79 Tasting Notes

100
drank Kiwi's Big Adventure by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

Who would have though such a small fruit could taste so big!

Kiwi’s big adventure is currently the reining champ in my Green tea book at the moment, I absolutely enjoy drinking this tea, it honestly reminds me of Kool Aid.

Dry this tea is loaded with all sorts of stuff it almost looks like something you would feed a rabbit, but I wouldn’t suggest wasting this awesome tea like that! It has a pleasing citrus and kiwi smell that is evident immediately when opening a tin. Brewed it is a very light tea that gives off a very sweet smelling kiwi aroma, you may actually want to pour it on yourself, again not recommended!

The final brew is a fairly light coloured tea with a slight green hue, at first I wasn’t sure I had brewed it properly until I tasted it. WOW is all I can say for a very soft and light looking tea this stuff pack enormous flavor.

I drink this one with 1-2 tsp of sugar depending on my mood and it always brightens my day up, for me it’s an instant flashback to being a kid drinking kiwi-lime Kool Aid without a care in my head. Could certainly be consumed without sweeteners and it would still be delicious. If you like citrus and sweet teas you have to try this tea at some point you will not regret it.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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100

Dare I say this is the perfect travel mug? Well some may not agree with me but I think its perfect!

I purchased my Noble for two reasons:

1) I am geek at heart and it looks like it should be in a science lab!

2) I was tired of my inferior metal mug leaking from the bottom for some weird reason.

But believe it or not reason # 1 is pretty much the main reason I purchased this mug! I like being able to brew tea’s on the go and I have never been a fan of the crap left behind from tea balls, so the noble seemed like a good choice.

Since my previous mug was only able to be filled at home for the most part a travel mug with an infuser was a must. After getting it I have started little tea stashes at friends homes and at work so all my frequent places have at least one serving of most of my teas on hand, it’s blissful.

I opted for the Bamboo lid Noble as I found it looked a little more refined and classy, but regardless of your choice all the Noble mugs are nice little pieces of artwork, empty they look great, full they can turn heads.

I highly recommend this for the on the go tea head, would make an awesome gift for a tea head as well.

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91
drank Blueberry Jam Organic by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

Blueberry Jam caught my eye on a trip to Davids one day. I took a smell of the tea and pretty much said “Oooooh” being loaded with Blueberries it really does smell like Blueberry Jam, I was sold!

Dry this black tea actually looks like freeze dried blueberries with a little bit of black tea leaves mixed in, certainly not a bad thing, and of course smells like blueberry jam. Brewed the beverage takes on some of the colour of the blueberries and of course still has a very distinct blueberry flavour.

The final brew is very dark with a slight purple hue from all the blueberries, that tell tale blueberry smell is still there and well what do you know it taste’s like blueberries!

This tea is exactly what it claims to be, its hard to really write much on it as it name really describes it perfectly. It goes really great with a buttered bagel for breakfast. Without sweetener it tastes great but if you used to eat the sweeter style of jams (Smuckers) add a tsp or two of sugar and you will feel at home.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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92
drank Santa's Secret by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

Santa’s Secret…I don’t really know where to start with this one, I can’t figure out any puns that suit this seasonal holiday tea. I can assure you that you could easily compare a drinking a mug of this to drinking a mug of Christmas.

Dry the tea is your typical black tea, contrasting the dark tea leaves are little mini candy canes. It has a very light and basic aroma of peppermint that is quite subtle on the nose. Brewed this tea will treat you to a golden brown brew that is very clear and clean. It has only what I can call a Christmas smell when brewed, definitely peppermint but other tones give it a unique smell.

The final brew is delicious you can certainly taste the peppermint in it, it is great without any sweetener, but I think a little bit really brings it to life giving it that real candy cane like feeling.

This is a very sweet tea, so some drinkers may want to take that into consideration. Certainly worth grabbing some while it is in season as it will probably be hard to get sick of this tea, stock up while you can because you may develop cravings in the middle of June!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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87
drank Fantasy Island by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

Fantasy Island was not as big of a Fantasy for me as I thought it would be, the tea was originally part of Davids spring collection I believe it was; however it was brought on as a full time tea I am assuming due to popularity. This is another good one for coconut lovers.

Dry this tea will look a lot like Stormy Night; however instead of chunks of chocolate it has chunks of raspberry. Coconut flakes are just as prevalent as in stormy night. It has a nice soft coconut and berry smell to it that remains throughout steeping. Brewing this tea will reward you with a dark aromatic brew again quite similar to Stormy Night expect minus the cinnamon this time around.

The final brew is moderately delicious I found it required sweetening to be up to my standards; however as I have mentioned before I have a slightly overly active sweet tooth. I generally do not add milk to my tea’s; however I found this one more enjoyable with a small splash of 2%.

Push comes to shove this is a good tea, I am not sure where it sits in my book as I do drink it daily but it isn’t one I have grown to love or hate so its still up in the air if I will replace this tin when it runs out. But certainly worth grabbing a sample pack to try out and see if it is worth it for you.

TIP: Mix equal parts of Stormy Night and Fantasy Island and steep for 4 minutes at 96*C and enjoy yourself a cup of my own creation, I call it “A Stormy Night on Fantasy Island” the girls at the local Davids got a kick out of that. It tastes great mostly because the teas are so similar that it works out great.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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93
drank Buddha's Blend by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

Buddha’s Blend, yeah Davids should look at renaming this green/white tea mixture to Fuzzy Peaches! Anyone who enjoyed the candies as a kid can tell you this tea smells EXACTLY like Fuzzy Peaches, the taste isn’t too far off either.

