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Tonight, after my Dad came over, we went out for supper at Boston Pizza (my favourite restaurant, and the one I request to go to everytime he comes over – which he’s probably sick of by now). Since I last saw him, I’ve completely cut soda from my diet as well as most juices so I asked the waitress what teas they had. She kind of floundered a bit over the question, but I made sure she knew it was ok: if she just gave me a broad idea that would be fine. She said there were two varieties of green tea (ick), peppermint, and something that was a black tea. I opted for the black tea, and much to my approval was presented with an Earl Grey! Yum!

I actually made notes on how it tasted on a napkin using a purple crayon she was nice enough to grab for me. My Dad kind of teased me the whole time on how much of a “tea snob” I’ve become. The whole time I was thinking “If you only knew some of the people on Steepster” (no offense to anyone – the degree to which fellow steepster users love tea is something I, intern, love about you all).

So, these are the notes I made on my napkin:

- Dry Leaf (Bagged) smelled smooth with strong bergamot notes and faint notes of lavendar
- The hot water provided was definitely not 100 degress celcius as recommended by the brewing instructions – my best guess would be around 80 degress celcius
- I steeped my tea for 5 min. exactly using a timer setting on my phone (5 min. was the recommended steep time)
- The liquor came out to a very deep amber
- As far as taste goes, the tea was midly astringent and mildly bitter with an unpleasant aftertaste (which I was happy to mask with my pizza, once it arrived)
- There were strong notes of bergamot and less noticible but still present notes of lavendar and honey
- The front of the sip had a distinct taste of black tea right before the flavour of the bargamot kicked in

Overall, the tea wasn’t too bad as far bagged tea goes, but not the best Earl Grey I’ve had (by far) – some of that might be because of the brewing conditions, however.

PS. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 was AMAZING! If you liked the first one at all (even a little) you’ll love this one. 10/10 would totally recommend.

Yay unexpected reward tea! I elaborated a bit more in my previous note about Blueberry Jam as to why I bought this, but essentially I finished work early so decided to treat myself to a new tea using the money I would have been spending on lunch.

The experience in store was kind of interesting, actually. I knew I was looking for a Mate, so when the sales lady (who is also the store manager) asked if I knew what was looking for/if she could help me, I explained I was interested in picking up a new Mate tea so I had more variety in the mornings. I told her I already had Chocolate Rocket (which I love) and wanted something fruitier.

She then pulled down Jungle Ju Ju, Main Squeeze, and Queen of Tarts. In between my sniffing different teas and reading the ingredients lists we started talking about Steepster. I was talking about how I knew a bit about each tea and what to expect based on Steepster reviews. I told her that of the three teas she had pulled, Jungle Ju Ju has the highest rating (81 I think?) and Queen of Tarts has the lowest. She seemed really personally offended that Queen of Tarts was scored lower, and then really insisted that it was the best selling Mate they had. I don’t know, it just really stuck out to me.

Also, in theory, it makes sense logically to me that Queen of Tarts would be a high seller since it’s really new. It was August’s tea of the month, so it was featured and therefore a lot of people probably tried it out above other Mates. Also, anyone who is a really big DAVIDsTEA fan, it seems, goes out of their way to try the new blends at least once so that’s even more people buying the tea.

Anyway, I think I’m glad I picked this one out. Jungle Ju Ju didn’t do anything for me smell wise, and Queen of Tarts smelled SO strongly of hibiscus – and while I like hibiscus I can get the flavour from either Goji Pop or Pink Flamingo, both of which I have stocked.

The dry leaf of this one smells super strongly of all things tropical. When I worked at the theatre, we sold a smoothie called “Tropical Storm”, and the smell of that smoothie is really akin to what I smell in the dry leaf of this one. It makes sense, they share some similar contributing flavours like pineapple and orange. There’s a gentle earthiness to the dry leaf as well, from the green yerba mate. I’m so excited to try this out!

My Dad is getting here from Regina at around five, and then we’re gonna go out for supper and see a movie (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)! I’m also gonna try and convince him to take me grocery shopping so I can buy more stuff and don’t have to worry about walking back home with a ton of grocery bags. However, since he’ll be here in less than two hours I really only have time to properly review one tea and I was kind of torn between this and the two Della Terra teas I’ve yet to try. Opted for this though – I could probably use the energy.

I used a level tsp. for my 6 oz cup, steeped in near boiling water for 5 min. and 30 seconds. This steeped up to be a really vibrant yellow colour. The smell of it steeping was a pretty concentrated papaya, with some notes of orange and pineapple. The earthiness of the mate is also present.

