Posts

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Christmas Morning Blend

Christmas Morning Blend by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Just one more day until the big day – but the house has been ready for a while now! Last year’s Christmas was certainly different – with video calls and opening presents on camera, having dropped off presents in advance to make sure everyone had things to open the morning-of. It’s a bit different this year, and perhaps more normal… ish. And what is the better way to to enjoy time with family and opening presents and enjoying a nice breakfast than a nice cup of tea.

Obviously if a tea company comes out with a tea blend called Christmas Morning Blend, I’ll need to give it a try… and consider having it for Christmas Day morning. It has a bright vanilla aroma and smells really inviting in that regard. Christmas Morning Blend consists of: black tea, natural vanilla flavouring, white cornflower blossoms, and vanilla. It has a beautiful appearance and a lovely aroma – the white cornflower petals are beautiful.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Christmas Morning Blend in 200°F (95°C) water for 3 to 5 minutes.

First Taste

Christmas Morning Blend steeps to a deep orange, with a strong vanilla aroma to it.  The flavour of the tea itself is earthy, vanilla, with just a touch of astringency at the tail end of each sip. It lacks sweetness, that I would have appreciated. There’s just something about Christmas Morning Blend that reminds me a bit of a breakfast tea, just with vanilla mingled throughout.

I opted to add some sweetener to it (a plain simple syrup), and added some frothed milk. Christmas Morning Blend holds up well to being a tea latte, and the addition of milk really makes it creamy and mellows out the astringency from the black tea base in a good way.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Christmas Morning Blend, but found that the vanilla flavours were lacking. I would recommend Christmas Morning blend for just the one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Christmas Morning Blend. While I liked it as a straight tea, I loved it as a tea latte. It’s definitely a gentle black tea that is begging to be make into a tea latte; the vanilla notes are delicious and just adding the frothed milk allows for a creamy, tasty tea. I am looking forward to offering Christmas Morning Blend tomorrow with the family brunch.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake

Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake came as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake is definitely a name of a tea blend that invokes a certain imagery. Perhaps angel food cake baked in a bundt pan, with a blueberry lavender glaze across the top, with a healthy slice onto a plate with a cup of tea on the side. Definitely a London Fog in a cup, because why not? Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake comes in a matte metallic pouch that’s sealed, resealable. The label across the front is a beautiful, polka dotted label that’s fun like the rest of Dessert by Deb’s labelling.

Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake is part of Dessert by Deb’s Garden Tea Party Collection. Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake consists of organic: black tea, elderberries, currants, hibiscus, Canadian maple, lavender, vanilla, and freeze-dried blueberries. The aroma is strongly that of the lavender, with blueberries strongly in the background. Look at how beautiful it is! With the lavender and maple throughout.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes.

First Taste

Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake steeps to a beautiful golden orange. Surprisingly not pink, since there is hibiscus in it. The aroma is strongly lavender and berries, while the flavour of Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake is strongly that of the lavender, with hints of berries throughout (thanks to the elderberries and blueberries). The vanilla certainly plays a good role in the Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake blend, and makes it taste all the more like a dessert tea. Dessert by Deb recommends trying Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake as a tea latte (with milk), and it does do well with some frothed milk! It ups the decadence factor to this black tea blend.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake and found that it was lacking in the berries and vanilla flavour. I would recommend steeping Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake. This black tea blend has a beautiful lavender flavour, with a nice berry flavour throughout that mingles well with the vanilla that’s in it. I would recommend Blueberry Lavender Angel Food Cake both plainly steeped and with some frothed milk, because having a tea latte is always the height of decadence when you have the time to make it a bit extra special. There’s just something about taking the extra step that allows for feeling a bit more luxurious.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong

Silver Bell Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea, White Tea, & Green Tea / Flavoured
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

One of the reasons that Silver Bell Oolong made its way into my online shopping cart because the reviews compared it to a previous blend (Monk’s Blend). This obviously meant that I needed to give it a try. But when I first unboxed the order, I was subjected to this label. I’m not sure who decided teal was easy to read on a medium shade of blue, but it isn’t (at all). Silver Bell Oolong comes in a sealed, resealable pouch.

Silver Bell Oolong consists of: white tea, milk oolong with natural milk flavouring, and jasmine green tea pearls. It’s a beautiful blend, and has a great aroma to it. I can smell the jasmine and milk from the milk oolong. Silver Bell Oolong is really pretty to look at and admire the different leaves. Silver Bell Oolong has identical ingredients as Monk’s Blend (a retired blend), with a slight change in price  ($12.98 versus $11.50), but comes with a different name that makes me think that it’s a holiday or seasonal tea (so keep that in mind if you’re wanting to get some).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Silver Bell Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the temperature recommendation, and did an initial steep of Silver Bell Oolong for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Silver Bell Oolong steeps to a beautiful yellow colour. There’s a strong aroma of jasmine and milk. Silver Bell Oolong has a smooth liquor. I find that the flavour is floral, milky, and grassy. Silver Bell Oolong has a certain level of creaminess to it, that I would attribute to the milk oolong. It has a nice mouthfeel to it, with zero astringency or bitterness.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Silver Bell Oolong two times (three steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I find that the flavour stayed fairly consistent to the initial steep, with the milky flavour waning as I resteeped the leaves. It is quite tasty though.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong. I still find this oolong, white tea, and green tea blend to be tasty. It has a great mouthfeel, flavour profile, and resteeps decently well. I think that Silver Bell Oolong coming back is nice for fans of the original Monk’s Blend, and I think it’s very similiar (if not identical?) to the original blend. I wish I still had some in my tea stash so I could do a taste comparison between the two. I would highly recommend resteeping this blend because it does hold up to resteeping, and Silver Bell Oolong has a great flavour. The creaminess of Silver Bell Oolong would lend itself well to being paired with a meal or dessert.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.