Brazillionaire by David's Tea

I've wanted to try this tea for quite some time but for some reason or another I never ordered it until now.  The list of ingredients sounds heavenly and the name implies the tea should taste like a million bucks.  You take Brazil nuts and a million bucks and you call it a  Brazillionaire.

When I first open the package the aroma is positively intoxicating.  It's sweet and nutty and full of coconut.  I know there are Brazil nuts in here but I also smell hazelnut.  So far so good.

The package states to use 1.5 teaspoons per cup but I think it should be a little more generous than that.  The raisins and big coconut flakes take up a lot of space and I have to make sure I get enough of the black tea in there too.

I take two generous teaspoons and steep it at boiling water for 5 minutes.  As the tea is brewing, the aroma continues to flirt with my senses, awakening memories of hot pastries and warm homemade pudding.  I'm not sure where this is going but I'm liking it already.

Oh yes.  This tea does not disappoint.  It tastes as good as it smells.  I try it first without any additions and it's everything it supposed to be.   It's smooth, a little sweet and nutty with a nice taste of coconut and a hint of caramel.  There is no astringency at all.

I could just leave it at that but I can't.  I want to go further.  I have a feeling there is even bigger potential here.  I add some hot milk and few drops of maple syrup and all of a sudden I'm catapulted into heaven.  All the flavours are now intensified and the tea turns into a delicious desert.  I can sit here and sip on it all night long.  One of these nights I will turn it into a latte.

Overall, this is another fine blend from David's Tea and I'm glad it's in my cabinet.  I will definitely be restocking it once my supply goes down.

Ingredients: Black Tea, Brazil nuts, golden raisins, coconut chips, natural and artificial flavouring

Steeping temperature: Boiling
Steeping time: 5 minutes
Steeped amount: 2 generous teaspoons

Earl Grey With Milk Hits The Spot

"There is no need to have any special attitude while drinking except one of thankfulness.  The nature of the tea itself is that of no-mind."

- Pojong Sunim

On the cold and foggy afternoon like today, Earl Grey with milk really hits the spot.  It does.  The fog seems to permeate through the bricks of our country house, down my skin and deep into my bones.

There is chill in the air that only a cup of hot tea can conquer.

My Earl Grey with milk is smooth, fragrant and delicious.  It soothes my soul and delights my taste buds.  I supplemented it with a just few drops of pure maple syrup for added health benefits and sweetness.  And a plate of my homemade cookies.  My world needs a little sweetness today.

There should be an order from David's Tea arriving in my mailbox this afternoon.  I can hardly contain myself while I wait.  It has couple of items I am dying to try and of course there are free samples too.  I love David's Tea free samples.  They are like a present every time.

What am I going to get today?

Salted Caramel/Pure Chai Latte

I confirmed last night that I don't need a glorified milk frother to make some delicious latte.  My good old hand held mixer is getting the job done just fine with its whisking attachment.  The tea fanatic in me still says it would be nice to have a dedicated milk frother which can probably do even better job but the practical me says I should go without it.

Who will win?

I'm not sure yet.  Meantime last night I decided to mix up my tea flavours for some fun.  I blended David's Tea Pure Chai with Salted Caramel and steeped it at higher concentration that I usually would.  I added some maple syrup to the brew when it was done.

In a separate cup I heated up some whole milk until it foamed up and then whisked it until it formed a thick froth on the top.  I then poured the frothy milk into my steeped tea.

It was delicious.  It was paradise.  It made my taste buds dance hula with joy.

Ceylon Star by DAVIDsTEA

I got this tea as a sample in my latest DAVIDsTEA order.  Last night I felt adventurous and decided to give it a try.

When I opened the package the tea smelled like... dream.  Yes, that's the first thing that popped into my head.  I even wrote it down in my little tea journal.  And yes, I do have a tea journal.  I jot notes down whenever I drink new tea because my head usually goes 100 miles per second and things get forgotten easily.

Back to the tea... What does a dream smell like exactly?  Well, it it is a good dream then it smells like vanilla, chocolate and the yummiest dessert you can think of.  That's what I smelled when I opened the package.  Things were looking up and I was very happy.  The aroma went hand in hand with the looks of the tea itself. Nice big black leaves with chunks of white chocolate and a big piece of star anise.  Gorgeous!

I steeped the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes.  The aroma of the steeping tea continued to lure me; sweet and delicious with slight hint of cinnamon even though there was no cinnamon listed in the ingredients.  At one point I would swear I got a whiff of vanilla pudding.  Yummy!

The steeped tea was dark orange in color and was smooth, mild tasting with no astringency.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Gone was the cinnamon and vanilla pudding and now the front seat belonged to cocoa and anise.

Overall it was a very pleasing tea.  For me it was a shame that it came with artificial flavoring because I tend to steer away from all things artificial when consumption is concerned.  Nevertheless, for someone that doesn't mind that, it's a delicious tea to try out.

Ingredients: Ceylon black tea, star anise, cocoa, white chocolate, natural and artificial flavoring. Contains coconut, dairy and soy.

Steeping temperature: Boiling
Steeping time: 5 minutes
Steeped in: porcelain teapot

Cheers!!

High Mountain Oolong by DAVIDsTEA

Just few months ago I didn't know what oolong was.  I knew about green tea, white tea, black tea and herbals.  Oolong was not in my vocabulary.

Ever since I switched over to loose tea I started paying closer attention to different kinds of teas and learning as much as I could.  The word oolong was being thrown around quite a bit and I began noticing oolong tea bags at the local health food store. I often wondered about this mysterious tea with a fancy name.  What exactly did it taste like?

About two weeks ago I decided to find out and ordered High Mountain Oolong from DAVIDsTEA after reading some great reviews on Steepster.  At $10 per 25g this tea is in the premium price range and as a result, my expectations were high.

Opening the package revealed beautifully curled green tea leaves with mild, unassuming aroma.  The smell was reminiscent of green tea only a lot more subtle.

I began the brewing process by first steeping the tea for 30 seconds to rinse and open up the leaves a bit.  I followed that with a 5 minute steep.  The water for both steeps was at near boiling at around 94C.  The leaves unfurled taking up a lot of space and looked gorgeous.

The steeped tea smelled delicious, a little sweet with a hint of wet wood aroma.  By taking a sip I was thrown into an array of flavors very foreign to me.  Oolong tea production lies somewhere in the middle between gentle handling and non-oxidation of green tea and complete oxidation of black tea.  What I was tasting here was definitely complex and very different from both green and black teas that I know.  There was something to this tea I couldn't put my finger on.  A very pleasant aroma that hit me every time I put my nose to the teacup and a delicious flavor that lingered with every sip.  It tasted buttery and a bit vegetal but not the same vegetal taste you would get from green tea.  I also detected a mild and very pleasant astringency at the back of my tongue.

By now I should be done with the tasting but no... something was luring me back.  That taste and aroma that returned every time I took a sip, that made this tea distinct from all the other teas I tried.  It intrigued me and made me sip over and over to try and figure it out.  It was sweet and a bit floral and when I closed my eyes I  imagined wild flowers in the woods after a pouring rain.

Overall this was a delicious tea, the kind that I wouldn't mind having every day.  In this price range though, it will have to remain a treat but a treat I'll be delighted to have.

Steeping temperature: 94C

Steeping time: 5 minutes

Steeped in: glass teapot


Cheers!!!