Soothing Caramel Bedtime - Yogi Tea

 

Where to buy:  Amazon.com

Description:  Relax, and breathe in the enchanting aroma of Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime® tea. This blend is a delicious combination of Organic Chamomile Flower, Skullcap, California Poppy and L-Theanine specifically formulated to support relaxation by calming the body and mind to promote a good night's sleep. Sweet, creamy Rooibos, Caramel and Vanilla flavors add soothing, warming flavor that's just right for drinking before bedtime. So, relax and drink Soothing Caramel Bedtime tea - for a good night's sleep.*

Ingredients:  Chamomile Flower, Rooibos Leaf (Redbush), Roasted Chicory Root,Skullcap Leaf, Nutmeg, Cinnamon Bark, Stevia Leaf, Cardamom Seed, Ginger Root, Clove Bud, Black Pepper, L-Theanine Suntheanine®, California Poppy

My Review:

So, I think I've been doing way too many David's Tea reviews. My mom recently came home with this tea, and to be quite honest, I had never heard about it before. I've been having trouble sleeping recently (too much stuff on my mind), so I thought that I would give this tea a try.

There’s really nothing special to the appearance of this tea. It comes in a gold and orange box with individually wrapped tea bags inside. Each tea bag has tiny flecks of red, green and black. The tea bag itself smells strongly of nutmeg and spices, but not in the same way a s a chai. It’s a much more subdued scent.

Brewing instructions are fairly simple. Bring water to boiling and steep 5 to 10 minutes. For a stronger tea, use 2 tea bags. Drink before bedtime. I add a little milk and sugar or honey.

Once steeped, this tea has a lovely medium caramel colour to it. The nutmeg scent stays with the tea and the taste is very slightly spicy with a smooth caramel taste. There is also a slight minty feel that I get on my lips when I drink this tea, but the tea itself doesn't have a minty flavour. The rooibos adds a slight vanilla flavour and the nutmeg, cinnamon bark, cardamom, ginger root, clove bud and black pepper are not overwhelming and not nearly as strong as you find in a chai.

This is a really lovely tea. Not as flashy as a loose leaf tea, but it definitely helps me to calm down and relax. If I find that I really can’t sleep, I’ll make a cup of this tea and be out like a light! There are also so many other yummy looking flavours that I want to try!

Toasted Walnut - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  DRINK IT FIRESIDE

Traditional Chinese medicine says walnuts are a warming food. Which makes sense, because this is the kind of tea you spontaneously want to cozy up to on a cold winter afternoon. The comforting, lightly bitter taste of toasted walnuts is sweetened and deepened with dried pineapple, coconut, almond and organic green tea. Sip it in front of an open fire and chase away the cold.

Ingredients:  Chinese Sencha green tea, nut brittle, candied pineapple, coconut rasps, walnut bits, almond flakes and artificial flavouring

Contains walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and coconut

My Review:

My sister recently went on a little shopping excursion and came back with this tea. She tried it and hated it, which meant that I was now allowed to finish it.

Toasted Walnut is very pretty. The green tea is dotted with wonderful gold flecks from the pineapple and pretty vanilla coloured pieces of coconut, walnut and almond. This tea has that beautiful roasted nut smell along with a sweet fruity scent that isn’t overpowering like some fruit teas can be.

The recommended brewing is 1.25 tsp. of Toasted Walnut, water heated to 82 degrees Celsius (or 108 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 3-4 minutes. I brewed my standard large cup with 2.5 teaspoons of tea for 4 minutes and added a little sugar.

When steeped, this tea has a lovely golden yellow colour. The toasted walnut and coconut are the prominent scents that come through. The taste of this tea is very buttery and nutty. The coconut gives it a nice creaminess, while the pineapple and walnut add a tart and slightly bitter flavour to contract the thick flavours. The green tea is very light and blends well with the stronger flavours. I find this tea very balanced, not too rich but not too tart.

This tea is one of my favourites! I’ve already finished the pouch my sister bought and I’ll definitely be going back to get more. I do find that I don’t like this tea as much without the added sugar, but that’s just a personal preference. You also have to watch your temperature because if your water is too hot it can make the green tea bitter.

Forever Nuts - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  FOR ALMOND LOVERS

It looks all normal when it’s loose. But steep it and you’ll see that it’s nuts. Within seconds, this tempting jumble of almond slices and chunks, apple bits and cinnamon bark starts turning a crazy shade of pink. Why? Because it contains a hint of beetroot. That’s what gives this rich almond tea its earthy depth and its all-natural signature colour. Deliciously nutty, decidedly addictive. Caffeine-free.

Ingredients:  Apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot and artificial flavouring.

Contains almonds

My Review:

My sister brought home a tin of this tea one day and was nice enough to make me a cup.

