16396 Tasting Notes
This is a queued tasting note.
I was craving a good carrot tea after my disappointing mug of DT’s Carrot Cupcake, so this is what I reached for as an alternative/improvement. I think what I really wanted was that warming spice quality without the licorice root that’s in DT’s blend. The coconut was an added bonus too; I really, really love the addition of coconut in this tea.
Halfway through, I decided it was missing that creamy element that would have come from a cream cheese frosting. We were out of milk though, but we had Butter Pecan creamer which I thought was close enough. So, I added a splash of that. It made the brew a little sweeter, but still not as sweet/cloying as Carrot Cupcake. Plus, the nutty element just works well with everything else.I’m working on sipping down the last of my tin of this one since I recently ordered some more rooibos blends to take the tin space – that’s a perfect excuse to brew this up more frequently this autumn season and really enjoy this tea since it is a little bit more of a fall flavour.
Holy smokes this tea has been popular.
It’s been kind of insane the amount of people coming to the store looking specifically for this tea – people who’ve never been to a DT but heard about this from a friend or a coworker who just fell in love with the idea.
… and of course we’ve been having shortages of it country wide. My store is definitely no exception to this; we’ve been sold out for ages now. I’m very happy I snagged my tin of it when I did. I’m just having a very small cup of it now; I was really craving it but since I don’t know 100% that I’ll have a chance to purchase more if it I’m trying to ration what I bought. It’s rare I actually like a Chai, so I don’t plan on running out of this one any time soon.
I think what I enjoy about it the most is the overall creaminess that spreads to all of the other things in the blend. Creamy milk chocolate, creamy hazelnut, creamy cinnamon, and creamy marshmallow. Then of course hints of graham in the undertones, mixed alongside a light, earthy pu’erh base. I think it does capture the flavour of a S’more really well. I’m one of those people who LOVES burnt marshmallows though; so I’ve been trying to think of a way to add that flavour element into the tea without just oversteeping it and ruining the cup. So far, I’m thinking maybe a pinch of Lapsang Souchong mixed in?
Family tradition is also to add kiwi slices to our S’mores – we’ve done it for as long as I can remember. In fact, it was something so ingrained into me that up until like the eighth grade I actually thought that kiwi was one of the ‘mandatory’ ingredients that were included in a S’more. As essential as the marshmallow or chocolate. It was mind blowing finding out otherwise. I don’t know if adding a kiwi element to this tea would ruin the flavour for me or if I’d be pleasantly flooding with a nostalgic sort of flavour but it’s something I’ve also been playing around with the idea of.
The question is just how would I incorporate kiwi?
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
It’s back!
This is October’s TOTM this year at DT – I know a lot of people have been happy to see it return but personally I just can’t include myself in that group of people. Last year, when this was part of the Fall Collection, it was my least favourite of all the teas in the collection so seeing it back this year was less than thrilling.
I brewed up a hot cup of it though, just to see if perhaps my feelings on it had changed at all. You never know; a year is a long time and maybe this would sit better with me this time around. Sadly not though; while I think there ARE some nice elements to the tea it’s ultimately just got far too much licorice root in it to be enjoyable. That really sickly sweet licorice root flavour, combined with the sweetness from the added in apple/carrot and the whipped cream flavour just all add up to one really cloying tea in my books.
I do like that we’ve got another rooibos tea on the wall now though; and something that’s kind of dessert-like in flavour without relying heavily on caramel or chocolate and other really sweet, played out ingredients. Any diversity to the rooibos section of the wall is good in my books, actually – though I’d prefer seeing the return of some of the more fruity rooibos blends that I like, such as Orange Blossom. We’ve really stripped down the fruity rooibos options in the last few years from what they were…
I also really like the balance of carrot and warming spices in this blend; I think it’s a good recreation of the kind of warming spice notes and sweet carrot than would actually be in a carrot cake. If it weren’t for the rest of the sweetness, that would be pretty delicious. Personally, I’d take out the licorice root, whipped cream flavours, and apple and add in pineapple and either raisin or currant; something more in line with fruits that are sometimes added into carrot cake. Then, if you’re gonna go for a frosting sort of effect for the flavour, I’d just got for plain old vanilla or cream flavour – the whipped cream is a little over the top for me.
Anyway; I’m just happy that the people who did really enjoy this one last year have it back now – because it was pretty popular. I’ll just mourn the fact that Nutty Granola Crunch didn’t return in my own time.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Pulled this one out because I’ve been feeling a bit of monochopsis all day…
In my mind, it didn’t seem unreasonable to match a feeling of monochopsis with a tea named after the same feeling – maybe the two would cancel each other other?
