Tag: DavidsTea

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Davidstea’s S’mores Chai

S’mores Chai by DavidsTea
Pu’erh Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

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First Impressions

When I first heard about DavidsTea putting out a S’mores Chai, all I could think was the fact that I really wanted to taste some marshmallows over an open campfire (huge fan of s’mores here!) so of course I had to get my hands on some of this tea. S’mores Chai smelled delicious in the store, the dry leaf honestly smells like a s’mores with the smell of chocolate and marshmallow. I don’t really smell graham crackers, but it’s forgiven because it does remind me of s’mores. The pu’erh base gives it a nice nutty aroma.

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S’mores Chai consists of: pu’erh tea, brittle pieces, cinnamon, sugar, marshamllow, chocolate chips, natural and artificial flavouring. The label suggests that the tea contains hazelnuts, but where? Perhaps in one of the flavourings.

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping S’mores Chai in 194-203°F (90-95°C) for 4 to 7 minutes. I steeped it at 200°F (94°C) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

S’mores Chai steeps to a cloudy reddish brown, with an oil slick on the top from the melted chocolate. The tea smells like s’mores, which is quite delightful. On first taste, there’s an oily mouthfeel (from the melted chocolate) and it tastes a bit chocolately with some nutty flavour. It’s a slightly watery version of hot chocolate, with the sweetness of marshmallows. I didn’t really enjoy the tea straight so I added it some sweetener, and milk to make it a latte. It’s delicious as a hot latte and would highly recommend it.

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If you’re interested in learning how to make tea lattes at home without the use of a fancy machine to froth the milk, check out my tutorial on how to make lattes at home using a glass jar (and a microwave).

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A Second Cup?

I steeped S’mores Chai a few times and found that the flavour wasn’t as rich as the initial steep. I would say that S’mores Chai is good for only one steep only.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s S’mores Chai. I loved how this tea smell, it smells just like s’mores! This tea is excellent as a hot latte, and would highly recommend it. However, this tea didn’t taste remarkably well as a straight tea and I didn’t enjoy it. The addition of milk helps temper the oily mouthfeel that was the result of the melted chocolate chips and make the tea more enjoyable. A s’mores-flavoured tea is okay in my books and I greatly enjoyed it as a treat. I think this makes a great dessert latte.

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DavidsTea’s Peachy Lychee

Peachy Lychee by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

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First Impressions

I got my little bag of Peachy Lychee at a local DavidsTea store after the person behind the counter went on and on about this one. She said it was her new favourite (when iced) and I had to have a sniff. The first thing that I smelled when exposed to the dry leaf was peaches. Peaches, peaches, and more peaches. And then there’s the sweet, floral aromas that balance quite well with the peaches. If you’ve never had lychees before, I would describe them as having a sweet and crisp floral aroma. They’re quite a delicious fruit, if you ever get the chance to eat them.

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Peachy Lychee is a black tea blend, the ingredients are: black tea, apple, candied pineapple, orange peel, sweet blackberry leaf, white hibiscus, peach, lychee, and natural flavouring. It never ceases to amaze me how prominent apple can be in fruity tea blends, despite not being anywhere in the title. Apple, however, does go well in a fruity tea as it adds a nice level of sweetness that I always enjoy.

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Peachy Lychee in near-boiling water for 4-7 minutes (as per their website, ‘near-boiling’ is 90-95°C (194-203°F). My initial steep of Peachy Lychee was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Peachy Lychee steeps to a beautiful golden yellow (it’s a bit more orange when you have larger amounts of it… more about that later). The aroma that comes up from the steeped tea is solely peaches. After letting it cool down just a little bit, I had a sip. The taste of this tea was a good mix of fruity and floral – the peaches and lychee flavours are quite good. I did add some sweetener to this tea (honey, for those curious) and found that it really helped to add an extra punch of sweetness to it while helping to brighten up the flavours.

I wound up icing this tea as well and found it to be delicious. Iced, the peach and lychee flavours were more refreshing. I would recommend having this either iced or cold steeped.

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A Second Cup?

I did try to resteep Peachy Lychee and found that it didn’t really hold up to being resteeped. The fruity and floral flavours that I loved so much in the first steep were weak in the second steep. I would say that Peachy Lychee is good for one steep only.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved DavidsTea’s Peachy Lychee. This fruity black tea blend does an okay job as a hot tea, but it definitely ticks all the boxes for me as an iced tea. The aroma and flavour of this tea, both dry and steeped, are delicious. The floral sweetness from the lychee is present and isn’t overpowered by the peachy flavours that most people would be familiar with. I would highly recommend having this tea either iced or cold steeped, and a little bit of sweetener goes a long way in brightening up the flavours and making it even more refreshingly delicious.

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DavidsTea’s Tea the North

Tea the North by DavidsTea
White Tea / Flavoured
$10.98 for 50g

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First Impressions

I was at my local DavidsTea and I asked my friendly neighbourhood tea pusher what the new tea was and he told me that it was Tea the North. Now, I know DavidsTea already has a maple syrup tea called Oh Canada! so I wasn’t really expecting something similar, but still was expected something with some maple influences, or something else that screamed ‘Canada’ to me. What I smelled instead was a lot of coconut and pineapple. Instant recoil from the container holding the sample that I was just smelling because it just did not make sense.

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Tea the North consists of: melon, pineapple, coconut, white tea, hibiscus, sweet blackberry leaves, apple, rose petals, rhubarb, safflower blossoms, and natural flavouring. He had rattled off the list of ingredients to me and I must have looked confused because then he told me that most of the ingredients were white or red. Oh. I suppose that makes sense? But coconut and pineapple does not scream Canada to me – it makes me think of pina coladas (and getting caught in the rain). Nevertheless, I wanted to try a bit of this white tea blend because I’m a bleeding heart (and Canada Day is one of my upmost favourite holidays).

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Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Tea the North in hot water for 4 to 7 minutes. For those interested, “hot water” is defined on the product page as being 167-176°F or 75-80°C. I did an initial steep of 5 minutes in 175°F water.

First Taste

Tea the North steeps to a bright red – which did not surprise me given the fact that the blend includes hibiscus, rhubarb, and safflower blossoms. The taste of this tea is… interesting? There’s sweetness to it that comes from the fruit (melon, pineapple, apple), and a touch of tartness (from the hibiscus and possibly the rhubarb). I think I would describe this as being primarily coconut and artificial flavouring. The coconut flavour is heavy in this white tea blend, and there’s just something about it that lingers on my tongue that I just do not like. I’m not sure if it is the flavouring in this tea, or maybe just the combination of flavours, but coconut takes center stage and all the other ingredients (aside from adding a touch of sweetness or tartness) stay in the background – the far, far background.

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A Second Cup?

I didn’t really want to, but I did resteep Tea the North. The second time around was not an improvement on the first, I’m afraid. Is it possible for coconut to strengthen in flavour? Because that’s what it seemed to do here. The mix of sweet and tart was incredibly muted this time around, and I felt like it was just coconut again, with an odd aftertaste that seemed sour to me.

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My Overall Impression

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I didn’t like DavidsTea’s Tea the North. I wanted to at least love this tea blend, because I’m a sucker for all things Canada and with the impending 150th birthday (tomorrow/July 1st), I really wanted to love this tea. I think it’s cute that they did a blend of primarily red and white ingredients instead of doing maple (again), but I feel like it really missed its mark. The aroma of coconut and pineapple don’t make me think of Canada at all, and the tea itself was a bit of fail in the flavor department.

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