5 Tasting Notes
I recently snagged a 100g tin of this for 50% off (one of the Christmas tins). Not a flavour I’d normally go for, but since it was on sale I decided to try it anyway!
It smells fantastic in the tin – super dark chocolate-y with a hint of spice. I have opened it up just to sniff a couple of times since buying it. Yum.
I wasn’t sure what to expect for taste, I figured it would be chocolate-y and quite spicy – not so much. I first tried making it as a latte – I really liked it this way, it tasted a lot like black tea but the milk really seemed to bring out the chocolate as well. Not very spicy at all – a bit of a tingle in the mouth but that was about it.
Tonight I made it again, this time steeped in water with a splash of milk before drinking. This way was fine, but much weaker, like drinking black tea with a hint of dark chocolate and not much spice at all. Don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable enough, just not nearly as strong as I thought it would be (and I was pretty generous with my loose tea!).
I’m a bit confused about this one – it isn’t really what I thought it would be (and to be fair, I wasn’t totally sure what to expect in the first place), but I like it. I don’t think it is a tea I will be reaching for every day, but I know I will drink it again (in latte form at least!), most likely on a cold night or if I am craving chocolate.
Bought this on a whim and first tried it iced – I steeped it for way too long, and it was absolutely disgusting!
Luckily, tonight I decided to try it again, hot this time. Sniffing the bag of loose tea, it smells very grapefruity/citrusy. Drinking it now, I find I quite like it – it really doesn’t taste as grapefruity as it smells, which is a good thing, at least for me. I added a little bit of honey, so it is still slightly tart, but not too much so. Leaves a citrus aftertaste which is refreshing.
I’ll definitely drink this again, and I think it will be great cold, if I don’t leave it steeping for too long. The deep pink colour would look wonderful in a clear pitcher or glass. I can definitely see myself enjoying this iced, outdoors on a hot summer day!
I’m a Canadian, and I looove maple, so of course I had to try this!
The loose tea smells amazing in the tin, lots of maple, and it is fun to look at as well – the different coloured maple leaf shaped candies are adorable!
When steeped it definitely doesn’t disappoint – it is a lovely rooibos with a fair bit of maple, no doot aboot it! It it sweet but not sickeningly so – great for fending off a sweet tooth craving! It does have caramel and toffee bits in it along with the candy maple leaves, so I haven’t used any additional sweeteners in this. I have tried it with and without milk and it is delicious both ways.
The aroma is absolutely wonderful, strong and a little syrupy – I can see why some people think of pancakes when trying this. The maple flavour lingers in the aftertaste, yum!
I really enjoy this, and I’m sure I will repurchase it at some point. I did purchase Birthday Cake recently as well – I had read some reviews that said the two were similar, but I am not finding that to be the case, beyond the fact that they are both rooibos based and sweet. I prefer Birthday Cake, which I was surprised by, but they are both wonderful – vanilla frosting or maple, I don’t think you can really go wrong with either!
I first tried this a few days before Christmas, when I wandered into a Teavana while doing some last minute shopping. I sampled it iced, blended with Blueberry Bliss (rooibos) and “about a cup of rock sugar”, according to the girl helping me.
Was it sweet? Absolutely. But I did really like the taste, and figured I’d make it at home with (much!) less sugar/sweetener. It and the Blueberry Bliss also both happened to be 30% off, so I asked for 50g of each, although I ended up with a bit more than that. Being my first time in a Teavana and not wise to their tactics, I said “sure!” when they overpoured my tea and asked if that was okay. I ended up with 58g of the Pineapple Kona Pop and 66g of Blueberry Bliss. Fine, whatever, no big deal – it was on sale at least!
Onto the tea itself – Pineapple Kona Pop is a gorgeous smelling herbal. Just opening the tin to look at it and smell it makes me happy. It is so colorful and the sweet pineapple fragrance almost makes me forget we have a gazillion inches of snow on the ground outside.
Brewed hot, it retains the pineapple taste, and is mild but very drinkable, especially with a tiny spoonful of honey. It is nice iced as well, although I think cold it really shines best when blended with other teas, such as the Blueberry Bliss (I tried these two iced on Christmas Eve and it was so nice, even without the truckload of rock sugar!). I think on its own it would be a nice light, refreshing drink for the summer – especially with some fruit thrown in.
I really do like this. Is it my favourite? Nah. But I will enjoy it as a little escape to pineapple paradise on chilly days, and as an amazing iced beverage if winter ever ends. I purchased some more during the 75% off Boxing Day sale, so I will have fun trying this out with other teas in the months to come!
Preparation
One of my first teas from David’s, and I am not disappointed. Smells amazing dry, no shortage of blueberry there! When steeped I find the blueberry scent calms down a bit, but is still present.
I am drinking it with a small spoonful of honey, although I tried it yesterday without and it was just as nice. Definitely tastes like black tea, with the blueberries adding a lovely something extra without being overpowering.
Given that it is a black tea, I find that it does leave a bit of a dryness/residue in the mouth. That said, all black teas seem to do this for me, and it certainly won’t stop me from enjoying the rest of the 50g I purchased! I picked up a blueberry rooibus elsewhere, so my thoughts on that will determine which I am more likely to repurchase.
I think this would be wonderful iced, and I will absolutely be trying that as well!
