Tag: 24 Days of Tea

Posted on

24 Days of Tea: Spiced Apple

Spiced Apple by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

20161221-davidsteaspicedapple

First Impressions

I’m getting quite sad as I realized that after today there’s only 3 more days left to the 24 Days of Tea advent calendar! It’s day 21 and the tea today is Spiced Apple, which is another fruit infusion. The first thing that I noticed when I opened the tin was the smell of cinnamon and star anise. I couldn’t really make out the apple, even though I could see visible pieces of dried apple in there.

20161221-davidsteaspicedapple1

Spiced Apple consists of: apple pieces, figs, cinnamon, star anise, chicory, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, natural apple and spice flavouring.

Preparation

For this fruit infusion, DavidsTea recommends steeping Spiced Apple in near-boiling water (90-95°C/194-203°F) for 4 to 7 minutes. I did my cup (and I wound up using the whole tin) for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

While Spiced Apple was steeping, I could smell cinnamon and star anise on the forefront, with apple playing second fiddle. It steeps to a beautiful golden brown though, it’s very inviting. I found that the spices to overwhelm the apple flavour a lot. I was expecting it to be a touch sweeter, given that there is fruit in it and fruit infusions tend towards the sweet side. I find Spiced Apple to be rather sour, and I wound up adding some sugar to it and it helped immensely with tempering the sourness of the tea. This one has the spices that I was looking for in Apple Cider, but Apple Cider had more of a punch when it came to the apple flavour.

20161221-davidsteaspicedapple2

20161221-davidsteaspicedapple3

A Second Cup?

I don’t resteep fruit or herbal infusions.

My Overall Impression

2cups-2

I thought that DavidsTea’s Spiced Apple was just okay. With a name like Spiced Apple, I really did expect the apple and the spices to balance well together, but sadly I was left a little lacking with my cup of mostly spices and minimal apple flavour. I think this tea would benefit from more apple flavouring (perhaps steeping it with a mix of water and apple juice to add a punch of apple flavour in there?), but as it stands as a straight tea, it is a bit disappointing. The spices, oh the delicious spices, are very much present and very much appreciated. I think perhaps a mix of Spiced Apple and Apple Cider would probably taste quite good as each one brings something to the table that the other lacks. Unfortunately, I used my entire little tin of Spiced Apple for this cup, so I’m unable to try the two together.

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

Posted on

24 Days of Tea: Cardamom French Toast

Cardamom French Toast by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

20161220-davidsteacardamomfrenchtoast

First Impressions

Day 20 of the 24 Days of Tea is Cardamom French Toast! This black tea blend has been reviewed before on One More Steep, back in November 2015 (how is that for a throwback Tuesday?). It smells familiar because it is familiar – still heavy with the cinnamon, coriander, and cardamom. The blend is nicely balanced, you can see a little bit of everything, which is nice. I still haven’t tried actual French toast with cardamom yet, I should get on that!

Cardamom French Toast is made up of: black tea, cinnamon, lemon peel, coriander seeds, cardamom, coconut sugar, cane sugar, natural and artificial flavouring.

20161220-davidsteacardamomfrenchtoast1

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Cardamom French Toast in near-boiling water (90-95°C/194-203°F) for 4 to 7 minutes. I steeped my cup for about 4 minutes.

First Taste

20161220-davidsteacardamomfrenchtoast2

Cardamom French Toast steeps to a nice deep red, and has the heavy spice aroma to it. The cinnamon, coriander, and cardamom all play nicely together. This is a sweet black tea blend – the coconut sugar and cane sugar do their job well!

20161220-davidsteacardamomfrenchtoast3

I played with the tea a bit more this time around, and added some evaporated milk. It’s delicious! The milk helps temper some of the heavier spice notes, while added some creaminess to the flavour profile. I think Cardamom French Toast would make a wonderful tea latte. If you don’t have a milk frother, check out my tutorial on how to make lattes at home.

20161220-davidsteacardamomfrenchtoast4

A Second Cup?

Cardamom French Toast does very poorly when resteeped.

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved DavidsTea’s Cardamom French Toast. I definitely think this is a tea that I enjoy better doctored up than I do straight. A little squirt of honey, a couple spoonfuls of evaporated milk – it makes for a very pleasant and enjoyable cup of tea!

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

Posted on

24 Days of Tea: Organic Sweet Almond Green

Organic Sweet Almond Green by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

20161219-davidsteasweetalmondgreen

First Impressions

The first thing that came to mind when I smelled the tea for day 19 of the 24 Days of Tea advent calendar is that it smells like marzipan. Sweet Almond Green smells like almonds, almonds, and more almonds – which shouldn’t come to anyone as a surprise given the name.

Sweet Almond Green is made up of green tea, almonds, marigold flowers, cornflower petals, and natural almond flavouring.

20161219-davidsteasweetalmondgreen1

Preparation

Steeping recommendations for Sweet Almond Green are to steep with hot water (75-80°C/167-176°F) for 3 to 5 minutes. I steeped my cup of Sweet Almond Green for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Sweet Almond Green steeps to an almost murky yellow-green. There’s a salty smell to it, that comes from the green tea, and then there’s the almonds (from the almonds). It still smells like marzipan, and I’m not sure how I feel about drinking my candy when marzipan isn’t a favourite.

20161219-davidsteasweetalmondgreen2

The salty seaweed-quality of the green tea is heavily present, as is the almond from the almonds and the almond flavouring. They do not balance well together to form a cohesive flavour profile.

20161219-davidsteasweetalmondgreen3

A Second Cup?

I did not resteep Sweet Almond Green.

My Overall Impression

1cup-2

I didn’t like DavidsTea’s Organic Sweet Almond Green. There’s just something about the almond and the salty flavour of the green tea base that do not mingle well together for me. It probably doesn’t help that I’m not the biggest fan of marzipan either! If you’re a big fan of almonds and/or marzipan, this might be a better tea for you than it is for me.

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