Advent Calendar Day 23

Oops!  Today's tea was supposed to be Gingerbread, but my little tin was filled with Stormy Night instead!  So I'll have to get my hands on a little gingerbread and review it later LOL

Advent Calendar Day 22

Today's tea is a holiday classic...Sleigh Ride!

Name:  Sleigh Ride


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Herbal


Dry Scent:  This smells warm and slightly spicy, of apples, cinnamon, cloves, and with a warm, nutty scent of popcorn and sharp hints of cranberries.  It really does smell like something you would drink on a sleigh ride through snow on a crisp, clear winter's day.


Steeping Time: 8-10 min


Steeped Flavour:  This is sharply sweet, tasting of cranberries, apples and cinnamon, with buttery, nutty flavour hints of the popcorn.  So yummy and warm, and very soothing.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This would be perfect with some mulled apple juice or mulled wine.  It's a perfect holiday drink, and with bourbon, whiskey or scotch it's even better.


Rating out of Six Tails:
5.5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calendar Day 21

Today's tea is Chocolate Orange, and wow, just look at that colour!  This is a prime example of why pu'erh teas are referred to as "black" teas in China, as opposed to what we call black tea which they call "red" tea.

Name: Chocolate Orange


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type: Pu'erh


Dry Scent: This smells very much like a holiday classic (and something that our house MUST have every year at this time) Terry's Chocolate Oranges (although it's a little stronger on the chocolate and slightly less strong on the orange scents than a Terry's) There is certainly a rich, creamy milk chocolate scent to this right off the bat, with bright overtones of orange and citrus at play, and it almost masks the musky earthiness of the pu'erh. Or rather, the chocolate blends so well with the pu'erh that one might be forgiven for assuming that it isn't there at all.


Steeping Time: 4-5 min


Steeped Flavour: Ah...there's the orange that was hiding in the dry scent! The first sip brings an explosion of sweet, citrussy orange across the tongue and into the nose, followed and supported by a chocolatey richness that speaks mostly to the pu'erh tea and not too much to the chocolate. Actually this is good, though. I wasn't looking for hot chocolate with orange here, and there is still enough chocolatey flavour to ensure that one does not feel left in the lurch by something which promised chocolate goodness and failed to deliver. This tastes like the holidays, but without being overly sweet and sickening.


Food/Drink Pairings: This would pair beautifully with a slice of Terry's Chocolate Orange. In fact, I just had to run upstairs and grab a slice to have with my tea, and the flavour profiles blend perfectly! It would also make a very good digestif after a heavy meal, such as a rich Christmas dinner. Even better with a splash of Grand Marnier to really amp up the slightly bitter orange flavours! Seriously yum!


Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6 (can I rate this even higher? XD)


Buy/Don't Buy

Definitely a "buy".  Definitely definitely.  In fact, I think I'm adding this to my list of "must keep on hand" teas.

Advent Calendar Day 20

Today's tea is Vanilla Orchid, which I'd been curious to try for some time.  I must say, whomever was in charge of picking out teas for this year's advent calendar certainly has done a good job of putting in a variety of different types, flavour profiles and really fine quality teas!

Name: Vanilla Orchid


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type: Oolong


Dry Scent: Strong scents of vanilla sweetness, with an underlying green scent from the oolong and a surprising nuttiness, perhaps also an aspect of the oolong. This smells a little like winter baking and very appetizing.


Steeping Time: 3 min (for the initial steep, in any case. This is a somewhat finicky oolong so be careful not to let it oversteep or it could get a bit fishy) 4 min for the second steep.


Steeped Flavour: OMG incredible! This tastes almost exactly like crème brûlée, creamy, with a vanilla sweetness and muskiness and a strong burnt-sugar caramel flavour that lingers on the tongue and in the mouth. It is a delicate balance, but when done right you'll find this tea an absolute treat to drink! The second steep is even more smooth than the first, although there is a slightly less strong caramel aspect to it. It is definitely worth steeping more than once though, to really get everything out of this tea that you want.


