DAVIDsTEA

Another new tea!

Moroccan Mint is one of the most common in store tea requests we get and, though we have North African Mint in our assortment (which is our more twisted take on Moroccan Mint), it doesn’t seem to always meet the ask for a more simple, “pure tasting” mint…

We’ve actually carried a traditional Moroccan Mint before too with the gunpowder green tea base, but having North African Mint and Moroccan Mint both in the green tea category feels a little too close for comfort in some ways. So, this tea was developed to meet the spirit of the request for a simpler, more straight forward caffeinated mint blend which being juuuuussst different enough. Walking a fine line, for sure.

The oolong tea that was used is a ball-rolled style, and we actually tried to find one that was not only a visual nod to gunpowder green but that had a few overlapping tasting notes too. So, it’s on the lighter oxidation side but still with some more grassy, mineral and ever so slightly smoky tasting notes. I think it pairs really well with the nana-mint (aka “Turkish Mint”) which is quite naturally sweet and refreshing, with a similar taste to spearmint. If you were blind tasting this tea you might even mistake it for a traditional Moroccan Mint and not an oolong. Definitely a nice way to keep it classic, but also maybe introduce some people to oolong who aren’t familiar with it!?

And I like that the oolong kind of leans in to both the more communal aspect of Moroccan Mint and the functional/digestive aspects of the nana mint. Moroccan Mint is historically served to guests as a sign of hospitality, and oolong just makes such a good big teapot kind of tea that can be resteeped multiple times as the conversation continues. Oolong, of course, also has some traditional use as a digestive (as does mint), so it works on another layer of being a refreshing and feel-good tea after a heavy meal with guests too! And, don’t sleep on this blend iced/cold brewed either. That’s also really smooth, refreshing and delish.

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.

Yet again revisiting this blend because it’s bold black tea and crisp note of fresh red apple is just so flexible to me – it really does fit in almost any sort of mood, which made it very perfect as something to sip on while prepping to fly out to Vancouver this past weekend.

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.

I usually bring a handful of my own teas into the office with me for the day based on what I wake up in the mood for, but on this particular morning I was running so behind that in my scramble to get out the door I forgot to do that…

Thankfully I do work for a tea company and there is zero shortage of tea to be consumed, even when I’m not bringing it in myself. I chose this for my first cup of the day because the briskness of the bold, malty black tea is so perfectly for an early morning wake up but the fresh red apple notes are also one of those flavours I can simply just get behind no matter what mood I’m in. In the same way the Blueberry Jam or Cranberry Pear are teas for literally whatever mood, this tea is starting to feel like that for me too.

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.

Quite a few new teas just launched for the Spring, along with several returning blends such as Blackberry Jasmine Blast, Coco Mango Chai, and English Toffee…

Of the brand new tea blends, this is my personal favourite. It’s an incredibly simple blend with a really robust, full-bodied “breakfast style” black tea base and a pop of fresh, juicy red apple. I was really inspired by the idea of “global breakfast blends” when developing this tea: particularly concepts like a New York, Tokyo, or London Breakfast that would me majority black tea with a subtle flavour inclusion that nods to the city of inspiration. I’ve had many New York Breakfast blends and it always baffles me that they’re never apple flavoured as a riff on “The Big Apple.” So, now an apple flavoured New York breakfast tea exists!

I’ve said many times before that, personally, the blends I tend to favor are ones that are incredibly flexible with their preparation – and I think that’s why I love this one so very much. It’s great hot and plain with its bold and malty black tea profile mixed with that sweet, crisp red apple note. However, a splash of milk and some sugar isn’t so bad either, like how you might take a typical breakfast. It’s also really refreshing iced or cold brewed! I actually had a cold brew of it today, and I find the apple comes off a little sweeter and more forward in taste, with the brisk black tea rounding out the end of the sip. Finally, it’s a really lively and refreshing tea pop too! Just a tea that’s super fun to play around with.

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.

Random old sample from davidstea, chosen last night because I wanted something simple and caffeine-free. It was fine, tasted the way you’d expect from a rooibos vanilla blend. I just mixed the second steeping of this with the second steeping of the earl grey I just tried, and that was actually a pretty good move.

I love this tea and I have kept it in stock for years. It’s a very forgiving tea with oversteeping or adding creamer. It’s warm and comforting with the blend of spices. I’ve been trying to get through my bag of it recently and am coming close to a sip down. I’ll likely reorder it in the future, but for now I’m ready for a break and more room in my cupboard.

2025 TTB #17

I liked this more than I was expecting to! The matcha gave it a rather unpleasant murky look in the cup and the stevia on the ingredients list scared me. But the actual flavor was quite ice cream like without being cloyingly sweet. I think it was the nuttiness of the almonds that saved it for me.

2025 TTB #14

Stevia, ugh! I really need to learn to check the ingredients on David’s Tea blends before trying them, because so many of them are ruined for me by that nasty stevia aftertaste. This one did seem to have a pretty enjoyable chocolate orange flavor, but the artificially sweet aftertaste just messed everything up.

The best way to taste the flavors for this one is cold without milk. Then I can taste some caramel and some fruitiness, though both elements could definitely be bolder. The rooibos base is nice and smooth. This one is good, but not great.

