51 Tasting Notes

This has gradually become a favourite of mine. The reason?

Jammy, jammy goodness.

It doesn’t taste like fresh blueberries (which is fine, because I’m not a fan anyways) but it tastes like a homemade blueberry jam. At least it does once you add a little sugar (sure it still tastes blueberryish without sweetener but when was the last time you had a not-sweet jam?)

Those who have said this is equally good iced and hot are spot on. I’ve had this tea many times now and while I’m enjoying it hot today, I keep having half a mind to make some iced too, just so I can gulp down the jamminess more quickly (stupid hot tea and its ungulpability…). This is the only tea that I’ve ever tried that is truly equally good iced or hot.

It’s perfect for today too, when it’s warm and sunny outside, too warm for a fall flavoured tea but too far into fall for a citrusy or tart tea. This is really hitting the spot today and the more often I drink it, the more I love this one.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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50

Trying to clean out my tea cupboard a bit, and the best way to do that is to make iced tea since it uses so much leaf. My Teavana stuff is getting on in age, so I’m trying to work through that. I figure there isn’t much time left this season for iced tea and I was thirsty today, so iced tea it is.

I would have brewed an entire glass of Sevenberry Sangria but only had half the amount of tea needed, so I used High Grown English Breakfast Tea as well (it’s a basic, unflavoured black; I figured that should be safe). I think I should have used much less Breakfast Tea or a different mix tea entirely. The Sevenberry Sangria is bright and fruity (this one makes a pretty decent iced tea on its own, like I said) and the Breakfast Tea just added an awful bitterness to it. Maybe a plain white or green would have been better here, but I didn’t have anything like that.
I added 2 heaping teaspoons of agave (!) and it’s drinkable, but it’s definitely got a nasty bitterness to it.

I hot steeped this and poured it over ice, which could also be why the black tea is more bitter.

And with that, I’m finished my bag of Sevenberry Sangria.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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100
drank Read My Lips by DAVIDsTEA
51 tasting notes

Since it’s a chilly 15 degrees and rainy here today, I decided to whip out this tea this afternoon. I had exactly enough left for one glass, which is fine because I’ve got another 100g on the way to get me through the winter.
I knew that I loved this tea, and I know it’s my favourite but I hadn’t had it in a few months and kind of forgot what it tasted like.

IT TASTES LIKE AFTER EIGHTS MELTED THEMSELVES INTO A CUP, THAT’S WHAT IT TASTES LIKE!

Ahem. It’s very chocolatey but also noticeably cool and minty. I like that it’s cool and minty yet the mint doesn’t push everything else out of the way. Once I smelled this steeping, the reasons that I love it all came rushing back in a hurry. I foresee myself drinking a LOT of this and Pumpkin Chai this fall and winter.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
canadianadia

After eights melted in a cup? That’s it, I’m adding this one to my shopping list

Daniel Scott

@canadianadia – Do! It’s definitely one of DT’s best. I like this one, and I don’t even like mint chocolate!

Daisy Chubb

Definitely a staple in my cupboard!

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86

Backlogging. Can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this yet, I’ve had it so many times.
This, my friends, smells VERY much like Lush’s It’s Raining Men shower gel/Honey I Washed the Kids soap (both of which are amazing, by the way). I get honey from it rather than caramel.
Brewed, it’s a slightly bitter black tea that does retain that honey/caramel flavour that it smells like. This is one of those teas that tastes very much like it smells, which doesn’t always happen. I like this one sweetened with sugar rather than agave (I don’t know, sugar just works better in very gourmand teas I find). I can’t imagine it without sweetener simply because I can’t imagine caramel not being sweet. Also, the appeal of salted caramel is the salty/sweet contrast, and if you don’t sweeten this tea you lose the contrast.
The salt part isn’t really noticeable when this is hot, it’s as it cools a bit that the back of the sip has a salty quality. At first it was neat, but quickly became kind of strange. It’s kind of as though you used very slightly salted water to brew your tea. It wasn’t a sea-salt taste (because again, part of the idea of salted caramel is the texture of the salt), but more of a salt-water taste, and only slightly at the end of the sip. It was a little weird, but I’m not sure how else you can do salted caramel in a tea. I think they did a good job incorporating all the elements without making some super salty tea abomination.

