150 Tasting Notes

27
drank Coffee Cake by DAVIDsTEA
150 tasting notes

One of the samples that I got in my order when I ordered the Advent Calendar.

At first sniff – I am getting Red Velvet out of it. They smell damn near identical. To me that is the artificial flavouring coming out. On a side note, I’d like to commend DT for having more tea that “stuff” in this one. It’s nice to see that they were at least trying to let the tea stand out.I find I always have to brew these longer than suggested because there isn’t enough tea in the mix to get a nice solid cup.

At first steep – I can see the oil in it when I pour it into my mug clear. I added cream and brown sugar because it seemed fitting. I immediately got a STRONG after taste of fake. It reminds me of what candy would taste like it if was birthday cake candy. They’ve added flavouring to make it seem like baked goods. Unfortunately, this is a miss for me. Not only does it not taste like coffee cake (when I think coffee cake, I think that yellow-brown cake made in a bunt mold, mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar. Neutral enough to go with a coffee), but I just feel it’s a cheap version of something that could be great. So far the winter collection has been a COMPLETE miss for me.

This is leading me to think I need to start looking elsewhere for my teas and stick with their more natural ones.

Preparation
Boiling 7 min, 0 sec

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67
drank Rendez-Vous by THEODOR
150 tasting notes

I am slowly drinking the remains of my The O Dor teas that I had from Urban Tea Merchant. I have probably 10 – 15g left of this one, so I brewed some yesterday. I always liked that The O Dor was not artificially flavoured and am becoming increasingly irritated with other companies that do, as I don’t think it’s necessary. I have become more and more of a tea snob in that sense.

Side note: Kind of like how I am now a sushi snob. Before I could stomach the all you can eat variety, now… it tastes like garbage.

I digress back to the tea…

Dry: It smells citrus-y and the notes of raspberry come out right away, it’s a comfort to me.

Steeped: I am pretty much consistent in adding some sort of milk or milk alternative to my tea, along with some sugar or stevia, especially with black tea. Herbals I find I don’t need to do this with, but there’s something special about black tea. I catch onto the berry flavour immediately and the sugar brings out the vanilla that’s in it, it feel thick and in my mouth, probably because of the cream.

Overall, this never was my favourite black tea, but it was one that I did like when I was looking for something that was more tart and fruity instead of sweet and fruity.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 30 sec

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83
drank Delight - Wildberry by Tetley
150 tasting notes

I brew this hot and then chill it to get my water intake up. It’s an inexpensive way to up your water intake while giving your palette some interest.

I like the mix of the hibiscus and wildberry. Sadly I haven’t been able to find it in stores to replace the tin I inherited from my boyfriends cupboard. His roommates girlfriend left it when they split.

To brew I normally fill my Breville to max hot water and then put in 1 -3 bags and let steep for a really long time. Then pour in a Rubbermaid and add water until it reached 2L.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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52

I get this when I go out for breakfast and then regret paying the 3.00 they charge. Water has to be hot for it to steep nicely. Once you drink loose leaf tea bag varieties are ho hum

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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100
reviewed One Touch Tea Maker by Breville
150 tasting notes

I really really wanted this product and was given it as a Christmas gift in 2012. Love at first steep. The appliance is so easy to use and the instructions were really clear and easy to understand. I am a tea girl. My boyfriend knows it, my girlfriends know it and my family knows it. I love how you can make any type of tea with this tea maker and it keeps it warm, you can automatically set it. I started working from home at the end of 2012, so this was a perfect gift to get in my beverages throughout the day. So much less hassle, don’t have to worry about forgetting you brewed a cup of tea, it keeps the tea warm for you, it allows you to brew it to your liking.

In April, my tea makers handle was loose and I called Breville and they dealt with it right away. I boxed up my tea maker and sent it to them and they sent me a new one within 2 weeks of me reporting the issue. Great customer service, fast quick. I did have tea depression for the 2 weeks without it, but it made me appreciate it all the more and when I got it back, I will never be without it again. This is the perfect gift for the tea drinker, especially if they don’t drink coffee (like me.)

Pros:
- beautiful to look at
- doesn’t take up a whole lot of space on the counter
- easy to use
- doubles as a kettle as well for other things you might need boiling water for
- works with many different kinds of teas
- I drink more tea because of this
- easy company to deal with for warranty issues

Cons:
- expensive, get it on sale to ease yourself with the price – but do know it is worth every penny
- it’s somewhat easy to clean but not as easy as it could be – because of the base not being able to be submerged in water
- makes minimum 500ML so sometimes you want just a quick small cup, but have to make at least 2 cups of tea

What others have mentioned and what I have to say about that:
The Plastic issue:
Mine was labelled that it is BPA free and for the most part none of the tea comes in contact with any of the plastic pieces. The carafe is made of glass and German glass at that, the handle is acrylic, the lid is combination of metal and plastic. Again, the only thing that comes in contact is the basket which is part metal, and a little plastic. The basket lid is acrylic plastic. For those that have said it’s a deal breaker for them, I’d like to know if they eat canned food, use aluminum water bottles (which are coated with a plastic inside,) etc. For me it is not a deal breaker. I have never had tea taste like plastic, and basically I think if they get tea that tastes like plastic they aren’t using the product correctly.