Flavour wise this was good, but didn’t quite hit the spot either. The flavour was largely lemon, with a little bit of pithyness and a little bit of soft tang. It was complimented by mixed notes of coconut and rosemary with a bit of peppery graham/woody sort of flavour from the honeybush base. I think ultimately, I would have liked more of the caramel/honey flavours to come through and for this to have been sweeter overall. That would have sated me a little more.
However, nothing that was present was unpleasant.
Chai Latte!
It is both Chai and latte season after all; for once I actually have multiple Chai options on hand this year but this is still my favourite. Of course, it’s also the most non-conventional one that I own which is probably why I like it in the first place…
As a latte, the cinnamon, clove, and ginger are all quite prominent though softened and somewhat sweetened from the milk. The flavour reminds me of a mix of cinnamon sugar and gingerbread, dunked in milk. In a way, that almost paints a more festive and Christmas-y image in my head rather than something autumnal. I’m not sure if I’m just imagining it because of the gingerbread comparison, but I also taste hints of molasses this time around too. The apricot is more jammy, and obviously creamy as well. It adds a needed sweetness and juxtaposing flavour to the warming spice elements.
Always a fan of this one.
Brought this one with to work to drink there.
It was an absolutely incredibly busy day though, so after I started steeping this tea I got really slammed with people for a solid half hour if not longer. Which is to say that this steeped for half an hour, if not longer. I fully, 100% expected it to be a burnt, bitter and intolerable mess. You know what though? It was completely fine.
Seriously; obviously the flavour was a bit more intense but there was no bitterness at all and only the tiniest hint of astringency. The biggest change was that the berry notes were INCREDIBLY strong; much stronger than the cooling peppermint. I don’t mind a boost in berry flavour though, so long as everything else is still present – and it was. So, all in all this was very good and I’m even more impressed with this tea than I already was just knowing it’s capable of surviving through that long of an infusion.
Morning cuppa!
I was going to make this one last night, but I waited a little too long to get it brewed up and even though I know it’s only a very small amount of caffeine in this blend I didn’t want to risk it. I’ve been craving it for days now, though.
This cuppa in particular was pretty sweet; lots and lots of apple notes. In many ways, it felt like taking a big bite out of a super ripe Gala apple. I’m surprised just how appropriately fall themed those apple notes feel too; I’ve never thought of this tea before as being a seasonal sort of flavour but this morning I’m just feeling all the autumn vibes. Especially once that sweet, cider like apple note starts to mellow out a little and transition to a warm, buttery apple kind of finish with soft popcorn notes.
Make me feel like I’m drinking apple cider on the patio of my Grandma’s house, back when I was a kid and we used to drive down to the small retirement village she lived in for Thanksgiving weekend. Nostalgic.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Made this the other day, with some milk and sugar added to it.
It actually wasn’t for myself originally but for my boyfriend. I had initially dismissed this tea as an option for him to drink because I originally was under the impression it had apple in it. While helping a customer out a few days ago I noticed it didn’t, making it one of very few apple free herbal teas that he actually has the option of drinking from our store.
Turns out that fact is a mute point though – he took one sip and declared it far too licorice heavy to be drinkable by him. I couldn’t let it go to waste, so I finished it. It’s not my favourite either, to be honest. I don’t like licorice root a lot myself, and I think the added sugar in the tea only made it even more noticeable as a flavour. That said, I still liked it a whole lot more than he did.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Found myself in a rare situation the other day where I was craving tea without having any on hand or access to any way to make some for a few hours – what I was nearby was a gas station, so I popped in and bought the highest quality bottled iced tea they were selling, which turned out to be this tea.
I don’t know that I liked it quite as much as when I first tried it, but it was a whole lot better than having nothing. Plus, I enjoy that it’s not overly sweet, which is something I think a lot of bottled/ready to drink iced teas generally are. That, and the apple note is nice and mellow while still being pretty accurate.
Tiny teacup before bed.
I was craving something sweet and fruity; this checks off those boxes. It’s a great trio of fruit flavours – mostly raspberry though. The rest is candied orange and slightly tangy pineapple. I still hold true to my sentiments that this would have been a more accurate representation of Rainbow Sherbet had DT opted for the classic lime over pineapple, but I’m not one to turn up my nose at pineapple… like, ever.
Damn do I love pineapple.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