Once I mixed this with DT’s Chocolate Cake. THAT was excellent, and I would repurchase both teas again just to mix them that way. This is still a solid tea on it’s own though.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Daisy Chubb

I looove teas that remind me of Lush and vice versa! LUSH is right across from the DT in my mall so it’s perfect haha

tigress_al

I think Chocolate cake was discontinued though :(

PatchworkSheep

It’s no longer in store, but you can still get it online (at least for now)!

TheKesser

I remember not caring for chocolate cake all that much the first time I tried it (realistically I think I’ve only had it the once or twice), but I’m going to have to take you up on the idea of mixing this one with it! That sounds yummy!

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83
drank Bear Trap by DAVIDsTEA
51 tasting notes

The first thing you notice about this tea is how incredibly juicy and berryish it smells. YUM!
The second thing you notice is that because of all the berries, it’s pretty heavy and therefore kind of expensive. Especially considering that it’s most delicious iced, because it takes so much more tea to make iced tea.
At any rate, I’ve done this both cold brewed and hot/concentrated/dumped on ice. I got more flavour out of the latter method, and found it much better that way. I added a little bit of sugar as well and it REALLY brought out the berry flavour. It was absolutely delicious and really got me through the day at work. It was so packed with flavour it was like drinking actual JUICE, like berry juice. It’s not often you come across a tea/tisane with that much flavour.
There’s also the fact that on the website, the picture for this tea is a really cute bear. That may have played a key role in me taking a hard look at this tea in the first place…
I will repurchase this when the weather turns warm next year, but until then my bag is finished.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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drank Perfect Pear by DAVIDsTEA
51 tasting notes

Made this iced using the brew hot and concentrated/dump on ice method. Added some agave because I had read that it was a bit tart. Tart doesn’t begin to describe this. This is straight up SOUR. Now, my fiance who loves sour candies found this tea pleasant and said he would drink it again. I took one gulp, started flapping my hands around and going “Baahhh NOPE!”
No rating because I couldn’t drink enough to analyze the flavour. That said if you like sour candies, this might work out for you.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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95

Forgot that I had picked up a small sample bag of this at the store when I was on holiday. I already have a bag of Earl Grey Creme from Teavana (and only drink it when I have a cold), but the scent of the dry leaf was just too delicious smelling not to try this.
I’m not sick, but I was in the mood for an Earl Grey tonight. And this is the first time I’ve had this, but the second it hit my tongue all I could think was “My GOD that’s beautiful”.
I was afraid this might be overly floral or bitter. Not so. Used boiling water and a 5 minute steep. The Earl Grey and bergamot are definitely present, however the berry is also very much there too. There is a little bit of floral in the back of the sip, but it’s not overwhelming and really adds to the experience. Added a little sugar and it really brought out the sweetness of the berries.
This is SO much better than Teavana’s Earl Grey Creme. I absolutely love this tea. It reminds me of Victorian ladies in gloves and gowns sipping tea in a garden in the afternoon. I’ll be getting a tin of this the moment I get through my current bag of Earl Grey (if I get this now, I’ll NEVER use that up).
This is a great “drink anytime” tea. Any time of day, any time of year, any mood. So many teas are “summer” or “fall/winter” teas, or “morning” or “evening” teas, or are for when you want to sleep, or when you want something sweet, etc. This one is just good for anytime, and it’s beautiful.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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90

Had a nice visit with an old friend this afternoon, and after she left I felt like spending my last afternoon of holidays browsing Steepster and drinking tea. I brewed up a big mug of Chocolate Cake and went pretty hard on the agave.
This tea is more greasy than I remember it being. Don’t get me wrong, the grease is delicious (lets face it, most grease is) but its a little weird and acts as a marker for how much tea you drink every time you pick up the mug.
Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed that mug and still had a hankering for more tea. Someone here had mentioned mixing Salted Caramel with Chocolate Cake.
Don’t mind if I do!
Made a big mug of that (half and half of each type of tea) and used a big ol’ spoonful of agave. The first sip was just….angels singing. Chocolate came through first, then as you swallowed the caramel came out. It was amazing.
Throughout the rest of the glass, some sips tasted more like chocolate cake and other tasted more like caramel. The sips where you got equal amounts of each flavour were the BEST. I’m definitely going to be mixing these two again.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec
Daisy Chubb

ohhh the mix of those 2 teas reminds me of this recipe, that sounds like a perfect mix!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/salted-caramel-brownie/

PatchworkSheep

That…that I need.
I like that she puts pictures of each step for culinary-challenged people like myself.

