I have literally no idea how to make a tea latte. I took half water, half oat milk, put it in the microwave for 95 seconds, and then put a tea ball in there to steep. Even if incorrect, this made a very nice result.
The first time I had this, I drank it straight, and I felt that the cinnamon was overpowering. Putting milk or creamer in there does wonders to take the spicy edge off the tea. If you’re a spicy person, by god, feel free to drink it straight-up. You’ll dig it.
This tea is super-sugary (maple syrup is basically sugar). It’s “sugar and spice and everything nice,” basically. It’s India meets Canada. It’s a weird blend but I feel like it works.
There IS a sort of sticky, sweet aftertaste. Sometimes I don’t like this. In the instance of this particular tea, though, it’s kind of like when your friend leaves the room and you can still smell her perfume.
I would liken the overall experience of this to being snowed in, and mulling some spicy cider to keep you company. You’ve got that fire, and that sweet. I’m into it. You might be, too. Throw some milk in there. You’ll see.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Pumpkin Chai Maple Latte/DAVIDs Tea -variaTEA
Being in the midst of Fall, pumpkin is everywhere. So is Chai. DAVIDsTEA decided to bank on the two beloved flavors at the same time when they combined the two in their Pumpkin Chai tea blend complete with cute little pumpkin sprinkles. This tea has been a fan favorite for years which has led to it being incorporated in several recipes on the DAVIDsTEA blog. One of the recipes, the Pumpkin Chai Maple Latte, caught my eye.
The recipe includes the following ingredients:
1 Perfect Spoonful of Pumpkin Chai tea
1½ cups 95°C/200°F water
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 cup canned coconut milk (coconut milk from a carton will make the latte thinner)
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp maple syrup or to taste
It is a fairly simple recipe. The steps are as follows:
1. Add water, tea and spices to a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 8 min.
3. Add coconut milk, pumpkin puree and maple syrup, and let simmer for another 3-5 min.
4. Strain into mug(s) and enjoy!
One thing I will note is that the last step, straining the mix, is not easy if you don’t have the right utensils. I tried my gravity steeper but that almost immediately got clogged. I think I had to use about 4 strainers from my nordic/perfect tea mugs and slowly let the tea drain out as I stirred the mix in the strainer to push it through. In the end, I got about 12-16 ounces out of the pot and the rest was stuck in the steeper and strainers.
So with that in mind, is it worth the straining disaster? Well, that depends…do you like pumpkin? This is like a rich, creamy, sweet pumpkin soup – a little touch of spice from the cinnamon and ginger and a lot of sweet from the brown sugar and maple. It is very thick which is what is making me think soup as opposed to a beverage, which means it is also very filling. If I am being honest, I’ve never had pumpkin pie, but if someone took the filling, slightly liquefied it and added some ginger to make it a touch more savory, this is what I imagine the result would be. Except with some caramel maple syrup drizzled on top.
For me, this is a little bit weird. I think the slight hint of the pumpkin puree texture that still remains is making me feel like I am trying to drink something that I should be eating with a spoon. It also has a disconnect between the sweet and spice. At first, I get the pumpkin’s natural sweetness with spice but then caramel and maple pop out at the end of the sip and though they are nice flavors, they don’t blend smoothly.
For me, this is likely a recipe I won’t repeat. I have never been a HUGE pumpkin lover and this was too much work (after all the cleaning especially) for something I didn’t love. It was certainly fun to try though.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
The forever fall must-have. This rich premium black tea is the perfect way to kick off the season. It’s got all the warmth of cinnamon and cloves, plus the sweetness of caramel and pumpkin candy. For a truly unforgettable pumpkin chai latte experience, top it up with steamed milk and stir in a spoonful of brown sugar.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Melonade/DAVIDs Tea
The weather is warmer which means more and more reaching for summery blends. That means a lot of fruity blends become more appealing and I start picking up lemonade for a super refreshing beverage, tea lemonades.
Tea lemonades are actually how I got my sister to drink tea. Technically, I suppose it was the staff at DAVIDsTEA who got her to drink tea by giving her a sample of their Frozen Raspberry blend, iced and mixed with some lemonade. She liked it so much, she actually purchased the tea and it is one of two blends she keeps stocked. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of that tea so instead I reached for this one, Melonade, to go with my lemonade craving.