Food/Drink Pairings: This would pair well with creamy, simple desserts, perhaps the very crème brûlée whose flavour it resembles, or a pavlova or meringue. Anything creamy and light.


Rating out of Six Tails:
5.5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calendar Day 19

Today's tea is Read My Lips...not my favourite ever tea, but definitely tasty, especially for a mint tea (as far as I'm concerned)

I've already reviewed this before, so here, knock yourselves out with.... linkage!

Advent Calendar Day 18

The tea of the day for Dec 18th is Buddha's Blend.  I wasn't sure what to think of it initially, but omgwow...this is quite the tea!

Name: Buddha's Blend


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type: White


Dry Scent: Very strong, aromatic peach and peach-blossom scents, quite sweet, but also with a strong, slightly pine-y grassy scent and hints of jasmine. This smells absolutely beautiful.


Steeping Time: 3-4 min


Steeped Flavour: Mildly sweet, fruity, with hints of peach and mango and something else tropical. There is a strong, grassy undertone from the white and green teas, and there are also perfumed overtones of jasmine and something that smells a little like orange blossoms. This is like standing inside of a summer orchard, with the heat of the sun intensifying all of the flavours and scents.


Food/Drink Pairings: This would make an amazing cocktail iced with a little lychee liqueur. It's not really a food pairing tea, but it would probably be good with most things that are not too sweet, especially fresh fruits or a fruit flan.


Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calendar Day 17

Hooray, one of my favourites for today!  Cream of Earl Grey!

...so a link to the previous review I did on this one, and a pretty, pretty picture of its gorgeous dark caramel yumminess.

Advent Calendar Day 16

Main Squeeze is the tea of the day today!  Yummy yummy maté!

As usual there's a link to my previous review of this delicious orange-infused maté, and a pretty picture of it in my December teacup!

Advent Calendar Day 15

Playing catchup on posts again...

Today's tea is English Breakfast, a classic if there ever was one!

Name:  English Breakfast


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Black


Dry Scent:  Tea.  Well, of course this smells like tea, but what I mean is more, this smells like the primordial "tea" scent that immidiately tells my brain that there is tea somewhere nearby.  This smells like mornings at my grandmother's house, or walking into an old-time tea shop like Murchies.  There are deep, earthy notes, some sweet hints and a definite citrus tone to brighten it up as well.


Steeping Time:3-4 min


Steeped Flavour:  This tastes like grandma! (but not in that bad, weird way)  I mean to say that it reminds me greatly of sitting in front of the tv in the morning with a tv tray and a bowl of cereal and a slice of bread and peanut butter, with my paternal grandmother, watching a bit of early morning tv while we had breakfast.  I didn't drink tea at that age, of course, but she did, and this tastes very much like the scent of the English Breakfast tea she always used to have.  The flavour is rich, slightly oaky almost, but bright enough with citrussy and sweet notes to keep it from being overpowering.  The flavour is very comforting, and I am surprised just how strongly it brings back those early memories.


Food/Drink Pairings:  Cookies for this one.  Peak Freans in particular, dipped into it until they start to crumble just a little (but not enough to foul the tea).  It would go well with any meal as far as I'm concerned, but if you have worries about caffeine before bed, I would say don't drink this past lunch, since it is quite strong.


Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6 purely on how nostalgic this tea makes me, 5.5/6 if you want to be really picky on things

Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calender Day 14

Today's tea is another new one to me:  Cinnamon Rooibos Chai...

Name:  Cinnamon Rooibos Chai


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Rooibos


Dry Scent:  Very cinnamon, of the sweet, "cinnamon heart" type.  Quite sweet-smelling, with earthy, sun-warmed notes of the red rooibos and faint citrussy hints as well to brighten it up.


