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Buddha’s Blend has a very peachy smell when the tin is first opened, which is quite nice. When brewed, some of that same peachy flavor (a lot of which actually comes from the hibiscus flowers, I think) is transferred to the tea, along with a nice flowery jasmine flavor. Neither flavor is too overwhelming, and I could still taste the tea.

Because I like both fruity and floral teas at times, I was quite fond of Buddha’s Blend. I think it’s one of my favorites in the 2013 advent calendar and it’s one I’d consider ordering again. I do think this is priced a little high for the quantity of white tea you actually receive and I think this would only be a hit with people who enjoy floral flavors.

This is a light grassy sencha that’s pleasant to drink, but it did seem a little bit weak. It has a mild vegetal scent and flavor that was refreshing, though I could have done without the seaweed undertones in this one. It’s decent enough, but not my favorite sencha.

Mother’s Little Helper was under door number 11 of the 2013 DavidsTea advent calendar, but it’s a blend I’ve had in the past as well. I really like the chamomile and peppermint mixture in this tisane — it’s very soothing. It also has lemon undertones thanks to the lemongrass, but I’ll admit that I think it could do without the lemon flavor.

Though there’s hibiscus, it’s muted by the peppermint, and luckily doesn’t add much more than a nice pink color to the brew. This has valerian root, but I didn’t feel any sleepier than usual! Still, it’s a good night time tea for anyone who likes peppermint and chamomile.

Kokomo Green is the 12th tea in the 2013 DavidsTea advent calendar, and one that I was really hoping I’d like. I enjoy fruity greens and have had some similar tropical blends from other tea shops, but Kokomo Green was unappealing from the moment I opened the tin.

It has a strong papaya/pineapple scent and flavor that overwhelms any hint of tea in the blend and it’s just not a taste that works for me. The directions state that it should be brewed at 200 degrees for five to seven minutes (???), which ends up with a tea that’s so bitter it’s almost undrinkable. I also tried with a lower temperature and a shorter infusion and while it was less bitter, I still didn’t enjoy the flavors. I think this would have been better with less pineapple and without the cornflower, and it’s definitely not a tea I’ll revisit. Yuck.

This tea (the 10th tea in the 2013 Advent Calendar) has an allergy warning on it that it contains sulfites, which is isn’t exactly appetizing. I guess it’s just a food preservative, but all the same, I opted for just one cup of the Coffee Cake this morning.

The packaging says it contains black tea, along with preserved cherries, pineapple, and natural and artificial cake flavoring. When I opened this tea, it definitely smelled sugary, but it’s more of a burnt sugar creme brûlée scent than a coffee cake scent. In fact, after brewing, the sugar scent has some distinctive maple undertones, which is actually quite pleasant. I’d say the brewed scent is more akin to a stack of pancakes than a coffee cake.

While it smells like maple sugar, it doesn’t quite taste like it. The black tea is actually fairly strong in this blend, but it also has an oddly overwhelming fake butter flavor that carries a bit of a sugary aftertaste that quickly turns to a plasticky flavor. I don’t exactly find the butter flavor off-putting, but it’s not necessarily something that I will go out of my way to seek out in the future. I’m not sure I taste any pineapple or cherry in the blend, which is not surprising since there were only a few morsels in the tea to begin with.

Silk Dragon Jasmine was the ninth tea in the 2013 DavidsTea advent calendar, and I thought it was a good jasmine tea, but it had a really strong jasmine flavor compared to some other more subtle jasmine greens that I’ve tasted.

I did several infusions of this and all had the same strong jasmine notes, though I did enjoy the sweeter second and third infusions more than the first. Basically this is just your average jasmine — nothing special about it, and there are probably better jasmines than this one.

Blech. Mango Madness is probably the worst DavidsTea offering that I’ve tasted yet. Normally I like fruity whites and greens, and I drink a lot of them, but this one had a foul (almost vomit-like) smell and taste that wasn’t really reminiscent of mango at all (too citrusy). I’m not sure what’s in there that smells so unappealing to me, but I’m thinking it’s the tangerine/pineapple/mango combination, or perhaps the artificial flavoring.

DavidsTea has a green mango blend (Mango Diablo) with mango and crushed chili that I like quite a bit more than Mango Madness. At least in that one you can actually taste the tea — this one had no tea flavor at all. Maybe this one is better cold brewed or on ice? I’ll have to give it a try when it’s warmer outside.

Based on the name of this tisane, I was expecting a strong strawberry flavor. Instead, it had a surprisingly tart floral scent and taste that seems to be dominated by the hibiscus in the blend. Hibiscus is always a bit overbearing and I usually try to avoid it. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t a great flavor either.

Along with hibiscus, I could taste a bit of the rhubarb, but the apple and the strawberry notes were harder to pick up. I wasn’t a huge fan of this tisane because there was nothing special about it — it tastes like all the other tart hibiscus blends I’ve had in the past. Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait is passable, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to drink.

I love Genmaicha, and it’s a tea that I’ll choose often when we visit the tea garden. I rarely brew it at home though, because it’s hard to replicate that delicate nutty flavor.

As for the DavidsTea variety, I enjoyed it, but it seemed like it had too much roasted rice in it compared to other Genmaichas I’ve had. The roasted rice flavor overpowered the green tea, when normally it complements it quite well. Still, I’m a fan of Genmaicha and this is highly drinkable.

This tea smells delicious when you open it up, like chocolate and chai. The cinnamon smell really dominates, as does the chocolate, but unfortunately those flavors don’t translate well when it’s steeped.

The brew itself actually tasted fairly weak to me, and I was expecting more of a chai flavor due to the smell. Cinnamon was generally all I could taste, which was a disappointment. Because of the chocolate, this tea does leave a film on the cup.