I was not sure what to expect from this green tea with apple, melon , carrot, roasted chicory root, sweet blackberry leaves, apple pomace, lemon peel, beetroot, passion fruit granules , marigold blossoms, citric acid, and natural and artificial flavouring. I was a little hesitant mostly because I usually don’t like chicory or blackberry leaves. With that said, I am happy to report that as a tea lemonade, this is really quite nice.
This tea lemonade can only be described as juicy. It is like sweet, fresh melon just overflowing with juice. I have actually had a lemon drop melon before which is a melon version of lemon drop candies and this tea lemonade reminds me so much of that – sweet melon, kept from being too sweet by slightly tart lemon. It really is refreshing and just Summer in a cup. Yum!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Cherry Blossom/DAVIDs Tea
It is late at night and I am already sleepy. I want something light and sweet as a bedtime treat, so I chose Cherry Blossom. Although it is primarily labeled as a white tea, this is a actually a blend of white and green tea with cherries, coconut chips, rosebuds, and natural and artificial cherry flavoring.
Cherry flavor can so easily go wrong. So many cherry teas (and other cherry flavored things) taste like cherry cough syrup, which is NOT what I am looking for. Remember Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops? Now THAT I could handle, or real sweet cherries, but not something that tastes like actual cough syrup. (Not a rooibos fan as a general rule because it tastes like cough syrup to me. It takes throwing in a ton of flavoring to make it palatable for me.)
Happily, this didn’t go wrong. The coconut is giving it body and creaminess, the rose adds a little sweetness but honestly not a ton of floral flavor, and the main event is definitely sweet cherry without the cough syrup BLARG.
This one has really been a hit with family and friends, and I think the next step is to try it iced and see what happens!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: White/Green Blend
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Birthday Cake Infused Hot Chocolate/DAVIDs Tea
DAVIDsTEA’s Birthday Cake is actually the very first tea that caught my attention. It is the tea that got me curious about teas and made me drive my mother crazy until she drove me over to a DAVIDsTEA store. It is the tea that started it all and if I am being honest, I didn’t even like it that much when I first tried it.
The idea of a Birthday Cake tea just sounded too good to pass up. I mean, all the flavor of delicious birthday cake and none of the calories…Who could say no to that?! So, I went to the store and since I had no clue what I was doing I bought about 50 grams of the Birthday Cake tea and 50 grams of about 15 other teas. Of course I tried Birthday Cake first and only tasted sweet rooibos and was left disappointed. Among the 15 others, I found some I loved and some I didn’t but I found myself always coming back to Birthday Cake. Even though it wasn’t the best tea, it was the first and for that reason alone it had a special place in my heart.
When I discovered cold brewing, that is when my love for the Birthday Cake tea really bloomed. Cold brewing pushed aside the rooibos flavor, making room for the vanilla frosting deliciousness to shine. Cakey and amazing.
Well, DAVIDsTEA has taken now their beloved Birthday Cake tea and made it even more lovable. They infused their tea in a chocolate cube filled with sprinkles that sits at the end of a stick. Atop the tea-infused chocolate cube is a colorful confetti marshmallow. Submerge this delight in a cup of hot milk and stir until the chocolate is melted and the marshmallow begins to melt. What do you get? A super fun hot chocolate. And, if you are anything like me, you add just a touch more fun with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Yum!
As for the flavor of this hot chocolate…well, it is creamy and rich. It has a smooth, melted milk chocolate flavor that you can only get from real chocolate. More than the chocolate though is the birthday cake flavor. I was skeptical of whether it would actually come through but between the sprinkles and the marshmallow you definitely get a burst of birthday cake sweetness and a touch of vanilla caramel frosting from the tea.
Marshmallowy and full of sprinkle sugaryness, this might be a bit on the sweet side for most but this could make for a very special treat for any kid…or kid at heart.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This combo of tea/chocolate is not longer available but the loose leaf tea is.
This sweet and festive rooibos tea brings the taste of birthday cake to your cup any day of the year – rainbow sprinkles and all. Its creamy vanilla twist is just as craveable as the real dessert. And with all the goodness of rooibos and next to no calories, this caffeine-free infusion lets you have your cake and eat it too.