Tag: DavidsTea

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DavidsTea’s Peanut Butter Cup

Peanut Butter Cup by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$7.50 for 50g

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First Impressions

I should really preface this review with the fact that I love peanut butter cups – in regular form, in mini form, in ice cream form. This tea had a lot to live up to with a name like peanut butter cup. Luckily, when I first smelled the tea I was instantly reminded of the smell of peanut butter cup. It also smells a bit like vanilla, the chocolate smell is very obvious and the peanut butter, mmm! Gotta love peanut butter. Oddly enough, the list of ingredients does not actually include peanuts or peanut butter.

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The tea consists of: apple, cocoa, almond, chocolate, safflower, artificial flavouring. Contains almonds and soy & may contain milk.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Peanut Butter Cup in 96°C (204°F) water for 4 to 7 minutes. I wound up steeping for close to 7 minutes.

First Taste

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Peanut Butter Cup smells just as delicious as it is steeping as when it’s in the pouch. The surface of the tea does have some oil, as expected from the chocolate that would have melted when steeping. The tea itself does have an oily mouthfeel to it, thank you chocolate, and the taste isn’t quite as close to a peanut butter cup as I would have wanted it to be with the amazing smell pre- and post-steeping. The peanut butter flavour is light, and while I couldn’t smell the apple previously there is the tart taste of apple in the tea when having a sip. It is a little bit sweet, what with the sugars from the chocolate and the apples themselves, but the flavour of the tea doesn’t quite match up with the aroma of the tea itself.

A Second Cup?

Peanut Butter Cup does not do well with a second steeping, I would not recommend that you try steeping it again at all.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that DavidsTea’s Peanut Butter Cup was just okay. It didn’t really live up to my expectations, what with the smell and the name and the hype that I read online about this tea. I think I may try it again in the future either steeped in milk to make a latte, or mixing it with some hot chocolate mix to amp up the flavour just a touch. As a tea by itself, steeped according to the recommendations by DavidsTea, it just didn’t meet the expectations. Flavour wise, it is okay, but it just needs a little something more. I would have it again, but not hoard it in my tea stash.

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DavidsTea’s Honeycrisp Apple

Honeycrisp Apple by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Flavoured
$8.50 for 50g

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First Impressions

Honeycrisp Apple is one of DavidsTea’s fall collection teas, so if you’re interested trying it, it is a limited edition tea. Being a huge fan of the actual Honeycrisp apple fruit, I was curious about this tea. When I first smelled it in store, it was clear why DavidsTea named it the way that they did because the apple aroma is quite powerful and it smells like it will be a sweet fruit. The ingredients are visible, with the pieces of fruit and the dried blackberry leaf.

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At first glance of the ingredients, I thought this would have been an herbal infusion instead, but it does actually have tea. The ingredients of Honeycrisp Apple are: apple, sweet blackberry leaf, green tea, hibiscus, apple pomace, pear, natural pear and apple flavouring.

Preparation

The recommendation for Honeycrisp Apple is to steep for 3 to 4 minutes in 85°C (185°F) water. I opted to steep mine for about 4 minutes.

First Taste

When steeping, Honeycrisp Apple smells amazingly like apples, with underlying notes of floral sweetness. I don’t actually smell any green tea but given where it falls on the ingredients list I’m not entirely surprised. The colouring of Honeycrisp Apple after steeping is that of a nice rich apple cider. Between the familiar apple cider colour and the great aroma of apples that I can waft up from my cup, I’m more than a little excited to try this tea.

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On the first sip, I am pleasantly surprised! While it doesn’t taste as sweet as it smells, the tea has a very good apple taste to it. The tail end of each sip has a bit of a sour apple note to it, like with Granny Smith. But because Granny Smith is still an apple, it’s a very nice taste to it. I wound up adding a bit of sugar to Honeycrisp, and it does brighten up the flavour. There’s still that sour apple taste to the end of each sip, but it’s more pleasant with the addition of sugar.

A Second Cup?

I tried resteeping it and I wound up with a cup of weak flavoured apple water. Honeycrisp Apple is only good for one steep. Although, I’m not surprised it didn’t do well on one more steep, because often teas with a lot of herbal ingredients just don’t do that well.

My Overall Impression

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I loved DavidsTea’s Honeycrisp Apple. While I don’t necessarily think that the name is the best for the tea (it reminds me a lot more of an apple cider or reminiscent of biting into a Granny Smith), it is a really nice tea. The flavour brightens up a lot with the addition of a spoonful of sugar, and the Honeycrisp Apple tea itself is really pleasant and enjoyable. I think it would taste even better with the addition of cinnamon, to make it into more of an apple cider alternative. It is a very cozy-feeling tea and would make a great tea to have while cuddling up on a couch or having around a campfire.

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DavidsTea’s Pumpkin Matè

Pumpkin Matè by DavidsTea
Yerba Mate / Flavoured
$7.50 for 50g

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First Impressions

Pumpkin Matè reminds me a lot of the smell of spices for pumpkin pie. It’s quite strong in that regard, and I do not really get the aroma of pumpkin when I smell it, which is a shame considering the ingredients. Pumpkin Matè is part of DavidsTea’s Fall 2015 Collection and is a limited edition tea for the season, something to keep in mind if you want to give it a try. Pumpkin Matè consists of: roasted yerba mate, butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, coconut palm sugar, natural & artificial pumpkin flavouring. The disappointing part of the ingredients is the lack of real pumpkin in the tea itself – they opted for butternut squash (delicious) and pumpkin seeds. The squash and seeds are big and vibrant and stand out well in the tea, but how well will it translate in a cup of tea?

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For those unfamiliar with yerba mate, it is not an actual tea. Yerba mate is a South American drink that is high in caffeine. If you’re looking for a coffee replacement but still want the caffeine to kick start your day, yerba mate infusions may be a good coffee alternative.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends that Pumpkin Matè be steeped in 85°C (185°F) water for 4-7 minutes. I wound up steeping it for about 5-6 minutes. I should really start using a timer when preparing tea.

First Taste

Pumpkin Matè steeps to a dark brown colour and smells a bit like pumpkin pie. There’s that sweet aroma and undertone of pumpkin, which I would attribute to the natural and artificial pumpkin flavouring, and smells a lot like pumpkin spice mixes. First sip and I’m pleasantly surprised by the earthy taste to it, the tea is more enjoyable that I expected it to be. The earthy taste reminds me a lot of pu’erh teas, which was surprising (but I also like pu’erhs so I’m not offended by it). While I can smell what I would say is nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon – none of these are present on the ingredients list. Pumpkin Matè itself doesn’t taste spicy, but I also wouldn’t say that the pumpkin and butternut squash are strong contenders in the flavour profile – the roasted yerba mate overwhelms all of the delicate flavours and has a strong profile in this tea.

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A Second Cup?

Nope, Pumpkin Matè is good for one steep only. Resteeping the yerba mate resulted in a drink that tastes nothing like the original. It’s missing the sweet pumpkin aroma that was in the first cup.

My Overall Impression

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I thought that DavidsTea’s Pumpkin Matè was just okay. Honestly, I was torn between giving Pumpkin Matè one or two cups. One cup because it honestly does not taste like a pumpkin tea, which is what it should be because of the ingredients. On the other hand, Pumpkin Matè earns itself two cups because the taste is good. It’s earthy and is smooth, but isn’t quite as advertised. So while I did enjoy it, I won’t be stocking up on this one because there are better teas that could take its place.

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