Had this hot as my first tea of the morning and it worked to wake me up! I find the chocolate and raspberry flavour in this a little artificial? Not necessarily in a bad way. It reminds me of those boozy chocolates where there is a relatively hard chocolate shell on the outside and some sort of liqueur-flavoured syrup on the inside, you know? Like that, but the syrup inside is raspberry flavoured. It was fine, but not the sort of thing I’d crave super often.

2025 TTB #9

Butiki had a Caramel Apple Oolong that I ADORED back in the day and every candy/caramel apple tea I ever try gets measured up against that one and found wanting. But I have to say, this one was an exceptionally odd take on the concept. Who puts cinnamon on a caramel apple? The flavor doesn’t even read apple pie, because the cinnamon is so assertive…more like a cup full of melted red hot candies (maybe that’s where the candy comes in?) with an apple slice or two hanging out in the background someplace. Not for me!

I needed to add more powder than usual in order to get a strong enough flavor. Even then, in many sips this didn’t taste like much. In one or two sips, this tasted like marzipan, which was nice and desserty. The second time I had it, I tasted more nuttiness, which was fun. The marzipan flavor was definitely there too. The last time I had it, I tasted a bit of grassiness and another indistinct flavor that I didn’t love. This hasn’t turned out to be one I want more of.

2025 TTB #2

I’ve tried a number of root beer blends in the past, so I was curious to see what was “radical” about this one. Turns out it’s a healthier take with puerh, dandelion root, and chicory. While I’m sure my gut is appreciating all the good-for-me ingredients, I have to say that the flavor was more earthy and less soda-like than I would prefer. The licorice root is also STRONG in this one, leaving a lingering sweet anise flavor on my tongue. It’s possible I’d enjoy this more cold or with a shorter steep time? But I think I’ll pop it back in the box for someone else to sample.

New tea time!

It might seem a little weird to be releasing a mango blend during what still feels like the heart of winter, but I think there’s something to leaning into the bright liveliness of a tropical blend like this around this time of year. It’s liquid escapism, in a way! And something to tease warmer weather which isn’t realistically that far off.

This is an interesting tea (at least to me) because it started off as something else and during the development process kind of morphed into what it is now. The original idea was something much more yogurt-like in taste that was a lot more inspired by Mango Lassi drinks. I suppose we didn’t get too far away from those two flavours in the end. This is still a creamy, smooth blend with a pleasant yogurt note and it’s obviously also still mango. Just, more mango that it was initially. As for the yogurt, if you’re a fan of blends like Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait or Frozen Raspberry then you’ll know exactly the type of yogurt flavour in this blend. It’s most apparent in the finish, and it just contributes a nice richness to an otherwise bright and tropical profile.

I’d say what we ended up with is in the direction of a mango smoothie! Fruit forward but with a thickness and richness as if you’d blended in yogurt… and coconut! The coconut isn’t the strongest flavour here, but it is present and it adds to the tropical getaway sort of vibes. I suppose you could also probably equate the profile to a “Mango Colada” and that wouldn’t be so far off either. Oh! We also used green rooibos in this blend instead of red! I thought that the more mellow, delicate and naturally fruity notes of the green rooibos would really compliment and highlight the mango. I really wanted, in particular, to capture the taste of Ataulfo mangoes which are both more naturally sweet and creamy tasting. They’re my favourite in the summer – I go through them like no one’s business. On their own, but also in things like smoothie bowls, salsa, or shakes. So, it was the perfect mango flavour to lean into here!

This is definitely a limited edition blend, as it won’t be too long until Mango Fruit Punch rolls into town for the summer. For those curious, the key difference between the two is that this is creamier while Mango Fruit Punch has more of a citrus note to it. But here’s a secret for y’all on Steepster… I like this one much more than Mango Fruit Punch.

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.

A strange vegetal flavor, no vanilla. I threw it out.

Not a lot of flavor, and what was there was sweetness. Too sweet. Happy it was sugar and not stevia, though. Threw out.

The smell reminds me of the caramel popcorn flavor or various other flavors from the past. This one is nice and desserty. It’s best at room temperature with milk and sugar. The flavor is so strong and decadent.

The coconut is certainly the strongest flavor here. I like this best cold sweetened with almond milk. The rooibos is a great base for the coconut. Coconut isn’t one of my favorite flavors, so I’m not sure why I bought this blend, but I’ll enjoy my 2 oz!

A tangy, tarte, yet fruity tea! Cannot be made into a latte. I actually prefer it hot, but it is great cold as well. I enjoy how it isn’t sickeningly sweet, however, wish there was more of an herbacious note.

I’m a big sour candy fan, and this tea has similar vibes, which is impressive, considering how many teas end up tart in an unpleasant way. I really enjoyed this sweetened cold. Good cold resteep too.

I’m drinking this in 2025! I’m drinking it in my new David’s tea mug that I got from Hilo taco. I don’t need any more mugs OR any more nail polish. But I’m weak! And overly impulsive and enthusiastic!
I didn’t write anyone’s name on the tea pouch BUT I suspect this was a mail swap sample from one of you lovely people.
Thank you!

Having a mini-virtual tea party with two friends as I type! <3