or places like British Columbia (Vancouver/Kelowna/Victoria I’m looking at you!) where you can pick up baskets of perfectly juicy and ripe fruits. Definitely this is more peach than strawberry, but I do love how gorgeous the giant strawberry slices in the dry tea leaf look. As it compares to Just Peachy, I think this is slightly less sweet and also slightly less tart with a bit of a smooth and subtle grassiness from the mate used as the base. However, I definitely think if you enjoy one then you’ll likely enjoy the other – and I personally love having caffeinated fruity iced tea options and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

Of course I wish this was available for everyone to try, but so far pretty much every store exclusive blend where customers have been vocal about wanting it online has eventually launched there too – I mean, Jungle Crush and Peaches & Cream Oolong are both good examples of that. So, y’never know!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=4 (4th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc6JOIQFLmc

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Had this as a tea pop again yesterday because I’m just on such a grape kick right now. I love the citrusy edge that this otherwise deep purple grape flavoured blend has though. I wonder how many more times I’m going to end up making this over the coarse of the summer. Can’t stop. Won’t stop.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tea Pop!

We were filming some stuff this week that used this tea, so I reaped the benefits post-filming and enjoyed a juicy and vibrant Galactic Grape tea pop afterwards. Definitely like citrusy punch flavour with that sweet candy grape flavour layered on top. Not too sweet, though. Honestly, this has been one of my favourite new teas of the summer. So, so, so good as a tea pop! Like a more mellowed out grape soda.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Next up in the latest collection… Galactic Grape!

Grape is another flavour that is a little bit polarizing, but there’s something so nostalgic to be about both grape soda and the most sour grape kind of candy that was so readily available growing up in the early 2000s – so those were sort of the inspirations and starting points for this blend.

People familiar with Maui Madness or Witchy Watermelon will instantly recognize the purple sweet potato pieces that make up a lot of the base of this blend. There’s also a bit of butterfly pea flower included, and the combination of these two ingredients creates a fun purple colour that’s a bit deeper than Maui Madness/Witchy Watermelon when steeped. It’s very pretty, and I think fun and kid friendly too.

In terms of taste this is definitely bright with a little bit of a top note acidity or slight sourness to it – like I said, one of the inspirations was sour grape candies but also we gave this tea a little bit of a citrus-y fruit flare too to give it a little more dimension and juiciness. Think grape fruit punch! You still get that deeper and more iconic “purple tasting grape” note after that initial brightness that anchors the blend, though. I don’t mind it hot, but I really love this tea cold brewed or iced. I just find it super refreshing. Also really good as a tea pop for a lighter taste grape soda alternative.

Another big part of this blend that I’m really proud of is that it’s totally free of stevia or other sweeteners/candied fruits. We already know stevia can be polarizing (and actually EVERY tea in this collection is stevia free) but something we especially hear in the summer is that people wish there were fruity/flavourful iced tea options without candied fruits so I definitely had that in mind when crafting this blend.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=2 (2nd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao3osYLAf0g

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

It’s become a bit of a root beer sort of summer for me because this past week I found myself making this tea again. Only this time I did it as a tea pop with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream for a root beer float sort of vibe. I do enjoy this tea a lot as an iced latte because it has that float sort of vibe, but I have to admit that it’s hard to top making an actual float. The thick, creamy mouthfeel from the vanilla ice cream just really adds a lot to that super rich taste.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Made this bad boy as a tea pop today for some stuff we were filming for social and I got to enjoy the post-filming spoils all to myself. So sweet and earthy with that rich sarsaparilla-like taste and a hint of vanilla and licorice root in the finish. So good!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.