Upon opening the tin, I thought that this tea looked very plain. The entire tin was a mix of browns and creams. There are no little candies or chocolate pieces, no sprinkles, no flowery components, and there’s no tea leaves because this is a tisane. Aside from the plain appearance, Forever Nuts smells like the candied almonds we used to get at everyone’s wedding back in the 80’s and early 90’s.

The recommended brewing is 1.5 tsp. of Forever Nuts, water heated to 98 degrees Celsius (or 208 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 4-7 minutes. I brewed my standard large cup with 3 teaspoons of tea for 7 minutes and added a little sugar.

Once steeped this tea turns into a lovely red berry colour thanks to the beetroot and the apple really comes to the forefront (both in scent and taste). The taste does have a slight tartness from the apple, but it is balanced out well with the mild cinnamon and almond flavours and not overly tart like Sleigh Ride. This tea reminds me a lot of a mulled apple cider: apple base with undertones of spices (in this case cinnamon) and a little bit of almond to round it out. When I drink this tea I’m reminded of going on fall field trips with my elementary school to the apple orchard. It was always cold and we always picked apples and finished the trip with a cup of hot apple cider.

I’m not normally a huge fan of tisane’s or tea’s with apple, but I have to say that I love this tea. For me, it has the right combination of tart and sweet. I love the sweet, nutty smell of this tea and I love the berry red colour that this tea has when steeped. This is defiantly one tea that I’ll always have on hand.

Movie Night - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  A NEW TRADITION

This popcorn tea is better than the real thing. First of all, it has no calories. Second of all, it’s sweetened with maple and apple. Third of all, it has green tea, which studies (well, ok, experience) say is the ideal brew for keeping you quietly alert throughout a late-night flick. Great for thrillers, dramas, westerns or comedies. Drink it at home or smuggle it into the theatre.

Ingredients:  Apple, Sencha-style green tea, popped corn, artificial flavouring

My Review:

I recently got a pouch of this tea. I’d been eyeing it for a while because, well, who doesn't love popcorn and movies?

When I opened the pouch I was greeted with pieces of white popcorn blended with a small amount of green tea and tons of apple pieces. At first I was really surprised at how little green tea there was and just how much apple was in it. The dry mixture smelled strongly of apples and I thought to myself that I was going to be overwhelmed by apple and underwhelmed by anything associated with going to see a movie (mainly popcorn and butter).

The recommended brewing is 2 tsp. of Movie Night, water heated to 94 degrees Celsius (or 201 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 5-7 minutes. I brewed my standard large cup with 4 teaspoons of tea for 5 minutes and added a little sugar.

Once my tea was finished steeping it turned a beautiful pale yellow (almost light amber) colour and smelled very similar to popcorn. This tea has a wonderfully buttery quality to its taste and a sweet but slightly salty undertone that reminds me of caramel popcorn. The buttery quality adds a thickness to this tea that I found very pleasant. The green tea taste is very, very minimal but mixes well with the ingredients. I really couldn't understand where all of the apple went since it was so prominent in the mixture, but not having the apple flavour there was a really big plus for me.

I really, really like this tea. I wouldn’t drink it all the time because I think that too much of this tea would not be a good thing and you would get tired of the butter taste pretty quickly, but as an occasional tea this is definitely a winner! The only thing that I don’t like about this tea is that you have to use sooo much of it to make a single cup. When you drink huge cups of tea like I do, you can run through a lot of this tea pretty fast.

Sleigh Ride - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  GIDDY-UP

Falling snow, popping chestnuts, cold hands and noses…yep, winter has arrived. But don’t worry, we have the perfect tea to warm you up all December long. Cinnamon, apples, raisins, almonds, and hibiscus combine for a tea that is sweet, tart, and earthy. And beet pieces make it as nice and rosy as a caroler’s cheeks. So hop in your sleigh, snuggle up, and pass a thermos around. It’s lovely weather for a Sleigh Ride together.

Ingredients:  Apple, hibiscus blossoms, candied pineapple, candied papaya, beetroot pieces, cinnamon stick pieces, raisins, coconut, roasted almonds, popped rice, artificial flavouring.

Allergens: Tree nuts and coconut 

My Review:

At first glance this tea reminded me a lot of Movie Night but with the smell of Forever Nuts.

In the bag, this tea smells like cinnamon and nuts and reminds me a lot of the sweet cinnamon smell of Christmas. The mixture looks a lot like Forever Nuts, but with pieces of fruit, coconut and a cinnamon stick blended in. The popped rice reminds me a lot of Movie Night’s popcorn pieces.

The recommended brewing is 2 tsp. of Sleigh Ride, water heated to 98 degrees Celsius (or 208 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 5-7 minutes. I brewed a standard cup for 7 minutes and drank it straight (no milk, no sugar).