Tasting it, the initial notes in the front of the sip are about 50/50 earthy flavours and tropical ones. The tropical notes are very sweet with a well rounded balance between pineapple, papaya, and orange. Part of me also gets an incredibly faint sense of mango. Again, I have to allude to the Tropical Storm smoothies I used to serve at work, minus the creamy dairy. I’ve read a few reviews that said the flavour was toned down in comparison to the dry leaf smell, and while (of course) it doesn’t taste exactly like the dry leaf does, I think this is pretty flavourful and powerful in its own way. The earthy flavour from the mate doesn’t hold up in the aftertaste. Instead, the aftertaste is an all tropical one that sits in your mouth for a really long time.

I think this is going to be a really good morning/breakfast tea, and I’m super happy with the purchase! Really loving all aspects of this tea (we’ll just have to wait and see whether or not this one is as stimulating as I hope it’ll be). I feel like I have a really good mix up of Mates at this point: Mate Mint from Tea Desire, Chocolate Rocket from DAVIDsTEA, and now Main Squeeze also from DAVIDsTEA – all together equalling three really distinct flavours. Also, it’s great to have something really tropical/citrusy that ISN’T an herbal tea.

EDIT: Yikes, this rating is a novel! I never realize I’m writing as much as I do until I post. The few of you who occasionally comment, how do you put up with reading so much?

The more I drink this the more it grows on my, and the more I want to drink it. What a vicious cycle (though luckily I bought 100g a few days ago, so I’m totally stocked up)! Anyway, I made this in the morning to take with me while I finished merchandising the store. I actually didn’t end up drinking until the bus ride home and by then it was cold, but it was really good. A little bit bitter but that’s because it sat so long (with a few little bits and tea leaves in the bottom that the strainer didn’t get out), and it wasn’t enough to make it unenjoyable.

We actually finished merchandising the store early though, which I was both happy and sad about. It was predicted we’d take 6 hours before set up would be complete and they could officially open, but it only took the three of us working (there were 5 for most of yesterday, but 7 by the end of the shift) three hours to finish up. I’m glad, because boxes of calendars are heavier than you would think, and my arms were getting sore, but also kinda sad because I could have used three more hours of pay.

Also, I got to shelve approx. 250 calendars relating to specific dog breeds. It really sucked because they were completely mixed up and out of order in the boxes but I had the shelve them alphabetically. It took forever. I swear, I don’t want to look at another dog for the rest of the week (except I’m gonna have to on Monday or Tuesday when I do stock/merchandising for the store I’ll actually be working in).

As a reward (and since we left at noon) for finishing really and working hard, I decided to spend the money I had set aside for lunch from the food court on tea instead, since the bus ride is only twenty minutes and DAVIDsTEA is so close to Calendar Club (plus, I’ll be working at a different location now so I’m not sure exactly when I’ll have a chance to head back out there). I wanted to pick up another Mate so I have more variety for breakfast on early morning when I have to get up, which will be happening much more frequently now. I got Main Squeeze, so I’ll be logging that pretty shortly.

Bedtime tea (also in an attempt to soothe my aching body).

I definitely underleafed, this one brewed up pretty weak tonight. Still, there’s a lovely eucalyptus and grapefruit taste and since I under leafed there’s not too much tartness from the hibiscus.

I let it sit a bit too long and now it’s cooled to a weird kinda lukewarm temperature. Not the best cup I’ve had of this, but considering how little effort I put into making it I really shouldn’t complain.

I need to keep my note for this short since my internet keeps cutting out.

Anyway, drank this as a cold tea as per my usual method. Basically, it was good. Honestly, it tasted like what I picture a sort of generic type “health drink” to taste like. I don’t know if I can really explain what I mean, though. The four flavours (green tea base, strawberry, spearmint, and ginger) in the tea were really well balanced (I almost want to say perfectly balanced because you could taste all of them at basically any given time drinking).

However, I did read that Sil wished there was more of a ginger taste. I’m wondering if the ginger really was more subtle but I just perceived it as strongly contributing to the flavour because I usually hate the taste of ginger a lot and therefore was just extra aware of it.

I think this would be really good as an iced tea with a bit of club soda added to it. Yummy!

Also, I had a hard work day doing all the merchandising and stock for Calendar club (it was an 8 hour shift), and am now so freaking sore all over. Really, the amount of lifting and carrying really heavy boxes didn’t hit me until like 30 minutes before the day was over. I have another 6 hour shift tomorrow finishing what we were doing today. And, on the plus side, the other store manager (for the separate branch that I was also interviewed by)was there and she officially offered me a position – so I’m hired! YAY FOR NOT BEING UNEMPLOYED! After my first paycheck, I should be able to put in a Butiki order and buy a timolino (and then I should really not buy anymore tea for a long while)!