Steeping Time: 7-8 min


Steeped Flavour:  This is...surprisingly sweet, actually.  There is honey flavour in this, and it is most definitely evident.  There is also, of course, cinnamon notes, citrus and earthy rooibos, but the tea is almost too sweet for me, and there isn't quite as much bite from the cinnamon as I'd like.  Warming, but...not quite warming enough.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This would probably be much better with a little shot of goldschlager or fireball, any cinnamon liqueur.  It probably would be good with gingersnaps as well.


Rating out of Six Tails:

4/6


Buy/Don't Buy

I'm putting a "buy" on this, but if you're looking for a cinnamon tea in particular, there are others I'd recommend before this one.

Advent Calendar Day 13

Back from the staff Xmas party and it's definitely time for some tea before I head out to deliver papers...  Thank goodness today's tea is a tasty one, and one of my personal favourites...

Glitter and Gold!  It's a tea as sparkly as the makeup I was wearing tonight LOL!  What a perfect tea for Friday the 13th!

Advent Calendar Day 12

Today's tea is Kokomo Green, something I'd been very much looking forward to trying, so I was quite happy to see it among the advent calendar teas.

Name: Kokomo Green


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Green


Dry Scent:  There is a rich, green grassy scent in this from the green tea, not fishy or seaside but definitely grass, with lemony accents and lots of sweet, tropical fruity scents, most primarily the pineapple and passionfruit scents.


Steeping Time: 6-7 min


Steeped Flavour:  Even given the long (for a green tea) steeping time, this tea is not bitter at all.  There are lots of lovely green notes, slightly grassy, but most of the flavour in this comes from the tropical fruit.  Papaya, mango, and pineapple all blend gorgeously together and this tea reminds me of my first really enjoyable experience of mango in a fruit salad I had in Hawaii back in high school.  Perfectly balanced and like a warm, summer breeze in the middle of winter.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This would probably be incredible iced, or with any sort of tropical booze, especially malibu or a fruit flavour such as pineapple, mango or passionfruit.  As far as pairings with food, this would be a nice lunchtime tea with sandwiches or a dessert tea.


Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calendar Day 11

Today's tea is Mother's Little Helper

Name:  Mother's Little Helper


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Herbal


Dry Scent:  The first thing you smell in this, dry, is lemongrass, but lurking underneath is the woody, distinctive scent of valerian.  If you've never smelled valerian, well, I won't describe it but it's definitely distinctive.  There is also a fresher, greener herbal scent to this and a slight berry sweetness.


Steeping Time: 4-5 min


Steeped Flavour:  There is actually a lot less valerian flavour in this than I might have worried about.  The strongest flavour is the lemongrass, followed by the also-citrussy flavour of hibiscus.  There is mint lurking around underneath those, which also serves to lessen the flavour of the valerian, and there is something of an elderberry aftertaste, with the mint serving to cool the mouth as a final impression of each sip.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This would probably be okay with very plain cookies, but really, it's best as a sip before bed, and not really suited to pairing with food and definitely not with alcohol.


Rating out of Six Tails:

5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

This is not a tea I would have thought to buy but it's quite a bit better than I expected, and if you're the type who needs help relaxing I would definitely say it'd be a nice choice.

Advent Calendar Day 10

Hooray!  Today I get to try a new one of the holiday teas...  Coffee Cake!

Name:  Coffee Cake


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Black


Dry Scent:  This has a very thick, sweet scent, very cake-y and rich.  There is a slight fruitiness and also a definite dark earthiness from the black tea.  Clearly this is a very strong black tea, which it needs to be to stand up to the candied fruit and molasses scents.


Steeping Time: 4-5 min (less is more with this, since steeping too long can make the black tea overpower the rest of the scents)


Steeped Flavour:  This is a strong tea.  Definitely strong; and rich dark, slightly tannic black tea flavours lurk underneath sweetness from the fruit bits and rich cakeyness of molasses.  This is the kind of tea that you drink when you really need to stay up all night to finish studying for winter finals, or to help stave off the effects of overindulging from a christmas party... ^_~


Food/Drink Pairings:  This is a dessert tea...or if you're into it, a first thing in the morning, slap you awake, breakfast tea that would go amazingly with pancakes.  If you wish to add booze to this it would have to be something quite strong, perhaps Kraken black rum...  Or maybe to bump up the fruity aspect, some lemon drop schnapps or Chambord...  In fact, I have just tried the latter and can DEFINITELY recommend it!  Yummers!


