Glitter & Gold

Tea type
Black Fruit Blend
Ingredients
Black Tea, Cloves, Lemon Peel, Sugar, Sugar Sprinkles
Flavors
Cinnamon, Lemon, Caramel, Cream, Spices, Vanilla, Sweet, Artificial, Cloves, Creamy, Bitter, Clove, Butter, Brown Sugar, Cardamom, Malt, Spicy, Sugarcane, Tannin, Citrus, Dark Wood, Marshmallow, Molasses, Orange Zest, Earth, Sugar, Lemon Zest, Citrusy, Oats, Pastries, Nutty, Tea, Milk, Smooth, Orange, Smoke, Astringent, Floral, Chocolate
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by bree
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 21 oz / 635 ml

From Our Community

1 Image

145 Want it Want it

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578 Own it Own it

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444 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I’ve definitely changed my opinion a bit that this tea and Pumpkin Chai are super similar, but they are still closely related, IMO. Love the sparkles in this one, even though I don’t much get to...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “I’m going to allow myself a break in the midst of an otherwise fairly chaotic week. This has been an incredibly stressful week, and I feel very close to being at the end of my tether. The exam is...” Read full tasting note
  • “This an exciting one because it’s my 5000th tasting note! When I realized last night I was at 4999, I reached out to my tea twin Roswell Strange to ask what tea she thought I should have for this...” Read full tasting note
    62
  • “SIPDOWN! had this tasty little treat to finish off with dinner. Still not a fan of david’s tea but this one is alright by me. Nice to finally get through my 12 days of christmas teas…well except...” Read full tasting note
    68

From DAVIDsTEA

Twinkle, twinkle

This deep dark Chinese tea is like a gorgeous starry night, glimmering with gold and silver sugar crystals that shimmer as they steep. Take a sip and the slow suggestion of cinnamon will warm your body. Your toes will tingle and your mind will turn to fireworks, falling stars, late-night seduction. It’s basically magic. (Is it getting hot in here, or is it just the tea?)

Ingredients: Black tea, lemon peel, sugar sprinkles (sugar, rice flour, partly hydrogenated canola oil, shellac, titanium oxide, iron oxide, potato starch), sugar, cloves, natural and artificial flavouring.

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

444 Tasting Notes

85
6105 tasting notes

I’ve definitely changed my opinion a bit that this tea and Pumpkin Chai are super similar, but they are still closely related, IMO. Love the sparkles in this one, even though I don’t much get to enjoy them in a travel mug. Anyhow, sweet, cinnamony, sparkly goodness.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec
Plunkybug

I thought I would love this tea, but I had it as a TTG once, and I was totally underwhelmed.

TheTeaFairy

For me, this one is a real x-mas tea ! The glittery gold sparkling never gets old :-)

Kittenna

I"m not convinced that teas-to-go are the best way to try teas. This one’s really quite tasty if you like cinnamon blacks.

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513 tasting notes

I’m going to allow myself a break in the midst of an otherwise fairly chaotic week. This has been an incredibly stressful week, and I feel very close to being at the end of my tether. The exam is this upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday though, and then, for the time being at least, I’ll be able to heave a sigh of relief and my life will resume some semblance of normalcy.

I also had a really troubling encounter the other day with someone who seemed to have a lot of trouble with handling my disability. I won’t really get into details, but the experience really shook me up, and made me question my overall competence. I came home that day hating the world, and sobbed for an hour. Then I went to check the mail, and noticed that the package JustJames sent me had arrived. And he had come up with a labelling system that I could decipher so that I was immediately able to tell which tea was which. using raised stickers, he put different variations of them on different packages and sent me the legend. I must also say here that absolutely everyone who has mailed me anything has asked if they could do anything to help me discern the packages, but the sticker idea only came to me very recently. steepsterites are wonderful, wonderful people. and I held the package in my hands and realized that so much of our experience, so much of how happy we are depends on how we are perceived, and how people respond to us in all our complex and wonderful and awful glory. And they love us anyway. Isn’t that great? that they love us despite ourselves.

Anyway, just James didn’t send me this sample; i actually got this the last time when I was at David’s. I just wanted a break this afternoon, so I tore into this one because I suspected I would like it a lot. And as I sat and listened to Polyphony’s rendition of the Masaya, I was once again reminded of the beauty in this world, and how it continues to exist even when we’re in the midst of our own turmoil. If you’re into that type of music (or even if you aren’t), I urge you to listen to Polyphony’s recording of it. It’s as if angels themselves descended from the sky and the beauty of their voice is enough to make you sink to your knees.