Customer service:
AMAZING. Great to deal with, didn’t have an issue.

Cleaning:
I will say that at first I felt that my tea was starting to taste like other teas I had brewed in there. However, I have since become more diligent with rinsing it out after each use and emptying the tea leaves and not letting them sit overnight, or for extended periods of time (like it says in the manual.) I also clean it with baking soda only, which does wonders. I put a generous amount of baking soda and boil over the max hot water limit with the basket and more baking soda in it. I let this side for an hour. I empty out the carafe and then take a cloth/old clean sock/paper towel and wipe. The unit still has to be hot for this to work as well. When you wipe it, you will see all the tannin from the tea that has been previously steeped come off. It makes your tea maker look like new and the brown tinge that develops over time is eliminated from the tannin being removed. This goes for the basket. the carafe and the lids. Then I reboil with clean water. Let stand. Rinse and voila. I do this once a month to once every two times a month.

Never had an issue with different “smells or tastes.”

All in all I recommend this to ANYONE that has even one canister of loose leaf tea. You will increase your consumption of tea and it will be a joy to drink. One of my friends has bought one and I give them as gifts when I see them on sale for bridal/baby showers. Tea is a very calming and relaxing thing and I believe what better than the gift of relaxation and convenience.

Try to take reviews with a grain of salt, whether positive or negative. Try it, if you don’t like it, take it back :) But I doubt you will once you use it :D

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71

I ordered this blindly because it was heavily discounted Davids Tea. I received 250g for under $20.00.

Smell when dry: It smells very much like cinnamon, and overpowers any coconut that is in it. Then you get the smell of dark chocolate. It smells almost burnt, but that might be the chocolate.
Taste when steeped: It has a strange after taste, like I said about the smell of it dry, it tastes almost burnt. I really like it with a little milk and some brown sugar. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite tea of all time, but I definitely like it when I am looking for something spicy.

I have thought about brewing it for less, but as I have mentioned in previous reviews on any Davids Tea black tea, I do find that it brews somewhat weak and so I have to extend the brew time to get a nice copper colour. Either that or put more in the basket to steep. To me though, I don’t think I should have to put in more to get the same level of steep.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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67

I didn’t know Mighty Leaf made a “North African Mint” version. I just had this while at Milestones. It’s my favourite version of green tea. This one was good for a tea bag version.

I normally only drink Mighty Leaf in restaurants because I prefer loose leaf and you can usually only order online from Mighty Leaf. But when in doubt at a restaurant, it is very flavourful.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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74
drank Red Velvet Cake by DAVIDsTEA
150 tasting notes

This was the first tea I ever tasted from Davids Tea and I ordered it as a latte. I love red velvet cake. It’s a great blend of vanilla and chocolate. I am one of those people that likes both sides (if a twisted cone is offered, I will take it over having to choose a flavour.)

Anyway, I like this tea a lot, just don’t like that I can tell it smells a bit “artificial.” Some of Davids stuff smells like this and I am not as big a fan. I wish they would leave out the sprinkles and such and let the tea speak for itself. That being said, this is great in a nice big latte cup with some milk and sugar. Good to keep me cozy and tame my sweet tooth when I don’t want to binge on a cupcake.

I have to brew it longer than normal black teas because I find it to be quite weak otherwise. I like a strong black and I find most black teas by DT are weaker because there tends to be less tea than “Stuff.”

Preparation
Boiling 7 min, 0 sec

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1
drank Choconut Oolong by DAVIDsTEA
150 tasting notes

This tea smells delicious on its own. I love Nutella, hedgehogs, you name it. BUT

The aftertaste of licorice was awful. I brewed a pot of this and tossed the whole thing down the sink. I received two samples of it from Davids Tea and I will pawn this sample off on someone who likes those flavours. NOT A FAN! The ingredients don’t mention that it contains licorice, just the allergens, but it should.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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30
drank Spiced Fig by DAVIDsTEA
150 tasting notes

I was sent this tea as a sample in one of my online orders. I really really wanted to like it, but the 5g they send you isn’t enough to do much of anything with. I steeped it 3 times for 10 mins each time and the flavour was still weak. I think this tea has potential, but I don’t like that you have to use 10g to have a decent cup of tea. I think I’ll pass.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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Profile

Bio

My passion for tea started at a very young age, thanks to my grandmothers beautiful china tea cup collection. I use to brew Tetley’s or whatever version of Orange Pekoe she had in the cupboard and pick out my favourite tea cup to use. It wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I really started to develop a passion for it. My town had the Urban Tea Merchant and it was there I was exposed to high tea and the very fancy Mariage Freres brand. When they switched over to The O Dor, my girlfriend and I found salvation in going for a lovely cup of tea and decompress with some tea scones.

It has since become an obsession. I have a tea cupboard, filled with a very large variety of teas. I also use the Breville Tea Maker to make my tea. I favour black teas, with a close second being North African Mint Green Tea. Because I have the luxury of working from home, I get to enjoy a wonderful cup of tea every morning, and the journey resets daily.

Location

Vancouver, Canada

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