When brewed, the cinnamon, nuts and apple pieces blend nicely with the hibiscus to create a tart, yet sweet, aroma and the beetroot and hibiscus gives this tea a wonderful dark red colour. Upon tasting this tea I was surprised to find just how tart it was. I was expecting a tart tea that would be balanced with a sweet or buttery aspect, but the flavour is so overpowered by the hibiscus and cinnamon. You can taste very, very subtle hints of the other ingredients but the tartness really overrides any other flavours. As it cools, the tartness really intensifies to an almost unpleasant level.

This tea isn’t really horrible if you like a very tart tea, but I don’t think I’ll be purchasing this tea again. It’s just too tart and hibiscus flavoured for my taste. I’ll stick to the milder Forever Nuts.

Happy Kombucha - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  Our deliciously fruity blend has its roots in the 1960s, when every cool hippie was growing kombucha. Today, hipsters are again promoting this fermented tea for its delicious taste and good vibes. We’ve combined it with oolong, mango, pineapple and safflowers to make it taste like a golden ray of psychedelic sunshine. Yeah.

Ingredients:  Oolong tea, mango, pineapple, Kombucha Powder, safflower petals, artificial flavouring. 

Contains gluten-free wheat starch 

My Review:

When I saw that Happy Kombucha contained mango and pineapple I really wanted to try this tea. 2 of my favourite fruits in a tea? OH HECK YEAH!

This tea smells very, very fruity in the bag. The mango and pineapple scents are very prominent. The dark oolong is mixed with vanilla coloured pineapple pieces and bright mango pieces with a splash of tiny orangey-yellow safflower petals.

The recommended brewing is 1.5 tsp. of Happy Kombucha, water heated to 94 degrees Celsius (or 201 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 4-7 minutes. I brewed a standard cup for 7 minutes and drank it straight (no milk, no sugar).

When steeped, this tea has a very fruity but tart scent. You can definitely smell hints of pineapple and mango, but the overwhelming scent that came to my nose was peach. The taste is heavily dominated by the fermenty-ness of the Kombucha and the earthy flavour of the oolong, but has subtle juicy tones of the pineapple, mango and peach (although there’s not peach in this mix).

This was a nice tea, but I can say that it’s far from being one of my favourites. I wanted to love it, I really did! I just wish that the taste of pineapple and mango (ok, and the non-existent peach --Really? Where does the peach come from??) were stronger. Their scent is so strong when steeped that the subtle taste is a bit of a letdown. I think Content Kombucha would have been a better name.

Alpine Punch - David's Tea

Where to buy:  David’s Tea

Description:  HIGH ALTITUDE TASTE

Have you heard of the barbegazi? According to Swiss lore, they are a group of furry little men that live high in the Alps. They are known for their long, icy beards and enormous feet, which they use to ski down hills and surf on avalanches. But how do they stay warm up in the frozen mountains all year round? We like to think it’s with a fortifying brew like this almond-scented rooibos, with apple, cinnamon, and ginger. If you see some very big footprints next time you’re out hiking, follow them to the barbegazi’s cave and see if they offer you a cup. Limited edition.

Ingredients:  Rooibos, coconut chips and rasps, apple pieces, cinnamon pieces, ginger bits, cardamom, black pepper, rose blossoms, almond flakes, artificial flavouring.

Allergens: Tree nuts and coconut

My Review:

Alpine Punch is part of the Winter Collection at David’s Tea so obviously I had to try it before it disappeared from the stores!

I think this tea smells great! When you open the bag you are hit with a sweet, sugary scent that has notes of almonds, coconut and vanilla. Alpine Punch looks very earthy. It has shades of red (from the rooibos) mixed with golden flecks from the apples pieces and ginger bits. The coconut chips and almond flakes add a warm vanilla colour to the mix.

The recommended brewing is 1.5 tsp. of Alpine Punch, water heated to 98 degrees Celsius (or 208 degrees Fahrenheit), steeped for 4-7 minutes. I brewed a standard cup for 7 minutes and added a little bit of sugar (it just wasn’t quite sweet enough for me without the sugar).

Once brewed the flavours come together really nicely. The apple pieces and the cinnamon really come to the forefront with a wonderful fruity flavour and the tea brews to a lovely medium berry red colour (think Forever Nuts but much darker and stronger).  The almonds really makes this tea delicious and there’s a nice creaminess that comes out. The ginger adds a very slight spiciness, but is not overpowering in the slightest.  Once this tea cools the coconut flavour becomes very prominent.

This has to be one of my favourite teas. If I were stuck on an alpine mountain, I’d wish that the Saint Bernard that found me was carrying Alpine Punch and not brandy! It really is a wonderful blend.