30 Tasting Notes
Im so sad I only discovered this a few weeks before learning it was being discontinued! This is something I would never have picked by myself, but I ended up at David’s at the mall while I was getting a cold and wanted something spicy and the sales girl recommended this. And it turned out being great! To me its like a watered down apple juice, with a spike of of spicy ginger…which becomes stronger and stronger the more you let it steep. but its very soothing…sweet but spicy at the same time. The only problem with this tea is it takes a lot more per use..you really need to use at least a full tbsp per serving…so you end up finishing a package very quickly. But I wish it would have stuck around, I’ve tried some other ginger teas from Davids and none have the sweetness balance right like this one does.
I was not interested in this one of the summer/iced teas being offered this year, but ordered samples of it anyways. I ended up liking it the most of the collection. It’s a really nice different fruity blend, I definitely taste the mango, but its supplemented with orange flavor. It’s very nice and sweet, its like a watered down mango-y juice, which for 0 calories is actually pretty good! I don’t know if I would call it a favorite or a staple, but its a nice change and certainly one of the better fruit flavored teas I’ve tried.
I was really excited to try this given its fun name and the list of ingredients, because I love tropical scented/flavored things. Unfortunately I’d have to call this one a miss. A more accurate name for it would be cran-apple tea. Its 80% apple pieces from what I can see (hardly any pineapple or papaya as listed, and certainly not much discernible taste of either of those in the tea either) with a hint of sour/tart from the cranberry bits. Its not a bad tea, its just not unique, and certainly not tropical. Very generic and very much like many other fruity with a hint of tartness teas that Davids offers consistently. If you’re curious about this one I definitely recommend getting a sample or small amount before purchasing because it really doesn’t live up to its name at all. So overall..fruity, mild, tasty…but nothing you probably haven’t already tried if you’ve bought fruity teas from Davids before.
Im so sad this was discontinued. It was quite possibly my all time favorite tea. Its not something I would ever have imagined I would like, but I ended up loving. The mix of lemongrass and peppercorns, with the slight sweetness of pineapple pieces just works so well. Its like an herbal chai, without any of the typical chai elements! There was something very soothing about the smell and taste of this tea that was so unique and unlike any other tea I’ve ever tried. Most of the workers at different locations always reminisce fondly of it too, so I really am surprised it was discontinued since it seemed well liked!
I’ve been working my way through trying all of Davids Tea’s chai teas as I really do enjoy a good chai, but this one was disappointing. All the elements seem to be there, but something just doesn’t work or mix for the right spicy sort of flavor that I associate with chai. To me, it almost ended up tasting mildly fruity? Definitely picking up on the sweetness that others have mentioned. It tastes to me almost like the spice blend used to make hot apple cider in the fall, and actually if it was fall I might even use this to spice my homemade cider. But for a tea, and especially a chai tea, to drink on its own…its just not doing it for me and I dont think I’ll buy it again.
Im still sad this one has never been brought back, even temporarily for a spring/summer tea. It was one of my first teas from David’s and still no other tea has matched this tropical one that takes you right to the islands. David’s has done countless other teas using coconut, and even some with coconut and pineapple, but none have ever reached the perfect balance of Pina Colada. You tasted and smelled the coconut and pineapple in equal portions, just the way a proper Pina Colada tastes. The rooibos was perfect in that it didn’t overpower the flavors but worked with them. I still have the old container and sometimes look at it wistfully hoping for them to bring back this tea.
This one smells much nicer than it tastes. I’m usually excited for anything that lists coconut and pineapple thinking it might come close to the delicious Pina Colada Tea that David’s briefly had a number of years ago. And to my nose it smells like it could be a sweet tropical mix. Unfortunately when brewed it’s mostly a pineapple flavor and not even a very nice one. I would describe it as being very much like underripe pineapple, probably due to the soursop giving it the bitter and tart flavor. I don’t think it’s horrible and would actually welcome a pineapple flavored tea but this one is just a twinge too sour and I don’t think it’s special enough that I would repurchase.
To me, this tastes much more floral than fruity, but in a nice way. I’m not ever a fan of floral teas but this mix makes it palatable, with the mild sweetness and raspberry which cuts the floral from being overpowering even though I struggle to taste much actual raspberry flavor. The cream/chocolate bits are a nice touch and work well with the raspberry and rose. This is a really nice blend for a spring tea, it hits all the right notes for me at this time of year and reminds me very much of being a ladylike flavor you might have for an English inspired afternoon tea. That being said, it probably wouldn’t make my favorites list and I can’t see buying it at other times of the year though I wouldn’t mind if it was around as a spring time tea again in future.
This tea has been a staple in my cupboard. Not that I drink it most often, but its one of those very reliable flavors that will taste good when you don’t know what you feel like having. It really lives up to its name, it tastes like vanilla cupcake, but mixed with sweet rooibos tea. Its much better than just vanilla rooibos tea, but I can’t pinpoint exactly where that extra flavor comes from. I know some people call it caramel or maple, but I don’t really pick up on either of those, it almost seems more like a sweetened whipped cream (although I guess that makes sense given the ‘ice cream chips’ added in). This is a great treat/dessert tea when you’ve deprived yourself of dessert or if you just want to feel like its your birthday again!
Preparation
This tea sounds so good in theory, but in reality, I forced myself through a rather large sample (at least 20g) without ever truly loving it. The lavender always ends up coming off with a sort of play-doh taste to me. Im not sure if thats just how it tastes, but it overpowers any hint of coconut and even overpowers most of the rooibos (which is impressive given how strong rooibos is!). I have to admit, floral teas aren’t usually my thing, so maybe that is my problem more than the tea’s, and it wasn’t the worst tea I’ve ever tasted and I don’t entirely hate it, but it won’t become a likely rebuy while there are so many better teas on offer.