Yeah, the tea. Sorry. So in the bag, it smells quite Christmas-like. Not entirely unlike Sugar and Spice, but perhaps slightly softer, a little less intense with the gingery cloves. This is one of the teas that remains strong even in taste, and I was correct in comparing it to Sugar and spice, although with the cloves and ginger muted, this does not taste like a gingerbread cookie, but it tastes wonderful nonetheless. I even used only one tsp of sugar instead of my standard two, and really enjoyed it. I know I’ll be finishing up the sample, and will very likely purchase more. It always makes me happy when I find a David’s tea that I like, because they’re local and I can keep restocking if I want to. I only wish their tins were larger because I tend to use a lot of leaf when preparing. This time though, I just used a David’s perfect teaspoon in eight oz of water. Steeped for seven minutes!

Rosehips

I really like this tea too. I hope it is helping to cheer you.
I’m sorry that things are going tough right now, but I can tell from your thoughtful reviews that you are one smart lady, and that you’ve got great taste in beverages!
Steeperites are pretty great, arnt they?

TheTeaFairy

This is very touching and inspiring, thank you for sharing your story Keychange. Yes, no matter how strong we think we are, sometimes it just takes that one word or one unkind gesture to plant that seed of doubt. But even more powerful, kindness can accomplish miracles and give you wings… Hopefully, there are more kindness surrounding you. Stay strong and don’t let anyone bring you down…You are so right, Steepster people are kind, and don’t forget you’re one of them:-)

Bonnie

We’re not all here only for the tea! The kindness found on Steepster is amazing. Tea is a beverage that isn’t in a hurry like coffee. People who drink tea take time to get to know each other and care I think. So, I’m sorry you encountered a person who’s carrying inner poison…but I’m glad that James’ package full of thoughtful care was right on time!

JustJames

listen to the teddybears links i sent you. they aren’t refined like dvorzak or handel, but it is very hard to keep a straight face with them in the background….. here’s a question. WITHOUT cheating, what country would you guess this band comes from? they’ve been booting my tired butt to school and through pages of work.

TeaLady441

I’m sorry to hear you had such a rough time, but hearing how JustJames packaged your tea made me laugh. How thoughtful and creative! I’m glad you enjoyed the tea (and tea in general. And Steepster!)

keychange

Thanks, all of you. I am so lucky to be surrounded by so much love and support, and it’s true that the kindness I encounter far, far outweighs any discomfort or harshness, and I am one lucky girl. Just James, I will listen to those links and guess very soon!! There’s just so much steepster love!

JustJames

i can honestly tell you my friends…. you have seen me through things that would boggle your minds. and you never asked. you were always just kind and sincere. i will offer no less.

JustJames

with your keen ear i bet you get it….. i sure didn’t though! right out of left field! lol.

tigress_al

Sorry to hear you had a terrible day. You are a great person and don’t deserve to be treated like that.

keychange

Thanks again, so so much. It’s unreal how much I can rely on steepster to cheer me up.

Bonnie

BTW I’ve been on here for a few years and I know that there are a lot of us with disabilities! Some like mine are physical, some are emotional and others are or have been overcoming addictions. What we all talk about and support each other isn’t always tea related in that ‘messaging feature’ at the top of this page. Amen!

Nxtdoor

This thread is awesome. There’s nothing I can add except “amen”, like Bonnie said.

keychange

An extra amen for good measure!

Bonnie

Scrooge ain’t welcome here. Well, yes actually…there’s enough loving kindness here to share. “God Bless us everyone!”

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62
6444 tasting notes

This an exciting one because it’s my 5000th tasting note!

When I realized last night I was at 4999, I reached out to my tea twin Roswell Strange to ask what tea she thought I should have for this special occasion. She pointed out Lime Gelato by DAVIDsTEA was the first tea I ever wrote a tasting note for but I don’t have that. I also don’t have Birthday Cake by DAVIDsTEA, which was the whole reason I got into tea in the first place. It’s why I went to the store. Queen of Tarts by DAVIDsTEA was the first tea I actually tried from my first haul but that’s not in my cupboard either. What is in my cupboard is this tea, my recently purchased bag of Glitter & Gold.

The OG Glitter & Gold blend was the first tea I really fell in love with. It’s the first one I bought 100 grams of because I enjoyed it so much…back when the only way I knew how to make tea was western style and brewing it hot in a non-variable temperature kettle. So, I thought what better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than with the new version of an old favourite? Not to mention, the sparkle aspect of this tea just screams celebration!

