Tea Trader Sour Cherry Moringa

Sour Cherry Moringa is a new tea at Tea Trader. It is a blend of rooibos, moringa leaves, and sour cherries. The flavour of the sour cherries is pleasantly tart, not overpowering. I think if they used regular cherries the resulting tea would be too sweet. The Moringa tree is native to the Himalayas and its various parts have been used in traditional culinary and medicinal applications. The moringa leaves add an herbaceous quality to the beverage and up the tanginess.

I really like this one. It's got a nice flavour, the traditional reddish rooibos colour, and a full bouquet. I don't comment on any purported health benefits of any tea ingredients and in a refreshing change of pace Tea Trader doesn't try to sell the moringa as anything magical. I respect that.

Highly recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.teatrader.com/

Tea Trader Star Ruby Rooibos

Tonight we're trying the Star Ruby Rooibos from Tea Trader. We just got back from our new Tai Chi class and a refreshing grapefruit and pomegranate flavoured rooibos sounded like just the trick.

The flavour is light and subtle. The citrus notes blend well with the sweeter pomegranate and the rooibos backs it all up.  I think I would've liked it a bit stronger but that could just be how much we put in the teapot tonight. Mrs. ISMOTU says "it tastes like what it's supposed to" which is actually a pretty good endorsement. Some flavoured teas just end up tasting like sweet and tea. This one is distinct and delicious.

Highly Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.teatrader.com/

Tea Trader Maverick Black Tea

Maverick Black Tea is a fruity blend of blood orange, peaches, apricots, and vanilla. Another Tea Trader special this tea is almost the flavour opposite of the Calgary Welsh Breakfast. It's smooth and fruity with a delicate aroma. If you like a sweeter tea then this is for you. The fruit flavours all blend nicely together though I can't say I can really differentiate the peach and apricot flavours. The blood orange is a softer, sweeter citrus note. It's like fruit punch tea but in a good way, not in a red dye #5 way.

Maverick Black Tea is a great compliment to breakfast and added to my enjoyment of the last few episodes of Time Squad which I finally got around to watching.

Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.teatrader.com/

Tea Trader Calgary Welsh Breakfast Tea

Calgary Welsh Breakfast is a tea blended specifically for Tea Trader I believe. It is a small leaf black tea with a strong smokiness in flavour and aroma.  We chose to try this tea because it didn't sound like anything we'd had before.  The smoky aroma is stronger in the dry leaves so we were a little unsure if we were going to like it but I was insistent that we at least try it. So we steeped it up and had some with homemade breakfast sandwiches.  The smoke flavour is certainly present in the final tea but it pairs well with the black tea tannins. This is a strong tea and you probably don't want to over-steep it but a good four minutes nets you a great cuppa to wake you up to face the day.

Calgary Welsh Breakfast Tea has a unique character and is quite enjoyable.

Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.teatrader.com/

Tea Trader Oranjezicht Rooibos

Another rooibos we bought from Tea Trader is called Oranjezicht, named for an area in Cape Town, South Africa and unsurprisingly flavoured with orange.

Orange and rooibos are flavours that always go well together. This tea is simple but delicious. The orange aroma is full and inviting, it brews up a great colour, and unlike teas flavoured with bergamot doesn't get overpowering when left steeping. As always I find it more difficult to go on about a tea I really really like, it's just yummy. 'Nuff Said!

Mrs. ISMOTU and I both really enjoy Oranjezicht Rooibos from Tea Trader.

Highly Recommended.

For more info follow the link: http://www.teatrader.com/

Tea Trader Chocolate Coconut Rooibos

Hey a post about tea! Seems like forever since I've done one of these.  In the past these reviews have been almost exclusively about the teas we've bought at David's Tea because that was our best source for tea.  Now that the missus and I have relocated to a bigger urban centre we have a few more options. One of those is a great little tea shop called Tea Trader located in the Inglewood neighbourhood in Calgary, AB.

