Tina S. Send Message

I don’t know why I keep brewing my whites according to the instructions given because it never turns out how it is supposed to. Seriously, does anyone have any luck with the whites done that way, and if not, why on earth don’t they change the recommendations?

Anyway, so I brewed this one up for the first time full of trepidation. I’m not a whiskey fan at all, and dry it definitely has that liquor smell. Actually it’s so strong dry it almost turns my stomach a little. But I’m determined to try every tea on that wall, so away I went.

Brewed, I was happy to note that it didn’t smell as strong. It was actually almost pleasant. I took my first sip and . . . weakness. I can’t even find notes to it because all I’m getting is a slightly sweet weak white tea in my cup.

Looks like I’m going to be playing with the brewing and seeing if I can get a solid steep.

I wanted to hate this one. It has so many notes in it I can’t stand, but I got it as a sample with a mail order and so I gave it a go tonight.

Am kind of glad I did. The lemongrass completely dominates this tea, which I’m happy about since that’s one of the few notes I really do like in the blend. There is a hint of pepper or ginger to it, which reminds me of Lime Fizz from The Tea Haus, one of my favourite herbals. As the cup cooled the notes remained consistent, with a strong lemon flavour with just a hint of something more.

I don’t see myself reaching for this one off the teawall, but I also won’t say no if I’m offered a cup!

I’m always hesitant when I drink straight whites and greens. I don’t enjoy grassy flavours, or ones that just taste . . . planty . . . at all. Thankfully this tea didn’t have that. It is very light, almost too light even more me. I had a few sips of it without adding anything and found it had a slight underhint of something. I hesitate to say vanilla but there was definitely something nice sneaking in. Wondering if some sugar would highlight it so I could pinpoint what I was tasting I added a halfspoon of sugar. And wow, suddenly the tea was almost tasteless.

I don’t dislike this tea, but it isn’t my favourite white so I don’t think I’ll be purchasing it again. It isn’t a bad tea, it just isn’t memorable or something I see myself ever having a craving for.

Dry, this one smells almost pineapply to me, which is a turn off. But brewed it mellows a bit. I don’t get mango from it, but it is a nice almost-mango flavour that I find inoffensive but not memorable.

Forever Nuts was one of the first teas I tried from David’s, and I was really hesitant about it. I don’t like most nut flavours, and with it called Forever Nuts, I wondered why my friend had handed it to me. But then I smelt it and decided that with a scent like that, with cinnamon and fruit more than nuts, I had to try it.

Boy am I ever glad I did. This is one of my favourite teas, and one I love to blend with so many others. I’ve started calling it a gateway tea, because so many friends have told me they don’t drink tea, but have started after I made them a cup of this. Hot or iced, Forever Nuts is always a hit for me, and I’ll always have a cannister of it in my collection.

Just, if you’re hoping for nuts in your tea in any way, don’t be misled by the name!

Okay, so I’ve rated this one based on my multiple experiences with the tea itself. However tonight? I finally figured out how to save this tea! For me carrot cake is all about the spices, and so I tried adding a teaspoon of my Chai Spice from The Tea Haus to 1.5 teaspoons of Carrot Cake. And voila, finally it is the carrot cake I expected the first time I eagerly smelled this tea.

I’m a sucker for a creamsicle flavour, and when Dreamsicle didn’t win the Back from the Dead contest recently I was so sad. This is one of three orange cream type teas I have right now, and is my least favourite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely tea and I do like it, but it is sub-par compared to others on the market. (My favourite, for those hunting, is the Honeybush Orange from The Tea Haus.)

This one smells heavenly dry, and even brewed still retains a large portion of the scent. Drinking it black, however, is a slight disappointment as there is only about half the flavour I’ve come to expect in my orange teas. Adding some milk and sugar does make it a delightful cup, but it still isn’t exactly what I’d hoped for. (Although I have a friend who says to try it with a teaspoon of whipping cream so I may have to do that before ruling this one out entirely!)

I love the smell of this tea. The first time I opened the bag I felt like just dumping the leaves into my mouth and chowing down because it smelled like a bag of the dessert itself. I rushed home from work that night to brew and . . . was mildly disappointed. Brewed as is, I find the tea is slightly lacking as other reviewers have said.

Blended however with just a hint of another stronger berry tea? This tea sparkles and shines. I used a “Very Berry” blend I got from McNulty’s in NYC, with just a third of a teaspoon, along with half a teaspoon of sugar after steeping.

Man was I surprised to discover that now it tasted exactly how it smelled, crumble and all. And as it cooled, the flavour just kept getting better. Now I’m eager for my next cup!

I think the person who created this tea is a sushi addict. It is pretty much the perfect tea to sip while munching on rolls and sushi.

Dry, I have a love/hate relationship with this one. I want to love it, and definitely love notes of it, but every time I sniff the leaves I keep changing my mind about how much. I think I’d prefer it as a deodorant scent than a tea (as unappetizing as that is!) It’s fresh and clean smelling, but there’s just something about it that keeps me from falling in love.

Brewed, it lost some of that weird something and mellowed out scentwise. I definitely can see myself boiling a pot of this to scent my house. Tastewise I find it weaker than I expected, but not in a bad way. I find the mildness actually helped me enjoy the flavour a bit more, keeping the notes from being overpowering.

Splash! isn’t one I think I’ll be reaching for to sip, or that I will ever crave, but if I have fish meals I think this is going to be the one I serve with it. Am a wee bit afraid to try it iced though!

I’m not a straight white tea lover so I was hesitant when I got this one to try, especially at the price! I used one of the “perfect teaspoon” scoops and wow, what seems like so little dry exploded into these beautiful leaves when they unfurled in brewing. They’re clearly so fresh and new and are the most beautiful brewed leaves I think I’ve seen in a tea. I can’t seem to stop running my fingers through them, as weird as that seems.

The tea itself brews to a very nice flavour, not overly strong with no trace of bitterness. The brew is golden in colour and I found that just a half teaspoon of sugar brought out all of the undernotes to make it a delightful cup. I was definitely pleasantly surprised by this one!