Tag: Black Tea

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DavidsTea’s Three Wishes

Three Wishes by DavidsTea
Black Tea & Green Tea / Flavoured
$7.40 for 50g

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First Impressions

I actually got this bag of tea a while ago (2015…), and I never got around to reviewing it! Sadly, DavidsTea has decided to retire Three Wishes so I decided to go ahead and review it now in case any of you wanted to snag some while you still can (I do not know if retail stores will still be carrying it, but as of today it is still on the DavidsTea website with a 25% off discount if you buy in 250g quantities – full retail price if you purchase in 50g increments). I bought this tea at the suggestion of a woman who worked at the retail store when I mentioned that I wanted to try something new, and then I rattled off a few of the teas that I enjoyed that DavidsTea put out. This was one of the teas that she recommended

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The dry leaf of Three Wishes smells heavily of green tea and peaches. I can’t smell roses or the black tea base at all, but that’s not too terrible because I like the smell of peaches. The dry leaf looks interesting, there’s sunflower petals in there as well so it’s a pretty tea to look at. Three Wishes is categorized by DavidsTea as being a black tea, I think this is because black tea is listed first in the ingredients. The ingredients are: Chinese black tea, Chinese green tea, sunflower petals, jasmine blossoms, rose petals, and artificial flavouring.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping this tea in 96°C (204°F) water for 4-7 minutes. This might be accurate if the tea only contained a black tea base, but it doesn’t. Green teas need to be steeped in cooler water for a shorter period of time or else it’ll oversteep and be a very bitter cup of tea. I steeped mine in water that was about 85°C (185°F) for about 3 minutes.

First Taste

Three Wishes steeps to a deep golden yellow, which is quite pretty and very aromatic. The tea smells purely of peaches and green tea – I can’t smell the black tea at all. The taste of Three Wishes is a bit surprising. It tastes of melon (perhaps honeydew?) and peaches, along with the green tea base. There is no trace of the black tea, roses, or jasmine taste in the tea at all. Which is a bit disappointing, given the ingredients, but it is a very pleasant cup of tea. The peaches taste is delightful, but the tea by itself is not very sweet. I added a bit of sweetener to brighten up the peach flavour and it worked out quite nicely. I think this tea would do very well as an iced tea or cold steeped, and would probably taste quite good in the summer time.

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A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Three Wishes. Unfortunately, the taste of the melon and peaches does not hold up well. The taste of the green tea still overwhelms the black tea base, and I’m still missing the floral component. The second cup was definitely not as enjoyable as the first steep, I would not recommend Three Wishes for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that DavidsTea’s Three Wishes was just okay. Three Wishes makes for an interesting tea, because only a portion the ingredients are detectable in the steeped tea. I would have ranked it a bit higher if DavidsTea had given more appropriate steeping instructions. I suspect that if you follow the steeping instructions as-is that you’d end up with a very bitter cup of tea and would wind up throwing it away. As it stands, Three Wishes is a tasty tea with a great fruity taste to it. It doesn’t do well with resteeping, but would likely do well iced. I do recommend steeping it at a lower temperature for a shorter period of time – life is too short to be drinking bitter tea.

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DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Valentine

The Earl’s Valentine by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.75 for 50g

The Earl’s Valentine was a limited edition Valentine’s Day tea put out by DavidsTea. The review is coming to you in March because it took me a while to track down the tea as it was sold out in stores near me.

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First Impressions

I was first introduced to The Earl’s Valentine last year. I had bought a small bag to sample, less than 25g, and when I had the first cup I was hooked! And then I tried to go back to the store to buy more and it was already sold out and long gone by the time I went back (a day or two after Valentine’s Day). This year, I tried to go to the store ahead of time, but it had been delayed getting to the local stores. And by the time the stores did get it in stock, I was told a lot of them only received 1 kilo of The Earl’s Valentine and many of the sold out the same day. I wound up buying two 50g bags online so I could get my fix. This tea is a black tea, the dry leaf smells heavily of chocolate oranges with a hint of floral goodness. You can thank the chocolate and the bergamot for that wonderful mix. It reminds me a lot of the Terry’s chocolate oranges that are often on sale around Christmas time.