I got to making the tea and the first thing I noticed was no shiny balls. That’s what gave the tea sparkle in the past but this new version had sparkly and non-sparkly stars…so there was hope for that fun glitter effect. Alas, the new version doesn’t quite have the same sparkle the OG blend had, even after I added 3 more sparkly stars to the cups.

The lack of sparkle was disappointing but I suppose taste is what matters. It’s interesting revisiting something I loved when I just started my tea journey since I know my tastes have changed. Plus, I have tried so many blends that things that seemed amazing back then pale in comparison to some of the things I’ve tried along the way. Plus, while this is Glitter & Gold, it’s not my Glitter & Gold. All of this is to say that this is not a favourite anymore. Personally, I think the changes DAVIDsTEA made are mostly to blame because where this gets me most is in the slightly oily mouthfeel which I think is coming from the stars. There is also a stronger citrus quality than I recall and I could be wrong but feel that might be oily too. The older Glitter & Gold blend I remember being cleaner with sugar and clove and a hint of orange. Granted, it may be more of a fond memory than an accurate recall but this seems lower quality in a way and just a touch more artificial.

All in all, this rating is getting dropped from the 95 of yesteryear because whether it’s my tastes or the blend, this is not the tea it once was for me. With that said, I think it was a fun tea to revisit for a significant tasting note. In fact, after all that discussing with Roswell Strange, I almost stupidly saved a placeholder note for the Wild Honey Matcha smoothie I drank this morning to keep my counts accurate. Instead, I’m glad I waited for a bit of an experience.

OMGsrsly

Yay 5000!!

Crowkettle

I miss the old Glitter & Gold too. Used to be one of my favourite travel mug teas for the aroma; random people would come up to me and ask what the amazing smell was! It was simple but solid.

Also, Congrats on 50000! :)

Crowkettle

5000* not 50000 wow numbers XD

Martin Bednář

Congratulations!

Maddy Barone

I was disappointed in this new blend. It is not the same. And cpongrats on 5000 tasting notes!

Shae

5,000 is incredible! Congrats!

VariaTEA

Thanks everyone!

tea-sipper

Yeah, sadly tastes change and teas change. Happy 5,000! :D

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68
14974 tasting notes

SIPDOWN! had this tasty little treat to finish off with dinner. Still not a fan of david’s tea but this one is alright by me. Nice to finally get through my 12 days of christmas teas…well except for the matcha from azzrian…can’t bring myself to open it yet hahaha

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90
1184 tasting notes

Shared a pot with the SIL this morning and it was perfect on this chilly fall morning. All sparkly and cinnamon with some clove and vanilla notes today

Indigobloom

wait you in Toronto? or Sil is in Sask? lol

tigress_al

Lol my sister in law!

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85
2963 tasting notes

Its my birthday!
I was given a lot of tea, and a lot of tea ware, and even a pair of earrings that look like tea cups. What fabulous things!
I started the day with this. Softly sweet, with a nice hint of sparkle. It seemed like a good way to start this age!

tigress_al

Happy birthday!

gmathis

Little late, but happy day to you!

KiwiDelight

Happy Birthday, Rosehips! :D

caile

Happy birthday!

TeaNTees

Wishing you all the best on your birthday! :)

Evol Ving Ness

Happy birthday to you!

__Morgana__

Happy birthday!

Roswell Strange

Happy (Belated) Birthday!

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78
807 tasting notes

Thank you Indigobloom for sending this to me!

Very pretty display in the dry state.
Nonpearlis remind me of being a kid because my great great grandmother used to let me nibble on these often!
Smell is cider like or Chai like more toward the cider or chrismas wasselish.
Smells like a clove orange!
Also VERY sugary smelling.
It tastes nice.
Today it is cool and rainy even though it started out VERY sunny it turned really fall like in the weather – we live in kansas so this can happen quickly without notice.
So here I am sitting with the windows open letting the air flow in – nice cool breeze – sipping what seems to me to be a fall/winter/holiday like treat.
Nice!

Indigobloom

I love watching this one steep. It sparkles as it steeps! :P

Missy

I’m waiting for an Edward Cullen tea that sparkles….

Kittenna

That sounds so familiar! I swear I made that joke to my roommate, about how G&G is the vampire tea… hahaha. You’ll see its glitteriness soon enough Missy! :D

Azzrian

Missy!!!! HAHAHHAA A red tea base, with vervain, oak moss, and sparkles.

Indigobloom

LOL marketing genius! why has nobody done this yet…

Azzrian

Indeed – probably too sappy lol.
We should start a tea company based on movie themes!
We could have a super hero line
a Vampire and Horror film line
A romance line
Action movie line
you name it!

gmathis

Hope your weather is just cool and not yucky-stormy. We’re just one county east of the tornado watches (SW MO). Be safe!

