David's Tea Rooibos de Provence Rooibos

Rooibos de Provence may just be my new favourite discovery from David's Tea. Though the name appears to reference "herbs de provence" specifically the lavender. And it's this ingredient that makes this tea stand out to my tastebuds. The Rooibos de Provence contains blueberries, rose hips, rose petals, and black and red currants as well as lavender and the flavours blend together sublimely. The aroma is intoxicating and the taste is unique.

Definitely try Rooibos de Provence from David's Tea, you'll thank me later.

For more info follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/rooibos-de-provence

David's Tea Midsummer Night's Dream Herbal Infusion

The Midsummer Night's Dream herbal tea is a fun mix of citrus, spearmint, rose, and other fruit. This is a light, refreshing beverage which lives up to its name. The blend of floral, fruity, and minty conjures up sleepy summer nights and glimpses of faeries.

I enjoy this tea, it's got a nice flavour and some more interesting ingredients like gooseberries and marigold blossoms. Luckily this one's still available so I'll continue to get my fix of summer even deep into the winter.

"Merry and tragical! tedious and brief! That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow." - A Midsummer Night's Dream Act V Scene 1

For more information follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/midsummer-night-s-dream-1

David's Tea Nettle Leaf Herbal Tea

This is another tea that's been in my cupboard for a while and thus appears to be unavailable currently. Which is really too bad because it's a favourite of mine. The nettle leaf flavour is herbaceous and pleasing. This tea blends that with grapefruit zest, ginger, and lemongrass.  The result is a soothing tea that tickles the tongue on its way by. As a tisane the Nettle Leaf can be enjoyed at any time without fear of caffeine-induced insomnia. I find the distinctive flavour a nice change of pace to some of the more traditional herbal tea ingredients like hibiscus, rose hips, cinnamon, or apples. Not that I don't enjoy all of those flavours, it's just nice to have something different from time to time.

I do wish this tea were still available, and who knows, maybe it will return one day. I'm sure there are other nettle teas out there available to purchase. Honestly with a bit of exploring and research I'd probably be able to collect wild nettle leaves and brew my own concoction. Still David's Tea Nettle Leaf Herbal Tea was a great purchase and thoroughly enjoyed.

David's Tea Vanilla Orchid Oolong

It's a chilly Sunday morning, time for tea and the next episode of Doctor Who series 9.  The Vanilla Orchid Oolong has a gorgeous aroma, floral and sweet, it draws you in at once.  The flavour is nice, well balanced, not overly sweet but distinctively vanilla.  I enjoy oolong teas, at first it was because oolong is fun to say but I actually do enjoy the taste. This tea is definitely on my favourites list and I highly recommend it.

For more info follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/vanilla-orchid

PS: this new season of Doctor Who has started with a bang and I'm enjoying it even more than the last. Not quite ready to commit to reviewing it though.

David's Tea Cocomint Cream Fruit Infusion

Last night I busted out the Cocomint Cream and enjoyed the first episode of the new Muppet show.  Cocomint Cream is very aptly named. The main flavours are coconut and peppermint which I was unsure of how they'd blend together.  Turns out this potentially quirky combo is easy on the tastebuds. The sweetness of the coconut is followed by a "hint o' mint" coolness as a finish.  I wouldn't put this one in my top ten but it was still very nice. Apparently it is another flavour that has gone by the wayside according to davidstea.com but I'll continue to enjoy my remaining supply.

Jian Bing, breakfast of expats

... and y'know millions of Chinese citizens too.  A few years ago I was teaching in China and on my daily walk to work there was a woman with a little food cart set up on the corner just before I got to the school. Being adventurous and not really doing a great job of feeding myself in those bachelor days, I tried her wares and they were pretty darn good. But I never really learned the name of what I was eating and after moving back to Canada the memory of those delicious (and cheap!) breakfasts faded.  Until a friend of mine recently moved to Beijing and talked about the food cart she saw on her way to work. This brought back the memories and a little bit of unexpected nostalgia. So thanks to the googles I was able to easily learn that I had been eating Jian Bing, a crêpe-like base with an egg cooked on top and various toppings of the customer's choice wrapped up inside so it looked kind of like a burrito.

David's Tea Cool Cactus Green Tea

So this afternoon I decided to make some Cool Cactus green tea.  Green teas tend not to be my favourites, but we bought this one back in July or August to try as an iced tea. With temperatures dropping I opted to go for hot tea this time.  The main flavour in this tea is supposed to be prickly pear but I don't really know what that tastes like so it's perhaps a bit lost on me. The first ingredient listed is pineapple which I can taste, I feel like the pineapple is also present in the aroma of the tea along with some pear notes.  Part of the reason you'll see more tisanes and rooibos teas reviewed on this blog is because I can't drink anything caffeinated after noon basically or I'll be up all night. Today being Saturday I decided to take a risk and try this green tea for something different and since the caffeine level is low I'm sure I'll be fine.

Cool Cactus was a perfectly pleasant tea with a soft flavour and gentle bouquet. I can say though that it didn't make a huge impression on me one way or the other so the fact that this flavour appears to have been part of the summer collection this year and has disappeared from the David's Tea website isn't an horrific event.  It was something neat and different to try but they can't all be big winners.

Cheers!

David's Tea Banana Split Rooibos

Tonight I sipped a cup of Banana Split Rooibos from David's Tea. My wife and I both enjoy tea a lot and we first got hooked on David's Tea because of their free shipping on orders over $50. At the time we were living in an isolated community and ordering online was the only way to really get anything beyond the basics.

Anyway, back to the tea: the Banana Split Rooibos tastes much as you'd expect from the name. It's got dried banana slices which mix well with the flavour of rooibos. There are hints of chocolate and coconut and the whole package works quite well together. I find it sweet enough for its namesake but not too sweet either.

All in all an enjoyable beverage to pair with a relaxing evening watching some classic Doctor Who (which may be fodder for another post). I really enjoy this tea and now I'm going to fill my cup once more. Cheers!

Follow the link for more info: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/banana-split

A Man, A Blog, A Beverage, et cetera

Hi welcome to my blog. This started as a companion to my "Journey into Cheese" blog with the intention that I also wanted to talk about different teas I enjoy but I couldn't think of a clever tea related blog name so I think I might just go stream of consciousness all up in here and post whatever I feel like.  WOOT!