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This was my first oolong, and I’m not sure what to think. I like that it was light and smooth, and I liked the vanilla flavor. However, there was a distinct milkiness to it, and I’m not sure whether it was the excessive vanilla flavour that many people mention this tea has or whether it was the oolong itself. As it cooled, the milkiness came out more and more and this became sweeter. It got sickening as it cooled and I couldn’t finish the last 1/4 of the mug because it was just too much. I really hate milk/cream and this started to taste like warm, super sweet milk.
It’s clear the leaf is high quality; it was nice to see such whole pretty leaves. I will definitely resteep this to see if that milkiness goes away because if it does, I’ve got a feeling I really like the oolong underneath that. I’ll definitely be trying another oolong without a vanilla note (will probably steer clear of DT’s Milk Ooolong as well)

EDIT: The second steep on this was less sweet, but possibly even more milky than the first steep. I couldn’t choke down more than a few mouthfuls. I really don’t like this tea and will have to start a swap pile with it, since others seem to rate it highly. Just not my cup.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Kittenna

If you hate milk/cream, DEFINITELY avoid the milk oolong! :P

PatchworkSheep

Do you happen to know if milkiness is a quality that most oolongs have? I feel like there was something about this tea that I liked. It felt nice in my mouth and was nice and light, not bitter or acidic. It was just nice, if it weren’t for that milky flavour. Wondering if there are other types of oolongs I should be looking for.

Kittenna

I don’t think milky is a defining characteristic of oolongs, no! I imagine the vanilla flavouring was what did you in here. Milk oolong is kind of it’s own class. In my opinion, straight green oolongs are typically kind of vegetal and floral, while darker oolongs have a good deal of body and a lovely woody flavour, and often some sweetness. I’d suggest that if you liked the base of this one, try to pick up a straight oxidized (darker) oolong? Butiki and Verdant both definitely have oolongs that fit that category, as do many other shops. DavidsTea may not. I’d offer to send you some samples but I don’t have the time to package anything up right now :( (But since you’re in BC, shipping would be pretty cheap for me to do so!)

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75

This isn’t a new tea for me, but I’ve been drinking tea like its going out of style for the past couple of days. It’s finally cool enough outside to drink hot tea (okay, by “cool” I still mean 25 degrees, but its a lot better than the 30-40 degrees it’s been for the past 5-6 weeks).
This one definitely does best with a shorter steep time because it has a nasty tendency to become bitter really easily. I did 4 minutes, but 3 minutes might have even done nicely. It might also help to use cooler than boiling water.
I let this one sit for 10-15 minutes before drinking it because it is best cooled down a little; the strawberry flavour comes out a lot more that way. It’s very strawberrish and has a lot of sweet, tart flavour. I really like to drink this tea in the morning.
Just enough left in my bag for one more cup, maybe not even (which means I’ll get to make another franken-tea!). I’ve really enjoyed this, but I’m not too disappointed that I can’t repurchase it, it really does have a summery feel to it. I’m ready to move onto my spicy, deeper fall teas.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

Recently graduated sociology student trying to decide what to do with her life.
I don’t drink tea every day, but I do love tea and trying out different flavours. My favorite is black tea, followed by white and mate teas. I enjoy rooibos and oolongs, but haven’t tried enough of them yet to determine how much I like them compared to other types. I don’t like straight green tea, but if it has a good flavour added to it I can enjoy it quite a lot.
Mostly I drink DavidsTea since its Canadian and they tend to have stronger teas and more interesting flavors than other places I’ve tried. I don’t care for what I’ve tried from Teavana for the most part; their teas seem weak and overpriced in general as far as I can tell. The exception is My Morning Mate, which is incredible.
My city has not a single specialty tea shop, so DavidsTea online ordering is my friend. I highly recommend their Perfect Mug. It really is perfect. Nice thin lip, large hand, larger than average mug without being too big, and I have it in clear so I can see the beautiful colours of my teas as they steep. The strainer that comes with it is my favorite because it doesn’t let any tea through, and its metal and dishwasher safe. Love it.

Location

BC, Canada

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