Ceylon Star

Thank you David for the sample of this tea in my latest order. It was yummy. Dry leaves smelled sweet and dessert like… Vanilla and white chocolate…

I steeped it according to instructions in boiling water for 5 minutes. Once steeped the tea was smooth, mild tasting with no astringency. Cocoa and anise was in the front seat now and remained there for the rest of the tasting.

Overall very pleasing tea. :)

I have more detailed review of this tea on my blog if you want to check it out. :)

http://paradiseinmyteacup.blogspot.ca/2013/02/ceylon-star-by-davidstea.html

Yum! Got this as a sample with my latest order. I was worried I wasn’t going to like this since I guess star anise is a love it or hate kind of thing. Should’ve known that if it was licorice-y in any way I would love it. The chocolate notes are lovely as well, makes for a very rich and creamy cup.

The one unfortunate thing about this is the what I’ve come to know as the DAVIDsTEA film on the top. I think this is because of the flavorings, but hey the taste trumps that.

First off Pretty Pretty name.OH and WHITE CHOCOLATE ARE YOU KIDDING ME….drool drool drool

Star anise has been a real star in a few DAVIDsTEA concoctions lately maybe a bit of a bromance going on.

Dry it smells chocolatey and deeply sensual with notes of cocoa and star anise
Ooohh I am dying to tie you up and spank you my dear…yes I said it my tea depravity knows no bounds.

As for taste it is silky sweet and much more delicate and then I was anticipating a very light spiciness lingers on the tongue and there is definitely a nudge of licorice that stays on my taste buds long after the tea is gone.I steeped for 7 minutes and put in the recommended amount and it did not get bitter so that’s a first with DAVIDsTEA black teas..an improvement.

This tea is perfect for cold wet and dark January days and late nights in summer before a night out or after.it is gentle enough for the licorice shy and noticeable enough for licorice tea lovers like myself.I’m not in love but it has my attention and we may be sending shy glances to each other as 2013 moves on.

So I had a bit of a weird experience the other night. I was randomly trolling around the co-op job listings (basically where you work for a company every other semester) and sent out my resume to a few that I was qualified for. I get an e-mail the very next morning to tell me I’d been selected for an interview this Wednesday. My goodness you guys, I’m just a freshman! What am I doing! I don’t know how to do these interview things! D:

Just thinking about it works me up into a horrible panic, so I decided to finally break into my Ceylon Star sample to try and calm down. Chocolate based things are the best cure for anxiety, right?

I don’t think I’ve had any particularly chocolate based teas before now, but goodness why not? Chocolate tea is wonderful! Like hot coco only I don’t feel guilty after I finish it. The coconut notes in this just help round it out perfectly. Almost reminds me of liquid samoas without the caramel. Speaking of which, is there such a thing as samoa tea? If not, there should be.

Figures I’d only try this after the winter collection’s gone away. Alas.

Finally got around to trying this tea. I grabbed a bag since it was tea of the month, not really knowing what Ceylon or star anise was. But she showed me the tea and there was a star in it and my tea brain was like, “OMG A STAR SO CUTE” and I bought it haha. Surprisingly, I like it! It’s kind of weird to me, and new, because when I bring my cup to my mouth to take a sip, I smell the licorice scent…but then I don’t really taste it. It’s actually really nice though. It’s nice and creamy, and I can taste the coconut and a bit of white chocolate! It’s strange because all of the flavors are quite subtle, but I (think) I can taste them all. It’s a really nice tea and one I did not expect to enjoy judging by the smell! I’m glad I bought this tea and will enjoy the bag until it’s gone. I may even steep another cup right now. Yum! Weird to me, but yum nonetheless!

A very pretty tea in its dry form and its name. When I got right down to brewing it for the first time I enjoyed the seasonal scent that filled the room. It was much like a mellow spiced hot chocolate. The taste too matched this special familiar note. With the rainy season upon us lately in Victoria it felt very comforting and warm to the spirit. It made being outside late at night much nicer and the dance rehearsals even more energy filled. A sweet option for certain!

I wasn’t sure if I was tasting artificial sweetener so I’m still being cautious by taking little sips. This tea has a very sweet aroma that reminds me of chocolate macaroons. After having a sweet tea this morning, I decided not to add sugar to this one. It has a subtle sweetness, it could be the cocoa nibs that I’m tasting, and it’s very smooth. I’m not sure if “smooth” is even a tea term but that’s what comes to mind when I sip on this. Sigh, I wish we had a Davids TEA nearby.

I had this one to-go the other day and I really liked it. It was a really cold, windy day and the warm flavours in this tea really warmed me up! I think that this is a tea I would drink more in the fall and winter and not much in the warmer months. I will definetely pick some up!

When you wish upon a star…

For me this tea was a completely new venture, I have not had a Ceylon nor have I had anything with Star Anise in it so I was really venturing into the unknown here, and I am quite glad I did.

Dry this tea has an overpowering raw coconut smell mixed with something that is familiar to my nose but for the life of me I can’t describe what exactly it is. The smell is powerful almost to the point it put me off the tea I was concerned it would turn out very strong…WRONG!

There are big tea black tea leaves contrasted by even larger white coconut shavings and the Star Anise adds the final touch making it an impressive tea to look at. Steeping produces the same powerful aroma as the tea has dry and let me tell you it lingers, I cooked with garlic and I could still smell the tea as if it was steeping long after I had cleaned my steeper out.

The final brew is golden brown and it really loses the pungent aroma in exchange for a softer and sweeter smell. It has a nice soft coconut taste with an exotic spice note added by the Star Anise. Overall this is certainly not a tea you can judge by the smell, as it tastes completely different in comparison to the dry smell. I made a trip to DT today specifically for this tea, and it was certainly worth it.

I had a day off classes today and had heard about David’s Tea launching their range of chocolate bars, so I used the excuse to take a trip and pick up a new tea flavour. I sipped on some Glitter and Gold while sniffing different teas, and the full-bodied aroma of Ceylon Star hit me straightaway. It was on offer as a 25g sachet so I added some to my shopping.

I’m pretty disappointed. Either I didn’t put enough tea in the bag, my filters aren’t letting the tea steep properly, or this is just plain weak, but the flavours aren’t strong at all – even after about ten minutes of brewing. I can imagine this would be lovely and comforting before bed, but until I got to the bottom third of my mug I couldn’t really taste much at all. A shame, but I recommend it to anyone who can get more taste out of it.