DAVIDsTEA

Just like cherry juice. Definitely make as an iced tea.

Tastes just like a fruit punch, heavy on the tart cranberry flavour, when iced.

This tea tastes just like peach juice when iced. No sugar needed.

Steeped this up as a replacement cuppa for the sink-drain-bound-rancid-coconut-tea. I thought looking at this dry leaf there was coconut in it, too, and got worried (as I know this is very old, I believe I got this cup sampler from Ost in a 2018 cupboard sale, and have no idea how old it was when she graciously gifted it to me then!), but double-checking the ingredients, it is just finely diced licorice root I’m seeing (unlike y’all, I like licorice, so that’s fine). Dodged a bullet there, phew!

Steeped up, the liquor is a pretty red color, and it does smell quite nice, albeit I can’t help but be reminded of the cherry cough syrups I had to take as a child from the scent. While I am getting a bit of that from the cherry flavor in this tea, it doesn’t wane entirely medicinal since I am tasting the black base… albeit much more faintly than I’d prefer, which I believe is entirely due to either age or amount of sample leaf I had available. If that maltiness were just a bit more present/stronger, I think the black cherry flavor wouldn’t have quite the dominance that I’m getting in this particular cup, and its that flavor that keeps swinging my head toward cough syrup. The flavoring itself is actually quite spot on for what it is trying to capture and the tea is very sweet and smooth. I can see where it is going, but it doesn’t quite get there for me. I’m willing to swing my rating a bit more generous than I’m actually feeling since I do believe age may have affected the base more than I’d prefer.

Thank you, Ost! Very glad to have had the chance to try a tea from DT’s past! They are a rarity in my particular area of the US.

Pleasant oolong tea which really does taste like lemon pound cake.

Made this one for the first time the other night. I was skeptical but it actually turned out really good! It tasted like buttered popcorn, with some sweetness and a lighter apple flavor.
I haven’t decided on a rating yet but I really enjoyed drinking this while I was working on some school work.

This one is light and a little floral. At first, it’s a bit soapy/cleanerish, but you sort of get used to it. After 3-4 mugs of it, I’ve unfortunately grown tired of this one. The main flavor is peach. The peach flavor is similar to other peach teas, so I’d probably just choose an herbal version of this. That weird extra flavor just got to be too much for me. Also I think this isn’t even supposed to taste like peach.

Platonic ideal of a black tea. Strong but not bitter, with some very mild sweet notes and even some creaminess. Perfect for starting the day.

Latte Sipdown (293)

This is fine. It’s a bit more anise than I’d like but still a tolerable amount. The mix of spices is also alright and balanced/not muddy. Honestly though, if I am having a chai latte, it will be the Chaiwala one…or some flavored variety like DAVIDsTEA’s Pumpkin Chai. So this is rather middle of the road for me, which makes it one that is probably forgettable and one I likely won’t be getting again.

Very bitter, even when steeped a second time. Makes me think of an average bagged black tea, just slightly better. The first few sips are actually quite enjoyable, especially if you drink it first thing in the morning, but it goes downhill from there—definitely not a tea you want to let get cold, or even lukewarm.

Almond&cashew milk and sugar made for a decent but unremarkable latte.

This delivers on its name. Caramel? Check. Oolong? Check.

The smell is more mouthwateringly caramel than the actual taste. That is only because the taste also has the oolong in addition to the caramel. I like it. I like the smell more but it’s still delicious.

I’ve been holding onto this since last year. Finally tried it, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It’s sweet cinnamon. Pretty one-dimensional, but I enjoyed it.

STTB Tea

I would never buy this (since it contains dairy) but since it was in the TTB and the yoghurt pieces were fairly easy to pick out (with double washed hands and a spoon! I’m not a gross person I promise!) I decided to have an evening cup of herbal brew. I guess I expected this to be less acidic because I planned to add soy milk. Based on the colour and initial sip, I decided against it. I think milk would curdle.

There is a mice baked bread/buttery flavour, vanilla, and dried fruit flavour. It does taste quite a bit like blueberry and raisins. There is a nice sweetness to it. I don’t care for the acidity or the Earthy beetroot (carrot?) flavour, but neither are too bad. It would have been fine with less hibiscus though.

Wait just a minute now…what happened to my review of this? I know I wrote it. Maybe it refused to post and I intended to come back and review it again.

~1.5 tsp matcha in 100 mL hot water + a dash of unsweetened soy milk → the perfect amount of sweetness

This isn’t as “spearminty” as I would have liked. I originally thought maybe they used English mint or spearmint + peppermint oil but I’m not sure. The mint and lime are both there. The only thing that I think would improve this is either some rum essence or whatever 52Teas uses to make their cranberry soda herbal. That citrus flavour that makes it taste like 7UP would be perfect here.

Another new Chai!

This was supposed to launch with the other Chai teas at the end of last week, but it was just slightly delayed & I’m not really sure why – not my department, haha. I think it might still not be on the US site? Should be soon though, it’s not Canada exclusive even though it is web exclusive.

Like Butterscotch Chai, this is the kind of tea name that would make me super curious to try the tea even though I don’t typically drink Chai. It sounds delicious! I immediately picture sweet sweet, buttery pastry, and either a creamy vanilla or tangy cream cheese frosting! Sadly, this doesn’t live up exactly to the image I’ve built up in my head – there’s not really much of a buttery/pastry kind of note and despite there being white chocolate in the blend (labelled as cocoa butter chips) I don’t actually really taste them. Instead I think they just contribute to the overall sweetness, and leave that melted down chocolate oiliness around the rim of the mug…

What the blend does get really right is the cinnamon! If you were a fan of Cinnamon Rooibos Chai, The Spice is Right, or Glitter Chai then this is definitely going to be your cup of tea – it’s the same sweet and intense hot cinnamon flavour, but paired with an oolong base. There are other spices in the blend, but aside from the slightest hint of clove I don’t really taste them either. This is really all about the cinnamon and, I mean, that’s fair – I expect cinnamon to be the strongest spice in a Cinnamon Bun tea; I just wish I got more of the other elements.

Good Chai/Cinnamon tea? Check! Accurate name? Ehhh…

Of course – just my own opinion, and as a non-spice lover/spice baby it’s probably not the most informed one. So I always like to read what other people think. Maybe this just isn’t my perfect Cinnamon Bun tea.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Oh gosh this blend is SOOOO good. Creamy coconut, fruity, smooth but malty tannins and a strong tea flavour, vanilla…what more could you want? It is my new favourite blend. I hope it comes back some day.

STTB Tea

I’ve had this hot and cold-both ways are quite nice. The hot steep was more citrusy but the cold steep had more marshmallow and popcorn flavours. There are so many different flavours I found it difficult to place them all. I almost want to say cotton candy, but I think it is more just sweet. It tastes a bit like a lemon angel food cake IMO.I’ll have to order some of this before they discontinue/sell out.

Well last cup of my hoarded stash of this tea. A nice strong cup for first thing in the morning. Smooth, malty with hints of tobacco and no bitterness even if you steep it strong. It’s shame that a nice everyday Yunnan like this isn’t a standard for Davids tea as it’s a great first cup of the day type tea. Good for multiple steeps.