Rating out of Six Tails:

5.5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calender Day 9

Yummy...the tea today isssssss Silk Dragon Jasmine!

And yes, I've reviewed this one, so you get a link and you can sit back and imagine me lolling pleasantly in the heady vapors of jasmine blossom perfume.  Beautiful!

Advent Calender Day 8

And the tea of the day today is....Mango Madness!

Name: Mango Madness


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type: White


Dry Scent: There is lots of sweetness here, primarily the scents of dried pineapple and dried mango, but they are overlaid with the grassy scent of white tea and the earthy bite of the safflower petals. Actually, I would say that safflower (smelling similar to saffron, if not as strong) is the strongest scent I get off this, dry.


Steeping Time: 6-7 min


Steeped Flavour: Sweet, but not too sweet. There is definitely mango in the flavour, and pineapple, but the strongest note I get in this is the tangerine. A good blend of "summer" fruits overall, but not nearly as mango-y as, say, Mango Lassi. Still, it's very tasty and I would not turn my nose up at another cup or three!


Food/Drink Pairings: This is something of a dessert tea if you're intending to have it with "traditional western" fare, but it would meld beautifully with Indian main course dishes or any other type of curry, and it is also really wonderful iced with a splash of some fruity vodka thrown in for good measure.


Rating out of Six Tails:
5.5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calendar Day 7

Today the tea of the day is...

Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait!  So deep and red and yummy!

Name: Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type: Herbal


Dry Scent: Sweet strawberries leap first from this to tickle the nose, supported by a rich, creamy scent almost more reminiscent of whipped cream than yoghurt, although it does have similarity to the scent of yoghurt covered raisins or cranberries.  The rhubarb scent isn't strong here, with only hints of the acid sharpness, but there is a sense that it is going to bloom well once the hot water touches is.


Steeping Time: 7-8 min


Steeped Flavour:  When hot, the strongest flavour in this is hibiscus and rhubarb, both with their acid, slightly citrus sharpness, but once the tea is cooled enough to no longer being steaming, the flavours mellow and blend beautifully, the strawberry sweetness coming forward and the creamy yoghurt giving a wonderful, thick mouthfeel.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This is a good choice to cut through a rich dessert, although not too sweet a one.  There's enough acidity in this that it would not play well with chocolate unless it's a very dark chocolate.  The tea would be wonderful with fruit cobbler.  It would also probably be a good base for a cosmo or other similar martini drink if iced.


Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6


Buy/Don't Buy

I quite like this tea, but it's still not quite as good as the now sadly gone Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble white tea David's used to have.

Advent Calendar Day 6

Yes, I know, I'm behind again, but I have good reason...went to the movies last night which meant I got home at midnight, and between work and papers...yeah.

Today's tea is Genmaicha, one of my very favourite "basic" teas, and although I haven't done a review of David's Tea's version, I'll link my other review and add to it.

So...this is a very nice, good-quality genmaicha indeed.  Nutty, subtly sweet and faintly grassy, but not in any way fishy or salty.  Warming and very soothing altogether.  Bravo, David's Tea, you picked a good one here!

Advent Calendar Day 5

Again, today's tea is one I've reviewed before, Stormy Night, but omg what a perfect tea for a night like this when it's freezing cold outside and all I want to do is sit curled up with a hot mug of tea and relax!  David, your timing is impeccable!

Now, this is something you don't often see from me...tea with creamy substance in it.  In this case though, this tea does work best with something creamy (never milky, we won't go into the origins of my extreme dislike of milk in hot drinks) in this case, a little Bailey's brings everything into perfect cohesion.

