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I might have had too high expectations for this seeing that coconut and cardamom are two of my favourite things. I didn’t get enough of either for my liking. Just a hint of cardamom and some mild coconut sweetness which was easily hidden once milk was added. Typing out tea notes on a phone is brutal, evidently.

But! As much as I loved DAVIDs Cardamom French Toast for the flavouring, that one was too sweet for me after a while, while this one has the perfect amount of sweetness.

This was way better than expected! A delightful surprise. Caraway always rubbed me the wrong way. Those everything bagels? Seeing those little dried up wormy caraway seeds instantly spoiled the breakfast fun. But here it’s more mellowed out, and I’m not being slammed up against the wall with bitterness, plus it pairs beautifully with the dark chocolate notes. I’m tempted to order more but as you can tell, I have rarely been touching my tea stash. The sale email from these guys is the very reason I decided to fire up the kettle on this obnoxiously cold day.

I have been drinking this faithfully at work this past week. I forgot how delicious and refreshing peppermint tea can be. This one in particular is slightly sweet and not bitter at all like some can be. I feel soothed and it keeps my calm through my shift. It also makes an amazing iced tea.

Why have I waited so long to write about this? Or ahem, even try it. My bag was buried in a moving box, which was tucked away in storage, for literally two years, then I finally got it back when I moved into this apartment. Yet it has still been sitting in my cupboard because my tea consumption slowed down tremendously over the past year.

So here I am. This batch was packed in 2014 and has a shelf life of three years, yet, upon opening it, it still seems fine.

First cup here is so bready. Like wholesome, hearty, freshly baked rye bread or something. Not white bread. Minimal astringency and a semi-thick mouthfeel.

I totally forgot I had this tea before, and wound up with a sampler in the last mystery bag purchase. I agree with my last review that this tastes like a weaker version of Amoda’s Happy Pumpkin. I feel bad writing this, but it tastes like a lot of other chai blends I have tasted in the past. Mostly cinnamon and ginger.

I seem to enjoy this one more than the other Steepsterites. The dry leaf hits you with warm prune (hey, I like prunes) and a shot of booze. Steeped, I don’t really get hazelnut brittle but mostly creamy cocoa butter and brandied prunes. The base is subtle and pairs perfectly with the fruit. Adding milk does kill the soft cocoa butter background, and you are left with a whisper of plum. I’m glad I just got a sample size, but for what it’s worth, it was money and time well spent even though it’s not my favourite blend of theirs.

I’m not sure if it’s because this tea is older now (although I’ve had it sealed up until today) but it’s quite lacklustre. There isn’t any creaminess and in terms of passion fruit, it doesn’t taste like passionfruit is in here, rather, a vague candied fruit flavour underneath the dusty base. A little sad since passionfruit is one of my favourite fruits.

I was very curious about how this would compare to Chocolate Eclair, which I’m mildly obsessed with. Also, I recall sunflower seeds in another blend, and I actually liked it, but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was. Opening the packet, this smelled a little… rancid? Or just bitter or something. Either it’s its age showing or it’s because I was expecting a sweeter pecan-y nutty scent, as I completely forgot that this had sunflower seeds.

With milk, the sunflower seeds are quite strong. Definitely the strongest note, even stronger than the chocolate. I like sunflower seeds, and I recall them working with whichever previous blend I’ve had, but for some reason it’s not really working here.

I’m very glad to have gotten this in my mystery bag though. Those are always fun.

I’ve never had a champagne dream cocktail either, Anne! But orange and pomegranate together sounds fantastic. The dry leaf smells juicy and red. Mostly red fruits with a touch of orange. I’m not sure if it’s the age of it (I’ve had it sealed since getting it), but once steeped, a lot of the fruitiness disappears and you’re left with a slightly hay-like white base. There is a bit of pomegranate but it’s so faint.

Not really sure what to think of it. It may be better iced, but I’ve been so lazy with preparing tea cold. Have I mentioned that I accidentally broke my DAVIDsTEA glass pitcher a few months ago? That really hurt. Really hurt. Especially because they don’t seem to make them anymore, only the plastic ones, and I’m not crazy over the idea of cold steeping in plastic. I’ve yet to find a replacement. Sigh. It’s a huge reason why I’ve been neglecting my herbal fruity blends at the very least.

I wasn’t able to detect any mulberry in this, unfortunately, but the marshmallow root sweetens up the base a little. I’m not really complaining since I looooooove genmaicha and this one is all roasty and toasty, not bitter. Good stuff.

With that said, while I’d rate this much higher since it’s a fantastic genmaicha in and of itself, I was expecting more mulberry in this. I think the issue is that my taster size didn’t have any mulberries in it, so that’s likely the problem here.

I’m brewing up the last of it to take to work with me in my insulated bottle and there aren’t any mulberries in sight, but can smell a gentle waft of marshmallow root still.