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I’m on a huge earl grey kick right now. I’m also pretty passionate about floral teas. What could be better than mixing two of my favourite things?

Lots, probably. It’s not something I was thinking of when I delved into the 100g can right from the get-go. Note to self: Samples are always a good way to go.

This is a backlog tea. I’ve had it several times cold-steeped and hot-steeped.

Nose: Can someone bottle this up and sell it? It smells divine.

Flavour (boiled): 1.5 tsp per cup of boiled water. This tea started off well, like a sweeter, tangier earl grey. Then, a wall of astringent bitter strawberry flavour hits me. I like my earl grey with milk and sugar. This one, no. Berries and milk do not mix. It’s like a warm, sour strawberry milkshake. No, no, no. Never again with the milk.

Flavour (cold-steeped): 3tsp per 2 cups of cold water, left to steep in the fridge overnight. The astringent taste is much more muted. It’s intensely flavoured. There are bits of floral and bits of bergamot. I like this one with a bit of sugar. I think the sugar tastes a bit like rock sugar with the sweet undertones of the tea. It would definitely make a lovely iced tea.

I think I’ll save this one to do cold steeps only, or I’ll try lowering the water temperature. The hot water seems to mess with the flavours.

EDIT: I’ve just learned that DAVID’s perfect tea spoon is meant for two cups of water, not one. I think I’ve been steeping the wrong amount for the past two years.

Steeped with the proper amount of leaves, it’s alright. I think I’ll just finish the tin and return to my regular earl grey.

I received this tea and a timolino as a gift for my birthday. I may be a little biased in saying that the best gifts in life are tea.

Heh, joking aside, this tea is intensely maple with a mild aftertaste of birthday cake flavour. I think the sweetness of the rooibos and the maple flavour complement each other nicely— even as they make the car smell like maple, causing everyone to turn their heads and talk about your tea.

While I don’t think I’d go back to purchase this tea, it was enjoyable while it lasted.

Someone at work allowed me to steep a cup from her stash. I used 1 1/2 tsp per cup, steeped for five minutes. I didn’t have access to filtered water, so I used the cold, chlorinated water from the tap. I’m not sure it made a difference in the taste.

The pineapple/pomegranate flavour was lovely, but it was overpowered by a strong artificial fruity aftertaste. I felt like I was chewing on fruit gum with aspartame.

I’m glad I had a chance to try it, but it definitely wouldn’t be on my to-purchase list.

Cheap, quick to heat variable-temperature kettle. I have yet to use the keep warm function, though the controls are great. I just wish that it listed the temperatures in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

Another day, another stressor. I wish these days would end! I was feeling so poorly that I went and got a bath bomb from Lush, and two teas from David’s: Nepal Black and The Earl’s Garden (more on that later).

When the tea was done brewing, I noticed a very strong hay-like smell coming from the cup, intertwined with notes of honey and malt. Upon tasting, it reminds me of a good English breakfast tea. Half of the joy in this cup is the overwhelming aroma. I almost prefer the feeling I get inhaling the smell instead of the taste. I bet this tea would go wonderfully with some milk and a tiny bit of sugar.

Overall, I think this will be my go-to morning tea on my commute to work.

I went to the David’s Tea location on Queen St. West the other day and requested Berry Poppins. Sadly, it was a seasonal tea that they no longer had. Instead, this tea was recommended to me.

I requested it iced with a few pumps of agave. I’m not sure if this last request was denied, but there definitely was no sweetness in it. Instead, I felt a strong tone of lemongrass with mild undertones of wild berries. Although I did finish it, I don’t think I’d go back to buy some loose tea.

I’ve had a rough past couple of weeks. I left everything that was familiar in search of new adventures and better life choices. It looks like I’ll be another month out until things start to become routine. Before I left my original residence, I bought two tins of tea from David’s. One is their earl grey, while the other was this Egyptian Chamomile. I’m glad I was able to throw them in my suitcase for a good cup of tea wherever I went.

A cup of Egyptian Chamomile has accompanied me on my bedtime de-stress routine. It’s lovely because it’s caffeine free, and has more flavour than the bagged stuff. All the same— I think I could double up the recommended teaspoons and have a much more flavourful cup. Yes, chamomile is a love-it-or-leave-it kind of tea. It does taste like grass and hay, and it doesn’t have much of a flavour profile.

When I drink chamomile, I am reminded of my childhood when I drank it to cure the sniffles or feel warmth on a cold night. I guess this is why I go back to it again and again. It’s not that I particularly enjoy the taste— but the wonderfulness of routine and reminders of good times gone by is what keeps me coming back.

Was lurking in the cupboard at my temporary residence when I found this tea. I asked permission to try some and immediately steeped a pot.

The people I’m staying with have a regular kettle, which is perfectly okay for an herbal such as this one. I brewed it according to the bag directions— sorta. There were around two teaspoons in the bottom of the bag, so I poured it all into the DAVIDsTEA steepster. I topped the tea with 325 ish ml of boiling water and timed it for five minutes.

As I’m waiting for the tea to steep, I google the name. It turns out that this tea was a special from the summer of 2013. Oh dear. Here goes, drinking two year old tea.

I must say, it might have been better a little fresher, but it is edible. I’d get this again if it was to come back on the shelves.

I woke up this morning and got ready to go out the door for my knit-a-long at a local yarn shop. I looked at the clock and realized that I only had five minutes to boil water and get out the door. I boiled the water, put 1 3/4 tsp in a David’s Tea steeping bag (for 1 1/2 cups of water), and stuffed it in the top of my timolino.

When I got to the shop, I let the tea steep in the freshly boiled water for 2-3 minutes. I sipped and got an immediate blast of hot, yummy, bergamot. When the timolino failed to let my tea cool down to proper drinking temperature (as it always seems to do), I thought I’d mellow the tea a little with a teaspoon of sugar and a fill-up of milk (perhaps a 1/4 cup). This created perfection. It was so smooth, creamy, and rich. When I left the shop, the weather outside was approaching sweater weather, but I chose to wear a light cardigan. I walked back to my car through the downtown area feeling warm and hugged despite the breeze.

Next time: I think I’m going to try it without milk and sugar, but I’ll wait for it to cool down some before drinking. I’m surprised that the tea isn’t better rated on here.

Hard to think that I had spent the last two years suffering through some old boxes of tea bags that were given to me.

Sidenote: I have tried David’s Tea cream of earl grey in the past and I see many who have tried that one seem to prefer it over this one. I got tired of that one after a few weeks. We’ll see how this one goes.