That brings us to today's "hot leaf juice" a Chocolate Coconut Rooibos. As mentioned frequent on this blog I don't like to have caffeine after midday so I regularly drink non-black or green teas which of course some pedants would say do not count as tea. But the way I see it if I bought it at the tea shop I can call it tea.

Anyway mini-semantics-rant aside. Chocolate Coconut Rooibos. Near as I can tell that's all there is to the ingredient list: rooibos, coconut flakes, with cocoa nubs and carob for the chocolate flavour.  This tea has the characteristic rooibos rusty red colour and a heady chocolatey aroma. The coconut flavour pairs well with the chocolate in perfect balance. This is a great sipper and would make a fine after dinner desert tea.

Tea Trader's Chocolate Coconut Rooibos is a delicious treat.

Highly Recommended.

David's Tea Turmeric Glow Herbal Infusion

A new season is on the horizon and that means new teas from David's Tea. I don't think Turmeric Glow is part of the new spring collection but it's new to us.

This tisane is made from carrots, ginger, turmeric, sweet blackberry leaf, pineapple, beetroot, and natural pineapple flavouring.  It has a bright orange colour from the turmeric and a very vegetal flavour. It's quite a different taste and at first I wasn't sure what to make of it. It's not very sweet at all though the sweeter ingredients probably temper the spicier flavours. It's definitely driven by the carrots and turmeric, with the ginger adding a bit of zip.

Upon contemplation and a second cup while watching an episode of the great animated adventure show "The Deep" I've decided I do like this tea but it doesn't rate among my favourites.

Turmeric Glow is great if you want to try something a bit different. Apparently turmeric is an ancient traditional remedy and good for your skin. Your mileage may vary. As always I make no claims to the efficacy of such things.

Recommended.

For more info follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/our-teas/tea-type/herbal/turmeric-glow

David's Tea Hot Chocolate Pu'erh

So when sand and pebbles start launching themselves up from the drain in your kitchen sink it's time for a cuppa while you wait for the plumber.

Today's choice: Hot Chocolate Pu'erh from David's Tea.

David's Tea Nutty Granola Crunch Rooibos

Next up from our newest haul of tea Nutty Granola Crunch.  Will this be hippy dippy nonsense or will it make your tastebuds go nuts?

David's Tea Coffee Cake Black Tea

David's Tea is having a sale so Mrs. ISMOTU stocked up on some old favourites and tried a few new teas as well.

First up is the Coffee Cake Black Tea.  Coffee cake can be quite delicious but should it be a tea? Find out below:

David's Tea Carrot Cupcake Rooibos

Part of the new autumn collection David's Tea Carrot Cupcake Rooibos is apparently the hot new flavour, much like the Pistachio Ice Cream tea from the spring collection it is nowhere to be found.  Unless you have a tenacious and brilliant wife like I do and she finds the last tin in the whole store right downtown where you'd think would sell out fastest. Does it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

David's Tea Caramel Corn Fruit Infusion

Caramel Corn is a delicious treat but should it be tea? Let's find out! Mrs. ISMOTU picked this up after trying it iced but on this rainy day I thought drinking it hot would be more apropos. 

David's Tea Pure Vida Green Tea (Iced)

Another of the iced tea packs; David's Tea Pure Vida is a blend of pineapple, green tea, apple, coconut, mango, chamomile, and natural flavouring.

Iced tea round two is even better than round one. Pineapple, coconut, and mango are much more my jam. The tropical fruit flavours blend nicely with the green tea and chamomile.  I think this tea would be just as good hot as it was iced. The sweetness is well balanced with the bitterness of the green tea and the floral notes of the chamomile.

Not much else to say, this was very refreshing.

Highly Recommended.

For more info follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/pura-vida-iced-tea-pack

David's Tea Luscious Watermelon Fruit Infusion (Iced)

Last time we were at David's Tea we bought some little bags of tea marketed as the perfect portions for making iced tea. Since we bought an iced tea pitcher last summer we thought it was time to bust it out again.

