Category: Review

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DavidsTea’s Candy Cane Crush

Candy Cane Crush by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Candy Cane Crush is one of those teas that DavidsTea fans always seem to pit against Santa’s Secret – which, to be fair, they’re both kind of similar. Black tea blends, heavy peppermint influence, fun shaped sprinkles. While it may seem like it’s CCC vs. SS every December, I am solidly a fan of both – although I fell in love with Santa’s Secret first. Candy Cane Crush was purchased at a local retail location, and it came in a resealable foil pouch. The aroma of this tea is primarily that of peppermint and chocolate – basically everything I love about the holidays in a tea (especially the peppermint!).

Candy Cane Crush consists of: black tea, white chocolate chips, peppermint candy, snowflake candies, cane sugar, peppermint, natural flavouring. For those who need to know, this black tea blend consists of milk and soy – likely found in the white chocolate chips, and possibly the candies as well.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Candy Cane Crush in 95C (200F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the water temperature suggestion, but steeped this tea for 7 minutes (which is when the white chocolate and peppermint pieces had fully dissolved, this may vary for you).

First Taste

Candy Cane Crush does not steep to an attractive colour, there is really no sugar coating it. The tea is a cloudy light brown, with visible droplets of oil floating on the surface. This is due to the oils in the white chocolate and candies – which is perfectly harmless, but it doesn’t make for a very pretty cup of tea unfortunately. The aroma is pretty much all peppermint, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the ingredients. The flavour is a nice balanced mix of white chocolate creaminess and the peppermint. It reminds me a lot of having a brownie with some crushed candy canes on top.

Candy Cane Crush is very pleasant (and sweet!) when had on its own, but I do make this tea into a tea latte but adding some frothed milk (via my jar frothing method). I find that Candy Cane Crush on its own is almost too sweet for me, so adding some milk to it helps to add a level of creaminess to the tea while also tempering the sweetness. I’ve seen this tea offered in-store as a blend with hot chocolate (which is delicious, by the way), and I think it would pair well with egg nog for an egg nog latte (just sub milk for egg nog) for an extra bit of festive kick!

A Second Cup?

Candy Cane Crush does not resteep well. If you steeped the tea fully the first time (meaning that the white chocolate, sprinkles, candy all dissolved), it really lacks in peppermint and sweetness if you attempt a resteep and it’s a weak reminder of what it could be like. I would say that Candy Cane Crush is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Candy Cane Crush. It’s one of my holiday go-to black teas when I’m in the mood for some holiday cheer. I like this tea best as a tea latte, because I find it a bit too sweet plain (coming from someone with a huge sweet tooth, I think that’s saying something!). It really does well as a latte, and you can really play around with different dairy products and adding some sprinkles on top. This is an incredibly festive tea, and It really helps you get into the mood for the holidays.

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Seven Sisters Tea’s Kettle Corn

Kettle Corn by Seven Sisters Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
50g for $3.50

First Impressions

I originally received Kettle Corn as part of an online tea and book swap that I participated in via Instagram! It was a fun way to get to try some new-to-me teas, and it was a great activity in curating a box of goodies for someone. Kettle Corn came in a sealed (and resealable!) foil pouch with all the necessary information on a printed label. The aroma of the dry tea reminds me a lot of caramel popcorn! There’s a very obvious popcorn aroma to it, and I can easily see the puffed rice mixed throughout this black tea blend.

Kettle Corn consists of: black tea from Sri Lanka, popped rice, apple, white chamomile, safflower, and natural flavouring. The ingredients, aside from the flavouring, are all quite visible throughout. I can’t really smell the apple or chamomile though, but it does smell like popcorn which is a huge plus considering the name.

Preparation

Seven Sisters Tea recommends steeping Kettle Corn for 3 to 4 minutes. Because it is a black tea, I opted to use 100°C (212°F) water and I did an initial steep for 4 minutes. If you’re ever stuck on what water temperature to use or length of time for a steep, you can always refer to my guide of Steeping Times for Different Teas as a starting point.

First Taste

Kettle Corn steeps to a beautiful golden orange. The aroma of the steeped tea reminds me a lot of popcorn, which I think is what Seven Sisters Tea was going for. I don’t get a lot of sweetness from this tea, which I was expecting because of the mention of caramel. I found the black tea base to be good, and I do taste a bit of a chamomile in the steeped tea – there’s a subtle floral aroma in the tea as well.

I did add a little bit of locally harvested honey to the tea, and I found that it helped to bring out those caramel notes by just adding a touch of sweetness. I do wish that the apple came out a little bit more, I think if there was a bit more apple, it would have added some more sweetness to this blend and possibly rendered the use of honey unnecessary.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Kettle Corn and found that it didn’t have a rich popcorn aroma or flavour anymore. I would say that Kettle Corn is good for one steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Seven Sisters Tea’s Kettle Corn. I really enjoyed the aroma of the dry leaf and the steeped tea, it was very much on point with the flavour of popcorn in this black tea blend. I did find it lacking in sweetness to pull off the caramel flavours, which is why I did add honey. If you’re not a raging sweet tooth like I am, you might find this tea plenty sweet for you since there is the apple in it to lend some sweetness (I do tend to go a bit overboard at times when it comes to sweets). It’s a very pleasant blend, and I love that it matches really well with my expectations with a name like Kettle Corn. I think it’d be a great ‘fair’ tea – think carnival rides, candied apples, cotton candy, and bags upon bags of kettle corn – or a tea to make you wish you were back at a fair!

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Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Lavender Earl Grey

Lavender Earl Grey by Gypsy Soul Tea Co
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.40 for 40g

First Impressions

Lavender Earl Grey came in a sealed foil bag, with a clear window on the back. The ingredients are easy to see, I can easily see lavender and rose petals mixed in with the black tea leaves. There’s a creamy aroma to it, that’s a bit of a buttery quality to it with a light floral aroma from the lavender and rose petals.

Lavender Earl Grey consists of: black tea, rose blossoms, bergamot, and lavender buds. The ingredients are so easy to see, the bergamot isn’t as strong as the lavender in aroma, but it’s still very pleasant.

Preparation

Gypsy Soul Tea Co recommends steeping Lavender Earl Grey in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 7 minutes. My initial steep of Lavender Earl Grey was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Lavender Earl Grey steeps to a reddish orange. The lavender aroma is quite strong in comparison to the bergamot. There’s a nice creamy mouthfeel to it, with a mild citrus flavouring from the bergamot. I found the rose flavour to be a bit lost compared to the lavender, since the lavender is so strong in comparison.

I did add some sweetener to it (locally harvested honey), and found that it helped to improve the rose flavour notes in the tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Lavender Earl Grey, and found that the floral notes were not as strong compared to the initial steep. I would say that Lavender Earl Grey is good for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Gypsy Soul Tea Co’s Lavender Earl Grey. I think that Lavender Earl Grey is a lovely take on Earl Grey on its ow, but it’d also be an excellent candidate for a London Fog with a touch of vanilla extract. I found that the lavender flavour had nice strength to it, and the creaminess of the Earl Grey in general was really enjoyable. I do think that the tea improved with a touch of sweetener, as it helped the rose flavour come out more.

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