Urgh, I’m gonna have to do all the stock and merchandising for the branch I was hired at now too, though! My body is not gonna love me so much.

Yay for sort of work!?

I was hired for one day to come in and do the stock and merchandising for a store downtown, so it is pay. But only temporary. REALLY temporary. I’ll take it though; who am I to complain – some money is better than no money. Actually, today will be paying for groceries, so that’s not so bad.

Anyway, this was my morning cuppa to kind of wake me up before leaving. I was up bloody early this morning: 6 AM!!! Bleck. Nice and minty though, and it made a great transition from miserable bed monster to hard working individual.

I think I’m gonna stop at DAVIDsTEA later and try a new tea (maybe the tea of the month) as a tea to go. Afterall, it’ll only be 3 shops down from where I’m working today.

Since I bought enough of this today to completely fill my tin, I figured I might as well steep myself a glass of this lovely tea!

Steeped for 8 min. in boiling water.

Today, there’s an especially thick mouthfeel (I think I got more sugar hearts than usual into the mix) and and especially rich coconut taste accompanied by a sweet pineapple. I think I was especially craving the pineapple today. Such a smooth, yummy pina colada flavoured tea.

I think I might need to bump up my rating a bit.

At the time I placed my Della Terra order, Tre owed me $40. I told him he could pay me back by buying me $40 of tea online since he has a credit card and I don’t. I ended up needing a few filler teas to reached the $40 he owed me and this was one of them. It just sounds really interesting. I don’t own any teas with cherry in them even though I love cherries and I’ve never tried a tea tht was cola flavoured so I figured it was worth a shot.

I can’t really decide whether or not I actually like the smell of the dry leaf for this one. I think it’s the most interesting smelling black tea I’ve ever owned. I can definitely smell the cola which is really strong and reminds me of those “Coke Ball” candies you get that sort of taste like flat coke. I THINK I smell the chocolate, but it’s really burried under the super intense smell of coke, and there’s a note in there that’s familiar fruity but I’m not totally sure I would call cherry.

I had Tre smell the dry leaf without knowing the name of the tea or what was in it, and he said it smelled like orange peels or orange zest, and I can’t help but sort of smell oranges and coke now.

For my 6 oz. cup I’m using a level tsp. just because this smells so weird and so strong and fragrant that I don’t want to be totally overwhelmed; if it tastes weak I can always use more leaf next time. I steeped this one using boiling water for 5 minutes.

The liquor of this tea is actually really pretty; there are little silver specks all through it that are very shimmery in my mug. The smell is definitely cola, with something else that smells mildly like cherries or chocolate? Either way, it just kind of smells… “off”. Curse Tre mentioning oranges – I can’t get that out of my head, and I’m not sure whether or not there really are orange notes or whether I’m tricking myself into thinking they’re there.

Taste wise, this is totally the weirdest tea I’ve ever had. I’m tasting coke for sure, but it’s hot which is such a weird experience and sensation. I can taste the chocolate, actually, which I wasn’t sure I’d be able to. And, I taste oranges! Blerg. Coke and oranges is such a weird flavour combination. I also THINK I taste cherry, but it’s SO much in the background that it’s almost impossible to taste. I’m also not getting anything “cakey” about this tea.

Overall, I just can’t figure out whether I like it or not. I’m so glad I tried it, because this was so weird how could you not try it? But I don’t think I’m going to repurchase it. I’m not even really sure how I want to rate it…

Decided this morning was a perfect time to try out the next Della Terra tea, and I settled on this one. The dry leaf was just SO enticing, I couldn’t resist the smell at all.

Initially, I thought the dry leaf smelled like Juicy Pear flavoured Jelly Belly candies, and I still get that smell from it. However, the longer I stood at the counter smelling the package, the more I was reminded of a different, albeit sort of similar, smell. When I was around 12 I had really, REALLY long hair and I didn’t take care of it that well so it always got tangled in ridiculous knots; we had a detangler spray that we used to douse my hair in to help with brushing it and the scent of the spray was “apple pear”, although it definitely smelled more like pear than apple to me. I think I even used to spray the stuff straight onto my skin and wear it as “perfume”. That is TOTALLY what this tea smells like; really fresh pear candy with slight apple notes. The smell of the black tea is totally drowned out.

