MadHatterTeaReview Send Message

Today is cold and rainy, so I made a cup of fruity tea to brighten my mood. This was one of the few teas I grabbed (too little of) on my trip to Canada a couple weeks ago. One thing that I will mention about going to DavidsTea in-house is that you’re not restricted to 50g or too much of any tea…However, with that said, this was one of those teas I should’ve went with my gut instinct on and bought 50-500g versus 20g! I’ll note a grabbed 20-25g of most of my teas to get a nice sampler of their tea wall to try at home.

There are layers to this cup – a subtle tartness from the cranberry and hibiscus, a touch of acidity from the orange, refreshing “summery” sweetness, and possibly the cure for my seasonal melancholy. I will note to grab more of this online, if it’s available, once I’m ready for more tea; however, if it’s sold out, I’ll always have this cup + a few more until it’s gone.

Backlog

I haven’t been actively thinking about the teas I have been sipping down. Partly due to having too much going on in life and partly due to laziness. Ha-ha. I will note that I have sipped plenty of tea down and have plenty more to go, so thankfully I can continue to work through listing my reviews, as time allows. : )

Notes: Intense qi – there was a lot of energy packed tightly into this coin. Hard to pinpoint tasting notes, but the texture was soupy and viscous. Lasted 8 infusions.

A few weeks ago, I made a trip to Toronto to visit a (tea) friend, and while we were walking through Eaton Mall, I insisted we needed to stop at DavidsTea. I planned on purchasing pre-selected teas, however, standing at the counter for the first time, I was overwhelmed with the tea wall, and I had to smell everything! Unfortunately, I was questioned by another customer why I had to smell everything, so I grabbed a few teas and left…After returning to the hotel, I realized I didn’t grab the three teas I wanted– Cold 911 being the #1 on my list. Lol. We decided to stop by The West Mall on our way out and they said this one was very low in stock, so I didn’t grab any…*

Anyway, jump to a few days later, our friend was showing my wife his Nordic mug, and she wanted one for herself, which was the perfect excuse to check out DavidsTea and use some of my rewards. I grabbed 100g of Cold 911, Cactus Rose, and 2 mugs! This was the first tea I tried two days ago, and I realized this was possibly a new favorite from DT – yum – and I clearly didn’t think 100g was going to be too little…Lol. Honestly, it’s perfect for the cold weather and expected allergies/cold/flu that is likely to hit in the coming months. I’m likely going to snag a few more grams after I work through the other ‘samples’ of tea that I obtained from my trip to Canada, but I told my friend, this one is well worth a second visit (fingers crossed) in 2026.

*I did some research later to discover Canada’s Postal Service was undergoing a strike. So, my guess is that was the reason they didn’t have much in their inventory.

Backlog/Sipdown

This was the second tea I took with me to work on Monday. The folks at the office commented on how strong this was (it’s a tight space, so it’s easy to be overwhelmed with strong smells). Lol.

Tasting Notes:
Tart
Fruity yogurt bites w/sour tang.
I let it sit too long in my tumbler, so by the time I had the chance to drink it, it was room temperature. Would’ve been nice had I added ice!

Backlog / Sipdown

I finished this at the office on Monday, so I made minimal notes. I was grateful to take 2 teas and had found the time to top them off!

Notes: This tastes like my mom’s chocolate covered coconut candies she makes during the holidays. The tea brews quite sweet on its own. I wish I had a little coconut or oat milk to cut the intensity a little.

I brewed this during work yesterday, as I was in desperate need of tea. I will note that this wasn’t extraordinary, but it held up for the standard session. The flavors were muted, and the session didn’t last past 4 infusions, which was a bummer. Maybe it was ‘too old,’ on the account it was from my 2023 subscription box. Who’s to say. I have had plenty of better Dancong’s though.

I had so many teas to review last month for July…Steepster wasn’t working though, so I tossed all my empties into the trash, on account I didn’t want to hoard my collection of empties. This is the first sip down I’ve kept for September because I learned that Steepster was updated and running, however, somewhere between then and now, I became too lazy to logon and review teas. Lol.

Ta-da! I’m back.

One thing I will note about this tea is that you must love coconut. Not tolerate it, but love it. I love-ish coconut in the proper setting – e.g. coconut flavoring, not so much the texture of the food – which is great because this worked out for me! Would I get this again? Depending on my mood for coconut tea. I thoroughly enjoyed sipping it at work yesterday and it was good for an office brew…Thankfully, my mood was right for coconut too; otherwise, I’d’ve said, “Eh, pass. 58/100.” I do like this one on the occasion I crave coconut and don’t want to risk facing my dislike of the papery texture to satisfy a craving.

I received a few bags of this from a friend who lives in Japan. She didn’t describe the tea and from Google Translate, I was only able to gather a few details. I wasn’t able to find this online to buy. This tea’s pretty unique in the way that it includes a slice of dehydrated lemon to add to the cup! The tea itself was comparable to Lipton, however, the addition of the dried lemon set it against Lipton by far. I added a note, “This tea bag should be the way of the future for all tea bags.”

Sipdown

First sip down in August (July sip downs coming soon)! It’s colder out today but I wanted an iced tea. This is a lovely blend – orange cream & herbs – which works well iced. I didn’t take any notes on the first cup (hot), so I can’t say whether it holds up hot or not.

The last June sip down
I didn’t write too much on this tea! It was marked as “September Tea Club, 2024.”

Aroma: Pie crust, baked bread, & bakery.

Tasting Notes: Smooth. No texture. Not bitter. Not too complex. Standard cuppa tea.