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The Earl’s Valentine is made up of: roasted carob, black tea, chocolate pieces, rose buds, cornflower petals, natural and artificial bergamot, chocolate and cocoa flavorings. There is also the addition of an allergen warning that this product contains milk and soy.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping The Earl’s Valentine in 96°C (205°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

The Earl’s Valentine steeps to a surprisingly not murky orange colour. I say surprisingly because I find that most teas with added chocolate often isn’t clear. This one isn’t too bad. When taking in the aroma of a freshly steeped cup of The Earl’s Valentine, you can really smell the bergamot with a hint of chocolate. The smell of roses was more present in the dry leaf than the steeped tea, but some floral notes are in the smell and taste of this tea. The bergamot isn’t as strong in this tea as it is in DavidsTea’s Organic Cream of Earl Grey, but it is still enjoyable. I really like Earl Grey teas in general, so this one does hit the right notes for me – Earl Grey teas with a twist generally make me happy.

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I did wind up adding just a bit of sugar to this tea. I found that despite the addition of chocolate, it wasn’t sweet enough for me. The addition of sugar does help to brighten up the bergamot and chocolate flavours in the tea, so I would recommend adding some sort of sweetener if you can. There is a bit of an oily layer on the surface of this tea, this would be from the melted chocolate. It’s not unpleasant, but this is the type of tea that I would recommend having hot or mixing with milk or cream so you’re not subjected to the oily surface layer when the tea is cooled or cold.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep The Earl’s Valentine and found that it didn’t resteep very well as many of the flavourings that I loved in cup one were gone by cup two. This is another one of those one steep wonders.

My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Valentine. Perhaps I was waxing nostalgia when I went on my hunt to find this year this year, because I only had so little last February, or it could be that the formulation of this tea had changed between last year and this year. The Earl’s Valentine is a good alternative to the classic/plain Earl Grey, so there is definitely that. I find the combination of chocolate and bergamot to be very tasty, and the floral notes left by the rose buds in the tea make me feel like I should be having this as part of a tea party. I would recommend adding a sweetener to this tea, as it does help brighten up the flavours a lot.

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DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Garden

The Earl’s Garden by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

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First Impressions

I love a good Earl Grey, I cannot lie. I received this bag of The Earl’s Garden as part of a Christmas present and I’ve been happily sipping it ever since (spoiler alert: I will probably get more). What I love about the classic Earl Grey is the good black tea base with the fresh citrus scent of the bergamot. The Earl’s Garden does not disappoint with the strong citrus aroma that is laced with strawberries.

The Earl’s Garden consists of: organic black tea, marigold petals, strawberry, cornflower petals, natural strawberry & bergamot flavouring. I like that I can see and/or smell all of the ingredients. The strong bergamot and strawberry aromas are almost intoxicating because they’re that strong, it really does make me more eager for a cup!

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping The Earl’s Garden in 96°C (204°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped my pot of The Earl’s Garden for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

The Earl’s Garden steeps to a clear reddish brown that has a very subtle strawberry aroma to it. The fragrance of strawberries overpowers the bergamot, which is a bit surprising considerin the fact that bergamot is often the starring ingredient in an Earl Grey. First sips of a cup of this tea does not disappoint though. The citrus taste of the bergamot mingles very well with the subdued strawberry taste in the steeped tea. There’s just a touch of sweetness to the tea that makes the berry flavour come out even more. The black tea base is fairly similar to the other Earl Grey-inspired teas I’ve had from DavidsTea – no bitterness for the amount of time I steeped it for, and it tastes like a strong black tea base. What really sets this tea apart is the strawberry and bergamot combination. Just a mild sweetness that would be good for anyone wanting a little treat. I did add a bit of sweetener (white sugar, for those curious) to my tea and it does brighten up the flavour a lot by bringing out more of the strawberry taste.

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A Second Cup?

I tried resteeping The Earl’s Garden and it sadly didn’t work out. The tea was weak and the magical strawberry and bergamot combination was sorely lacking. This tea is a one time trip to The Earl’s Garden and doesn’t hold up for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

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I loved DavidsTea’s The Earl’s Garden. I’m a sucker for Earl Grey in general, and the strawberry addition just works for this tea. The mild sweetness of the strawberry in the steeped tea really makes the tea stand out from other Earl Grey-inspired teas. I do think I will continue to add a sweetener to this tea though, as that does make the flavours pop out more for me. It is a nice change from the classic Earl Grey, which I still love, and it can definitely be doctored up with sugar and cream.

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