Azzrian

Ummm in basement now! Sirens going off – we are in north topeka just north of the kansas ave bridge – the tornado is in auburn I guess headed toward wannamaker … for those who don’t know these parts – that is about 10 miles or so away lol

Kittenna

Uh oh! Be safe!

Azzrian

Its over now – for now lol were in tornado alley so it happens often around this time of year. I hope your doing alright gmathis!! Let us know when you can how it is there!

gmathis

Pretty windy, but at the moment I think it’s going to skim the northern counties of our “viewing area.”

Azzrian

Good be safe!

Dylan Oxford

Tornadoes and Vampires… I miss all the good stuff while I’m at work :P

Azzrian

Sorry Dylan but its the weekend now :)

Missy

@ Krystaleyn I’m pretty sure they should have called it Twilight Romance….

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74
1792 tasting notes

Sayonara, Glitter & Gold. I enjoyed my last cup with some coconut almond milk, and it was a lot better, but still lacking some sort of balance.

Lollerskates, I didn’t realize until after I submitted this that this is my 600th note. Oh well, it’s only a number!

Courtney

Woot, 600!

VariaTEA

Congrats on 600!

__Morgana__

Awesomeness on the 600!

Yvonne

Congrats on 600!

gmathis

Goes fast, doesn’t it?

caile

Yay! ;-)

scribbles

Awesome! Congrats!

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78
357 tasting notes

Oooh I like the pretty glitter!

I’m not a lover of orange peel and cloves in most teas, so this isn’t a tea that I would jump to restock, based mostly on my personal taste. I got 2 good steepings out of the leaves with only minimal deterioration of flavor in the second steep. So the quality of the leaves is decent compared to some other David’s Teas I’ve had lately. I enjoyed my little sample, and by next Christmas I might want to try it again, but this is another seasonal pick for me. It’s a good tea, just not a great match to my personal taste.

Rachel Sincere

Oh, I have a sample of this I was afraid to try. I didn’t get the whole glitter thing. I’m glad you tried it first.

canadianadia

@Rachel – The idea of glitter in tea is a little strange. I actually found it to be quite subtle though. I couldn’t detect it in my mug, but I did see it clearly in my clear teapot. I thought it was a lot less strange than it sounds, when I realized the glitter is from those little silver balls that are sometimes uses to decorate cupcakes and sugar cookies

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1220 tasting notes

I can’t believe I haven’t gone back to this tea after all these months, and that I didn’t make the mistake of not getting more when my boyfriend stopped at DT for me. So this is finishing what Kittenna sent me, and then I have that.

I also got my replacement bubble teapot but I think it’s still not up to par, but now I feel like a jerk if I ask them about it again. I know it’s their job to make me happy and all but now I’m like seriously, is everyone with this gold winter tree one having paint chips and I’m just really picky? If they weren’t so obvious flaws I guess I wouldn’t be so bothered but I feel like once you notice them, they become obvious flaws.

Anyway. I remember the first time I drank this I really didn’t notice that it was so glittery (duh, name) because I used a t-sac..although I can’t remember now if I used one of my white mugs or black mugs, which could also have probably made it difficult. So I used my black mug and wowowow SO PRETTY.

The spiced orange flavor is perfect for a day like today, overcast and at the time I was drinking, it was still raining. I steeped it below the recommended time but I think it could do the 4 and not be terrible for me.

It also went perfectly with my breakfast, pumpkin pie oatmeal I cooked in a water bath in my slow cooker all night. Sooooo good. Since I used that Nutcracker Sweet tea for the water in the recipe, there were already elements of this tea in there, in addition to adding more cinnamon and cloves in there. Perfect match!

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec
Shmiracles

oh oh hey! my tree on my brand new still in the box bubble teapot is not all painted on either! and one of my tree mugs has a weird dent blip in the side too.
and i thought about asking for a replacement, but they already sent me a free gongfu cuz of order shipment problems.
and i just feel like a whiner but i’m not sure what to do. let me know what you decide to do.

momo

I posted it to their facebook page just to see if anyone else had probs like that, so now knowing there’s definitely other people, I really don’t even want to bother. Kind of sucks that it’s so poorly made so I don’t think I will ever be purchasing any other pretty things from them again since whoever’s making them for them does poor work.

Ashley Bain

eek that sucks. I wanted that teapot.

Ashley Bain

also I have never tried tea in oatmeal but I keep seeing it done. I must try that!! I just bought a bag of chewy thick cut oats that are super yummy. I have a bunch of chai, I bet that’d be good in oatmeal.

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