The "bits" you can see on top there are bits of cinnamon.  Even with the Bailey's the tea isn't totally homogeneous, but it's okay.  <3 it anyway!

Advent Calender Day 4

(yes I know I'm a little late, yesterday was very hectic) 

Today's tea is Forever Nuts, one I've reviewed before, so...

Here's a link to it, and what more to say?  Forever Nuts is, quite simply, everyone's favourite tea.  I'd bet I could even get my mother to drink this one and she doesn't like tea at all!  It's very much like mulled apple cider but just that little bit better, plus it's pink!  The picture is not reflective of just how pink it is, my phone camera tends to wash out red tones a bit and I don't quite know how to fix it.  >.<

Advent Calender Day 3

Blueberry Jam

Name: Blueberry Jam


Brand: David's Tea


Primary Type:  Black


Dry Scent:  This smells of dried blueberries and elderberries ("your father smelled of elderberries!"  Sorry, couldn't resist LOL) with the musty scent of strong black tea hiding underneath to keep it from seeming over-sweet.


Steeping Time: 6-7 min


Steeped Flavour:  Even with the longer steeping time, this managed not to become overly tannic, which I greatly appreciate.  I do so love a strong cup of black tea, but sometimes that just isn't possible without ruining the flavour balance.  In this case, although the black tea flavours are dark and certainly evident, they aren't overpowering and simply do a good job of supporting the sweet, berry flavours.  This tastes very much like blueberry pie or maybe blueberry fruit leather...either way very well balanced.


Food/Drink Pairings:  This goes really well with white chocolate (as evidenced by the chocolate and tea tasting I went to last month) and would also be really nice with a white chocolate mousse or pot au creme.  It would probably be nice iced, and would go with a sweet, berry flavored vodka in a tea martini I would just bet!


Rating out of Six Tails:
5/6

Buy/Don't Buy

Advent Calender Day 2

Today's tea is Alpine Punch.  I was so excited to see this one back this year, as it was one of my favourites last holiday season.

and since I haven't done a review for it yet... review time!


Name: Alpine Punch


Brand:  David's Tea


Primary Type:  Rooibos


Dry Scent:  This smells interesting.  A little bit like a chai, because of the cardamom, but also nutty from the coconut and warm and slightly dusty from the rooibos.  There is even a faint floral hint from the rosepetals, but overall it definitely smells to me like the perfect apres-ski drink.  Something to soothe out the aches and warm you from the inside out.


Steeping Time:  8-10 min


Steeped Flavour:  This is one that tastes like it smells, with the coconut adding a nice, smooth mouthfeel and the cardamom and ginger warming just enough on the tongue without making the tea spicy in any way.  The almonds, whose scent disappeared in the blend when dry, take over once it's brewed and there are definitely marzipan notes to this.  It also tastes a little bit like mulled apple juice and a little bit like chai, but it is very much its own entity.  Honestly the best way I can think of to describe the taste is to say that it tastes like winter comfort food.


Food/Drink Pairings:  Rum.  This would definitely be excellent with a little mulled spiced rum.  It also goes well with spice cakes, coffee cakes or stollen.  Basically any heavy, hearty spiced or fruited cake would go nicely with this.  You might also try using it as the base for a "chai latte".  I definitely think it could stand up to frothed milk and come out a winner!


Rating out of Six Tails:
6/6


Buy/Don't Buy

Another day done, another door opened!

December is here...

...and that means Advent Calender Time! This is the David's Tea Advent Calender, 2013 version, the item that got me into my daily tea habit a year ago this time.

This is a coveted item indeed!  I almost didn't get one this year at all, since I wasn't fast enough to get down to my store right when they opened.  Luckily Wil saved my bacon and bought me this one and sent it to me, so...we have Advent Calender Fun!  

Day One: White Chocolate Frost

As I've already done a tasting review of this one, here's a link to it, and a pretty picture <3  And yes, it did taste salty again, although less so this time.  I dunno, I'm still iffy about it, but then, as I've said before, not a big fan of mint.