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Advent calendar [18/24]

The nausea is still here, but only with certain foods (oh no!). I was not feeling this one this morning, so I put it back in the box and finished the Cherry Blossom.

All the same, this is generally one of my more favourite teas. It’s sweet and nutty and reminds me of what David’s Tea smells like when I walk by. I get a bit of a popcorn vibe when I drink it. I will probably love this one late tonight when I’m DDing some friends. It’ll be nice to stay up, pop in some Netflix and sip this tea.

Also, stress down. Most of my holiday odd-jobs are done!

Advent calendar [16/24]

I was super looking forward to this one. I’ve made it a couple of times since I initially made it, and I’m thinking this tea needs a maximum of one minute to steep. I find it gets astringent really fast.

I like the plainness of this one. David’s doesn’t really do plain. I’m not sure I’d purchase this for myself because I think the territory for plain green teas is huge and unnavigated at this point.

Advent calendar [17/24]

Sidenote: I believe I am getting sick. Perhaps it’s a cold, perhaps it’s all the sugary junk I’ve been eating combined with my holiday time stress. All I want to eat is terrible food.

I opened the tin up this morning and gagged at the smell. It was way too strong. The strange thing is, it tastes nothing like it smells.

The reviewer who noted that this tea tastes like cheap already-been-chewed bubblegum hit the nail on the head.

I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to be tasting. I can taste clove and lemon with a weird aftertaste. I was really looking forward to this oolong because I thought it’d be sweet, sour and cinnamon-like. I thought it would be like a hot sangria or a hot cider. This tea doesn’t resemble either of those, apart from the citrusy feel.

I’m going to resteep this one later tonight. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish this cup.

After the lovely Kristal sent me a sample of rooibos last month, I decided I had to get more.

I think perhaps there are people who get rooibos, and people who don’t— like black licorice, coriander and/or cilantro, and Thrills soap-flavoured gum (I happen to like all three, but not at the same time).

I don’t know how to describe what rooibos does to me. It like a sweet intense flavour sensation that starts in the back of my mouth. It tastes kind of like the smell of hot wet cedar or the smell inside a wood sauna.

Tonight, I got home and started making bread for tomorrow’s Christmas social at work. Then I had to sew a ton of Christmas gifts that the children helped make. I’m not sleeping because I’m physically taking my work home with me each night. When I sat down and drank a cup, it’s like I finally got to sit and breathe.

I’m so glad I ordered a bag of this with my last DT order. It may have to become a staple in my house.

Advent calendar [15/24]

I was super excited to find another flavoured white in my possession this morning. I’m starting to really like these. I must admit I sampled some of the dried pineapple out of the tin. Very nice!

I got out my new cast iron cups and my trusty old cast iron tea pot. It’s nice not having to sip out of the glass bowls we usually use for mise en place before we cook. That’s kind of where my excitement ended. This tea had a beautiful start in the mouth. It was very delicate and floral. The end of the sip was where I had an issue. All of a sudden, that lovely floral sip turned into a mouthful of sweet sugary syrup. The good news is that this endnote of sweetness disappeared after a half hour. When I drank it in my car, it was definitely gone.

I may try some different steeping and temperature parameters. Perhaps I’m just going to prefer a less flavoured white.

Advent calendar [14/24]

Good news! My frivolous spend-as-much-as-I-need-to-get-points order is in. I have a few more teas to review soon. In other good news, I’ve converted my boyfriend into a black loose leaf tea drinker.

Despite my aversion to drinking non caffeinated tea in the morning, I had to have this one early. It just sounded so good.

It seems like this tea had a lot of different flavours going on. I get a spicy coconut flavour with a sweet aftertaste. I’m not really sure what this tea is doing, but I really like it.

If I didn’t have a 50g pouch of red rooibos sitting in my cupboard at home, this would be a definite choice to buy.

Advent calendar [13/24]

I received this one as a sample not too long ago and I think I found that it was just alright. This morning, however, I tried again at 70 degrees and found that it had no taste. I thought, okay, maybe it’ll be alright at 75. Still no taste, though it was smooth and refreshing once it cooled down for almost an hour. I tried once more at 80 degrees and found a mild hint of fuzzy peach candies with a sour aftertaste.

I’m starting to think that perhaps I’m on my way to getting a cold, and my taste buds are just blocked. I still have some of my sample left. I will have to try it another day.

I think I’ll keep this rating at a 70. There’s nothing inherently bad about this tea, though it’s too mild for my tastes.

Advent calendar [12/24]

Happy half-way!

I took one sip of this tea and wasn’t overly impressed. I thought that perhaps standing with my back to the kitchen sink wasn’t a great spot to enjoy tea. Maybe my mind wasn’t in the right place. I tried to imagine sipping this in a better, more Christmas-y location, like in front of the fireplace (we don’t have one) or with company on Christmas eve. It worked somewhat. One thing that was missing for me was the green tea. There was no green tea flavour. I started to like it a little better as it cooled and mellowed out.

The part that I didn’t like was how this tea had an overwhelming flavour of cinnamon or cinnamon hearts, followed by a hint of chili flakes and peppercorns. If I’d steeped it any longer, the spiciness would have been too strong.

I think this tea advent calendar is making me realize how much I dislike spice teas. I am still a fan of chai, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if these same few spices can go with every tea that David’s puts out.

Looking forward to the next twelve days. Here’s to hoping I’ll find another that really shines.

Alright, I stand by my review that this tea tastes mediocre by itself.

However, as a latte, this tea is incredible. I can taste cream, salt, and caramel along with the toned-down smokiness and sweetness. It’s like a grown up version of Carnation without the cloying sugar rush.

If I was given the choice between this and a regular milk and cocoa powder based hot chocolate, I’d probably pick this one. I’m just not sure I’d want to buy it to keep it on hand for hot chocolate tea lattes, and I’m still a little peeved about the Stevia (as always).

Advent Calendar [11/24]

I wasn’t entirely looking forward to this one. The scent reminded me of the chocolate teas I was once obsessed with when I got into teas several years ago. I knew it had Stevia and natural flavouring as well. I’m not entirely opposed to all added flavours (I probably wouldn’t go to David’s if I was), but it has to be done well.

I found this tea to be very smoky with a mild hint of chocolate at the end. Better yet, I found it to be like cocoa powder mixed in water that’s been boiled over a campfire. I wasn’t pleased or displeased. It was just sort of weird. I think it took me most of the morning to sip down.

This morning, I’m going to make myself a tea latte using this tea. If I had eggnog, it would probably make a fantastic eggnog latte. We shall see how it goes.

[Rating has been updated to reflect tea as a latte]