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This is entirely unique to anything DAVIDsTEA has offered in quite a long time, which isn’t something I can often say about their blends. I get lively passionfruit notes on top of a light white tea base that gives the tea a very nice body. The hibiscus is barely noticeable too! The first time I tried this I was a little underwhelmed, but after playing with steep times and techniques it’s become an easy favourite out of this new collection.

I really, really like this one. However, I’ve liked most of the straight black teas that I’ve tried. This tea is far smoother than I expected as I was expecting a stronger astringency. The predominant notes are of dark fruit (think plums or red grapes) and a bit of a nuttiness. I don’t find this one to be overly complex, but it’s very enjoyable nonetheless.

This tea was overwhelmingly mediocre. I did enjoy the white tea base over maybe a green or oolong tea, but the nectarine flavour was definitely not as present as I would’ve hoped. This tea had almost a buttery mouthfeel to it, which was interesting, but overall I’m very underwhelmed.

Finishing off my Cocktail collection reviews is Mudslide. This one stood out like a sore thumb in this collection – it’s very dessert-y and bold in comparison to the rest. I brewed this one up hot, unlike the rest, which I reviewed iced. I taste a lovely earthy base note of red rooibos with depth from the coffee and carob, and finally a sweetness from the chocolate. I was actually expecting this to be sweeter, but I’m glad it’s not. Coffee-flavoured teas are always something I’m intrigued by, but they never seem to live up to my expectations. I think that if I want something coffee-flavoured, I’d prefer to drink a cup of decaf coffee over a coffee-flavoured tea.

A pleasantly tangy, refreshing herbal tea that works amazingly iced. I rarely say this, but the hibiscus works perfectly in this blend. It’s low enough down on the ingredient list that it doesn’t overpower the tea, instead providing a wonderful base note for the papaya, mango, and pineapple. I told myself I wouldn’t stock up on any of the Cocktail teas, but that might change because of this tart little tropical number.

I don’t believe there’s meant to be any wine notes in this tea, I think it’s more of a tea that you could mix with wine to make a sangria-inspired drink. I’m going to try it with a splash of red, or maybe even rosé if I’m feeling super adventurous. It’s also completely different from their Sangria blend last year, which is such a relief because Sangria and I did not get along.

This is a tea that I can drink in large batches and not get sick of, so I brewed up 2L in my thermal carafe to drink while I was writing a research paper today. The caffeine kick kept me going and the light chai flavour was not overpowering! Weird side note: This one pairs very nicely with caramel ice cream and Oreos.

Flavour-wise, I do get a light chai flavour with some pumpkin notes; the clove in the chai is the most dominant. I taste just enough cinnamon before it becomes overpowering, and the tea is just sweet enough without being cloying. The black tea flavour lingers on the tongue nicely, with a lovely balancing astringency to the sprinkles and caramel pieces. I wish this one didn’t contain milk, but otherwise it’s a perfect chai for morning sipping.

After last summer’s scarring experience with Sangria, I expected wine-flavoured teas to be completely off the table for me this year but unsurprisingly, I still ended up taking some of this home with me last time I visited DAVIDsTEA. The smell of this one was initially very off-putting – it smells very, very alcoholic. However, when brewed, most of the alcohol notes I smelled are no longer present, and I taste mostly raisins and red fruit. It’s a pleasant iced tea, but definitely not something that’s my personal taste, I don’t find grape tea very appealing. Overall, this is a nice herbal blend for lovers of grape-flavoured tea, the hibiscus and alcohol notes are not predominant, and there’s an interesting sparkle to the flavour to give it a bit of complexity.

A wonderfully soothing, comforting blend that is easy on the stomach. I’ve been having stomach problems the last week, and The Skinny has been a staple in my tea rotation because of that. It’s an earthy, citrusy, rich blend with a lovely smoothness. There’s a lot of complexity to this blend – a lot of layers to the flavour that all complement each other perfectly. I can barely taste the ginger (a very good thing) and the citrus isn’t too strong either. There is a flavour that I can’t really place that is likely the eleuthero root (a type of ginseng), but it isn’t unpleasant. This is a beautiful morning cup for those with sensitive stomachs and something I will continue to keep a healthy stash of at home.

This was the tea I was most intrigued by in the Cocktail Collection. It’s truly a sour apple tea, and that’s a flavour I had never experienced in tea before. As an iced tea it’s quite nice, but there’s something off about the flavour, and I think that sour apple is a flavour that should really be reserved for candy. It’s very refreshing, with a full-bodied apple flavour and a very pleasant sourness (thank you for leaving hibiscus out of this one!), but not something that I could see myself drinking very often. Definitely a cool novelty tea though!

What follows is some personal musings on DAVIDsTEA from a business standpoint, the tea review ends here if that’s all you care about!

Lately it feels as though DAVIDsTEA has really been pounding out the new releases, and while I love having new teas to try, it also feels as though the quality of their releases has gone down. I’ve heard rumours that the new CEO, Joel Silver, is planning on bringing out fewer releases (about one per month versus one almost every two weeks), and I’m looking forward to where he brings this company. I don’t think that their previous model of fast expansion and constant new releases sat well with consumers; I believe it gave off a sense of greed for a company that had historically built a very personal relationship with its customers.

I’ve seen many people complain of changing business practices and sales tactics within the company, and to that I say it is a business, and they do need to make money. In the beginning, loose tea was a very niche product, and as its popularity has grown, it’s harder to make the sales. People rarely need to buy high-priced items such as a steeper or a travel mug, and those initial sales are easily the most profitable for the company. The vast majority of people who shop at DAVIDsTEA are not tea addicted, and I’ve found that many people who are total tea addicts have moved onto different companies after initially falling in love with loose leaf tea through DAVIDsTEA. They are no longer trying to break into the market, they’re now trying to grow and expand with the market, and that requires a totally different approach. Being an exciting new novelty is one thing, but creating an enduring, prosperous business is completely different. While I am not saying that DAVIDsTEA will be going out of business any time soon, I do believe they need to change their approach as more and more people are turning away from the company.

It’s hard to go wrong with peppermint leaves, and DAVIDsTEA’s Peppermint Amour is definitely doing peppermint right. It’s a very nostalgic blend for me to drink; my mother drinks a cup of peppermint tea almost daily, and she has definitely passed her love for this classic herb onto me. It also does wonders for stomach aches and cramps, making this a must-have tea for me.

However, all that praise aside, I don’t find this peppermint tea to be all that different from the kind you can get from Tetley or other grocery store brands, so DAVIDsTEA’s offering is not the only good option for a classic peppermint herbal. I do find Peppermint Amour to be a little more potent than other peppermint teas I have tried, but it’s really not enough for me to drastically prefer one brand over another.