Dry the tea has small leaves, only by appearance, and white hibiscus flowers add the contrast to this otherwise dark colored tea. As mentioned the smell is identical to that of fuzzy peaches candies. Brewed the tea is extremely light and clear still retaining that slight fuzzy peach smell.

The final beverage is a tasty tea, sweet but not overly, may or may not require sweeteners depending on your taste. Certainly a tea that you could drink all day long and not get tired of, everyone I know that has tired it so far has enjoyed it, even my 4 year old niece.

Overall this is certainly a tea that you should have in your collection, its a great tea to have when you need an ‘emotional’ pick me up and the soft sweet flavor is hard to get tired of. I haven’t tried but it would probably make an awesome iced tea.

CAUTION: This tea does NOT like being over steeped and certainly does not like warm water. First time I brewed it I used water at about 86*C and it steeped for probably 2.5 minutes and the tea was actually fairly bitter, very sensitive tea.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 45 sec

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91

Stormy Night will entice you with the scent of coconut and cinnamon but it’s the chocolate that will seal the deal for you. This was the first tea I purchased from DavidsTea, being a big fan of black tea and a big fan of chocolate I figured it was worth the shot, and overall I will say I like it though it didn’t really blow me out of the water.

Dry the tea has small leaves is very dark with some contrast added in by the coconut flakes and chocolate chunks. It has a strong cinnamon scent with light coconut undertones. Brewing the tea takes on a dark appearance and has a strong cinnamon smell.

The final beverage is your standard black tea color, very dark, lots of cinnamon can be seen floating around in the drink, the smell kind of reminds of hot chocolate a bit, more so if you add milk.

Stormy night will certainly appeal to the chocolate and cinnamon lovers out there, but be warned it is a fairly strong flavored tea (heavy cinnamon) so people that do not like explosions of flavor may find this tea too much. Fans of chocolate milk and hot apple cider will feel right at home with this tea. It is one of my personal favorites to enjoy on an actual stormy night as it seems to make me care less that it is raining!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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100
drank Cookie Dough by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

This was one of my most recent Davids purchases, and I must say it has seriously damaged me! This tea honestly taste’s like chocolate chip cookie dough, I am not sure what kind of witchcraft DavidsTea used to create this blend but it is AMAZING, currently holds the spot as my favorite tea to drink and I generally sway more towards Black Teas.

First cup I totally didn’t pay attention to the direction on the tin and brewed it as a gentle white tea (82*C for 2 minutes) not realizing it was a longer steep time and hotter temperature; however I was still rewarded with a great drink.

Dry the tea has quite large leaves of varying colours, large pieces of walnuts, lots of chocolate shavings and other bits of goodies for the flavoring. It has a mild smell to it that reminds me of the old candy shops from when I was a kid, very sweet and aromatic.

Brewing it looks like a jungle in your steeper, if you can see it! The smell is exactly that of cookies just put into the oven. WARNING brewing in the office place will cause mass confusion, take caution!

The final beverage really doesn’t need to be sweetened but I have a sweet tooth so I generally add a tsp or two of sugar to my teas, I added two to this brew and I thought I was drinking cookie dough. Its a nice lighter brown brew, thanks to the chocolate, that I actually prefer a smidgen cooler then most hot teas as it really gives the impression of a warm cookie right out of the oven.

Overall this tea is a home run in my books, bad news is its a seasonal tea so that means stocking up is required for the times when it isn’t available. If you are not a fan of sweet teas do not go near this one at all as you will probably dislike it, otherwise be prepared to become addicted after your first cup!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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96
reviewed The Steeper by DAVIDsTEA
79 tasting notes

I purchased the Steeper because I was sick of crap escaping from the old tea ball so it was time for an upgrade. I was in at Davids satisfying my horrible addiction for teas when I saw it sitting on their shelf, I quickly checked it out and was impressed. Then the girl behind the counter made me a tea and showed me exactly how it worked, I was sold when the tea in the cup was clean as a bell. The unique factor of it also helped push the sale, certainly worth it if you are brewing multiple cups a day. Only downside is it needs to be cleaned fast if you brew a potent tea otherwise it will really stick into the plastic, but this isn’t a design flaw from Davids just the power of Tea in general.

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Bio

Tea, Earl Grey, Hot!

I will attempt to taste and comment on each and every blend offered from DAVIDsTEA and of course anything else that comes across my path.

I only drink tea brewed from loose leaf tea, and tend to sweeten my teas with a teaspoon of raw cane sugar per 8oz of tea and consider a cup either 12oz or 16oz depending on what mug I want to use.

I generally do not put milk in my tea’s; however sometimes I may make a ‘London Fog’ style drink or add milk to herbal infusions to add a bit more creaminess to it.

And I generally enjoy drink a nice hot tea while relaxing listening to some Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd.

I am quite liberal with my Tea ratings, I take the smiley face to heart for judging. If I really like it then it will score a high grade regardless of the brand or if I can keep it in my cupboard or not. But to break it down further a bit more check this out:

0-10 – Wouldn’t drink it if I was dying.
10-20 – Are you sure this didn’t come out of a bag?
20-50 – There is hope for this tea…somewhere but not here
50-60 – Drinkable, but not stockable
60-70 – Ok, were onto something here!
70-80 – Wow you gotta try this
80+ I freaking love it, where can I buy it?

Location

Vancouver, B.C.

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