I steeped a heaping teaspoon for my 6 oz. cup for around 5 minutes – I sort of lost track of time. The smell of the tea hot is a much lighter pear smell that still retains faint notes of apple. Also, you can finally catch a whiff of the black tea base.

I was really rushed on time, so I poured the cup I’d made into my metal water bottle, which got so hot as I was pouring that I actually lightly burnt my hand (another sign that I need to invest in a timolino). I left and caught my bus not even five minutes later.

I actually forgot about my tea for a really long time, which is sort of shameful. However, I was really busy at the mall distributing resumes, and then I stopped at DAVIDsTEA (dropped off a resume there, so fingers crossed) and restocked on Blueberry Jam and Tropicalia. I now have a full tin of both! And lastly, I went and had another job interview with Calendar Club (though this time for a different branch which would have a location closer to my house). So having all of that going on is enough to justify forgetting about my tea, right?

I finally got to drink it after my interview on the bus ride home, and by that time it was luke warm so I’m taking that into account with my overall rating, and noting that I need to make sure I have my next cup of this either as a hot tea or an iced tea; none of this halfway BS.

I was actually shocked by how muted the pear taste in this tea was, however. I mean, the dry leaf smells SO strongly that it completely covers the smell of the black base tea, but as I took my sips the most dominant flavour was definitely the black base. In fact, I found that you could only taste the pear at all in the first few moments of the sip, with some REALLY subtle apple notes. The black base DID taste good (actually it was really sweet, which I think I’m going to attribute to the little gold sugar balls in the dry leaf), but it’s not what I was expecting or wanting.

The only other pear tea I’ve had is DAVIDsTEA’s Cranberry Pear, so that’s what I’m comparing this to primarily. I liked that there was no tartness since this blend doesn’t have cranberries in it and overall I think both blends have a nice tasting black base – but I was missing the impact of the pear or the creaminess that Cranberry Pear has. So, ultimately, I THINK I like that one better.

Still, this was not a bad tea.

I got my Della Terra order today!

It actually showed up at about 2 PM, which was RIGHT before I left to go to my interview, so I only had time to bring it downstairs and leave it on the table. I couldn’t even tear into the box and look at my beautiful teas! It bugged me all day, but finally I got home and unpacked everything from earlier in the day and then quite promptly tore into the box (literally, I couldn’t find the scissors to cut it open).

I ripped open each package to smell all six different teas I bought, and the all smelled absolutely amazing (especially Cherry Cola & Cake, The Perfect Pear, and Monkey Bread). I only really have time tonight to try one tea, so I decided to go for this one since it was the tea that initially made me want to place an order, plus Tre seemed most interested in this one so I brewed him a cup too.

I’m not gonna lie, there were a few teas I probably would have wanted to try over some of the ones I got, but I strategically picked a few of these because I knew Tre wouldn’t like them. Anything with Strawberry (Strawberry Zest, in this case), Cherry (Cherry Cola and Cake) or Mint (Strawberry Zest again, and Minty Cow) he wont even try. Does that make me an awful roommate? Even better question, do I care?

Dry leaf of this one smells like pure cinnamon. I don’t smell the black tea base or the yogurt bits. I think Tre was interested in this because it has cinnamon which is his favourite kind of tea. However, he claims to hate Chai teas and wont try anything with “Chai” in the name. I THOUGHT he wouldn’t want to try this one because of the chai spices, but I guess he didn’t read the ingredients list or didn’t care because the smell is purely cinnamon.

PS. I don’t think he really understands what Chai teas are because I’ve made his Hot Lips from DAVIDsTEA and Chai Apricot from Tea Desire and he liked both…

First few sips were all cinnamon and, admittedly I thought I was going to be disappointed because I had heard this one tasted creamy and like cinnamon buns. I was looking for the flavour and I was getting something one dimensional. However, as my tea cooled down I was able to taste multiple levels of flavour and different notes.

There IS a really creamy, icing kind of flavour to this tea, it just took a while to hit me. I REALLY understand the comparrison to cinnamon buns that I’ve seen other people make. For me, I’m getting really strong notes of cream cheese similar to a cream cheese icing you would have on a spice cake. That’s exactly what this tastes like! Cinnamon bun-like? For sure. But more so spice cake with cream cheese icing. I’m absolutely loving it.

The mouthfeel is pretty thick, and I don’t know if it’s possible but this tea TASTES gooey to me. It’s like I’m in pastry dessert heaven. Also, groundbreaking news! This is the FIRST tea I have EVER seen Tre drink without added sugar. He literally said it was sweet enough he didn’t need it. I feel like a proud mama.

For my first ever Della Terra tea, I think I made a great pick and I’m really satisfied.