Tag: DavidsTea

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Thermal Tea Carafe

Thermal Tea Carafe by DavidsTea
1.9L (64oz) capacity
BPA-Free Plastic & Stainless Steel
$45.00

I purchased the Thermal Tea Carafe during one of the site-wide sales and got it for 30% off.

First Impressions

I bought the Thermal Tea Carafe partly because I wanted a hot water jug for my countertop so I could just heat up a lot of water at once in my kettle (review here of the IQ Kettle by Breville) and have it keeping warm without having to keep my kettle on, and also because I thought the holographic colour was gorgeous and necessary in my life (which it is).

The Thermal Tea Carafe comes in one size – 1.9L capacity (64oz for my American friends). The tag states that it holds 8 servings at 240ml or 8oz per serving. The Thermal Tea Carafe has a double-walled, stainless steel body, with some BPA-free plastic (most noticeable in the handle, spout, and around the metal parts in the included infuser inside).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends washing the Thermal Tea Carafe before the first, and each, use. This item is not microwave or dishwasher safe – I imagine that gorgeous holographic coating might not stand up well with dishwasher aggressiveness, and the double-walled stainless steel part might not fare so well either. If you do forget, it is mentioned on the bottom of the carafe on the rubber bottom that keeps it from slipping on smooth surfaces.

The lid comes out quite easily, and it comes apart in quite a few pieces. I wasn’t able to fully take apart the entire thing, so I imagine it may be difficult to clean properly if you’re steeping a tea that has any oily components (e.g. Earl Grey with bergamot oil, any blend with chocolates or sprinkles). I was personally planning on keeping this for plain hot water since I often use a small tea pot for my tea steeping (it gives me greater control over steeping time as I can see it), so it’ll be alright for me.

First Use

The first clean of the Thermal Tea Carafe went smoothly, and so did putting it all together again. I ended up filling the carafe with hot water (100°C/212°F) water from my kettle and using it throughout an afternoon of just refilling my teapot, which worked quite well! The water was hot and steaming each time I poured water from it.

While the Thermal Tea Carafe isn’t marketed as being leak proof, I did turn it upside down over my sink and found that no water came out – which is a good sign, as if water can’t escape, the heat will take longer to dissipate as well!

My Overall Impression

I love DavidsTea’s Thermal Tea Carafe. I really love the colour, the functionality, and the large capacity – although I think that 1.9L is really more like “enough water for one serious tea drinker” than anything else. I am glad that I was able to get it on sale though, I don’t think I would have necessarily paid $45.00 for it otherwise, but with the sale pricing and the colour, how could I say no? Luckily it works as it should, and it definitely makes for more comfortable nights when the power is out and I filled it up in advance of a storm.

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

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Organic Anji Green

Organic Anji Green by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$24.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Organic Anji Green was a purchase I made last year when there was a sale going on (so full disclosure, I got this at 30% off with my online purchase). The tea itself came in a very familiar pouch – albeit a bit larger than the usual one. The bag itself is sealed, and resealable with a bright pistachio green label on the front. Tea that takes up more space (usually traditional teas with unrolled leaves) come in bigger bags than the usual small ones.

The leaves of Organic Anji Green are beautiful – bright green, you can see the leaves and how they’ve curled up on themselves in the drying process. The veins of the leave are visible in some, and the vibrancy in the colour is quite amazing. The aroma is pleasantly sweet, with some fresh grassy notes to it. It’s quite enjoyable to inhale, and hopefully a good indicator of what’s to come. Organic Anji Green consist of organic green tea from the Anji County of Zheijiang Province, China.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Organic Anji Green in 85°C (185°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of this green tea for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Organic Anji Green steeps to a pale yellow colour after the initial steep of 3 minutes. It has a very subtle aroma that wasn’t really easily noticed until I was holding up the cup of tea to my face. The aroma is primarily grassy, which was pleasant. It smells a bit like spring, which is nice. The flavour of the tea is a well-balanced mix. I found some buttery notes, with a subtle cream flavour, mixed in with grass and flavours that remind me of asparagus – just a crisp freshness to it.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Organic Anji Green a total of eight times (nine steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds of steeping time to each subsequent steep. The tea deepened in colour and the flavour remained fairly similar to the initial steep. I found that it had strong buttery notes with each steep, which was quite welcome. I would recommend resteeping this tea to get all the flavour (and tea!) that you can.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Organic Anji Green. I was really quite impressed with how well this tea goes from dry to steeped to being resteeped (so many times!). The flavour stayed delicious and I had a grand ol’ time of steeping this over and over again during one of the recent snow days that I experienced. While I was originally just crossing my fingers that the tea would be worth the price, I think it more than made up for it considering how much use I got out of the tea leaves before I decided to stop resteeping it.

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

Posted on

DavidsTea’s Forever Frosty

Forever Frosty by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Forever Frosty piqued my interest because it’s a winter/seasonal version of Forever Nuts – which is a long-time fan favourite (and if you want to see some seriously poor tea photography, you can check out my 2016 review of Forever Nuts!) and a tisane that I enjoy usually as a latte. Which, of course, meant that I was curious enough to pick up a bag to give it a try.

This is a curious blend that came in a sealed, resealable silver pouch. A very familiar bright yellow label adorns the bag and gives you all the necessary information about the blend. I highly recommend giving it a good shake before scooping some out to steep because all I saw when I first opened the bag were huge candied almonds and large slices of dried oranges. Not very appealing! Forever Frosty smells like cinnamon and oranges, which is nice, but doesn’t really make me think of Forever Nuts. Surprisingly, I don’t really smell almonds. Forever Frosty consists of: apple, candied almonds, almonds, orange slices, marshmallows, cinnamon, beetroot, coconut flakes, orange peel, cloves, artificial sweet roasted almond, and natural orange flavouring.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Forever Frosty in 95°C (200°F) water for 5+ minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and I did an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Forever Frosty steeps to a very bright pink, a lovely colour from the beetroot. It has a very sweet, orange aroma to it with hints of cinnamon mingling in the background. I don’t really smell or taste almonds, which is unfortunate because that’s one of the key components of Forever Nuts. The colour is significantly brighter, in my opinion, than the pink of Forever Nuts. I do find there’s a bitter component to the blend though, which isn’t very pleasant. Sweet, bitter, orange, and cinnamon – with the cinnamon being the real wintery flavour that I can make out in the tisane.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Forever Frosty, but it didn’t really improve matters and just resulted in a fairly weak drink. I would recommend Forever Frosty for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like DavidsTea’s Forever Frosty. I think it was a very valiant attempt at a seasonal take on the perennial favourite Forever Nuts, but I don’t think it quite captured enough of the essence of Forever Nuts or the season, which is unfortunate. I was really hoping that the flavour and aroma of the almonds would come out more, especially since almonds appear in the ingredients three times.

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