A Taste of DavidsTea

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the delicious Adiago blends (orchard herbals, green rooibos and teas of Japan) that my mother-in-law sent me for my birthday. This really opened the door to loose leaf tea for me and I’ve quickly become a fanatic. While visiting a DavidsTea at our local mall, one of their people convinced me to become a frequent steeper, which means I can accumulate points from tea purchases towards a free tea (!). And since I’ve finally got my husband drinking tea, I see a lot more loose leaf purchases in our future. Adiago tea is of great quality, and I’d love to order from them again, but one advantage of DavidsTea is that they’re located right down the street, and I can sometimes taste or smell their blends before bringing them home.

My first experience with DavidsTea was a canister of their Berry White I received for Christmas. Unfortunately it looks like they’ve discontinued this blend (why does everyone discontinue all the good blueberry teas?!), which means I’ll have to savor the little bit I have left. This blend features blueberries, black currants, cornflower petals and a white tea base. I’ve always found blueberry goes well with white or green tea; black tea seems too overpowering for the light, fruity tastes. This tea is fantastic with a splash of milk and a little bit of honey. It’s going to be hard to find a replacement when this runs out.

This past summer my husband had a gift certificate for the local mall. I asked if he’d be willing to devote some of the money to tea and he came home with two more DavidsTea blends for us to try. The first was a special request for me since my husband isn’t fond of green tea; Countess of Seville. This is a green tea blend featuring orange peel, cornflowers and bergamot oil.

My interest in this tea has some background. When we moved to England I discovered Lady Grey, a unique blend from the Twinings company. This special twist on Earl Grey tea features a tangy orange flavor and is named for the Earl’s wife. While we were in England, I drank this tea almost every day with nothing but a scoop of honey added to it. I feared when we returned to Canada it would end my Lady Grey drinking days but, thankfully, I’ve been able to find a steady supply here in Canada.

While perusing DavidsTea’s website, their description for Countess of Seville caught my eye; did Earl Grey really woo the Countess of Seville with this sweet, romantic green-tea-and-orange version of the original tea? How many teas are named after this guy’s love life? Needless to say, I had to have it and my husband was happy to oblige. This is a lighter, grassier version of Lady Grey, not quite as hearty or rich, but it definitely brings out the orange flavor more. Like Lady Grey, I drink this with only a scoop of honey added to sweeten.

The second tea was canister of Pumpkin Chai, part of their fall collection (DavidsTea has far too many limited editions). This is a sweet black tea spiced with caramel, pumpkin candies, cinnamon and cloves. I had been looking for a pumpkin tea blend for some time and was eager to give this a try. My first fear was that the cinnamon would overpower everything else, as that has been my experience with other teas containing cinnamon. However, the most powerful flavor here is pumpkin spice. (Yes, I love pumpkin spice. I would eat it year round. I’m sad we only put it in everything during the fall. If I could make this tea last a year, I certainly would!) I drink this tea with a splash of milk and honey to really bring out the pumpkin.

The most recent addition to our tea cupboard is DavidsTea’s Stormy Night, one of their limited edition (again!) Halloween teas. This one features chocolate, cinnamon, coconut and vanilla with a black tea base. The tag says this drink is a real piece of work, all right and that it is! This tea is so good that the hubby and I have a rule that we only drink it together so we won’t fight over it (especially since we can’t get it again until next year). I think my two favorite flavors are probably orange and chocolate coconut, so you can probably guess where this tea rates in my life. It has a fantastic, full-body taste with just the right hint of chocolate and coconut. You might think it would taste more like hot chocolate than tea with that list of ingredients, but that’s certainly not the case. This is the kind of tea you want on a stormy night, with perhaps a hint of whipped cream and chocolate syrup (which makes it aptly named). I usually drink it with a splash of milk and honey, because that really brings out the coconut flavor (my favorite).

We weren’t able to take advantage of DavidsTea’s winter collection this year, but I’m looking forward to their spring blends.