Luscious Watermelon has apple, carrot, watermelon, wild strawberry leaves, honeydew melon (honeydew melon, sugar), beetroot, and artificial watermelon flavouring.  It's a great refreshing iced tea and I don't think it would work as a hot tea very well.  The watermelon flavour predominates and is sweet but not too sweet. I'm not a huge watermelon fan, especially in non-watermelon form, but this works nicely. The carrot flavour sneaks in on the finish while the beetroot mostly gives it colour and sweetness.

This is a great refreshing iced treat for sipping on a hot afternoon in the sun.

Recommended.
For more info follow the links:
https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/luscious-watermelon-iced-tea-pack
https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/luscious-watermelon/

David's Tea Organic Egyptian Chamomile Herbal Infusion

I'm feeling a little under the weather this week so what better way to chase the sniffles away than by enjoying a nice hot cup of chamomile tea.  Only one ingredient here: Egyptian chamomile, dried little daisy-like flowers that are delicious.  The tea has a brighter yellow colour than other chamomiles I've tried and the flavour is smooth and gentle. It's a great contrast to the raucous and ferocious Kamen Rider Amazons episode I'm watching.

David's Tea Raspberry Cream Pie Rooibos

David's Tea Raspberry Cream Pie Rooibos contains a flavour notoriously difficult to mimic: raspberries.  Luckily they actually seem to include real raspberry in the mix and not just the raspberry flavouring options out there. There are a few options for getting things to taste like raspberries and without going into a huge amount of detail on the chemistry some of those options just taste and smell awful to me. Will Raspberry Cream Pie Rooibos suffer this fate? Read on brave audience!

David's Tea Assam Banaspaty Black Tea

We had a chance to visit Edmonton recently and took the opportunity to fill up our tea cupboard. In addition to some new teas we splurged on a cute set of mugs decorated like cupcakes an awesome purple nordic mug with golden elephants and a tea travel mug for me.  So yes, David's Tea got maybe too much of my money this week but whatevs.  On to the tea!

Assam is a state in India famous for tea production and this variety comes from the Banaspaty Estate within that region.  I first tried an assam tea when I was in China and I immediately enjoyed the rich, malty flavour.  Since I started drinking less black tea I haven't had too much assam since then, but as I was scanning the wall at David's Tea this caught my eye and I decided to go for it.

Assam Banaspaty is just pure black tea, nothing complicated here, but the aroma and flavour are top notch.  It is full-bodied with a strong bold malt flavour cut with a hint of sweetness.  I really enjoyed this tea and it certainly is representative of the expected characteristics of assam tea. My stash will last me a fairly long time due to how infrequently I drink black tea but I will enjoy every cup.

Highly Recommended.

For more info follow the links:
Assam Banaspaty
Elephant Mug
Cupcake Mug

David's Tea Pistachio Ice Cream Black Tea

I love pistachio flavoured desserts. It started with pistachio pudding from when I was a kid but has expanded to all things pistachio as an adult. That's why when Mrs. ISMOTU wanted to try this new black tea from David's Tea I was all about it.

So here we go into the second ever review of a black tea on this blog.

David's Tea Dark Chocolate Delight Black Tea

A rare black tea review for this blog. Mrs. ISMOTU needed a boost to catch up on some work so I decided to tempt fate and join her in a cup of black tea after noon.   This tea has "spiced" dark chocolate, blueberries, cocoa shells, and natural chocolate flavouring. The chocolate scent is nice and similar to other teas with chocolate I've tried from David's Tea. Flavour-wise this is exactly what you might expect, sweet and chocolatey. I don't really taste the blueberries that much, not like in the Rooibos de Provence, the "spiced" aspect of the dark chocolate is very slight also.  On the whole this is a nicely flavoured tea and perfect for all the chocolate fans out there.
Recommended. 

I'm going to add some milk to it now and continue catching up on season 3 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I know I'm quite behind but it took me a bit to come to terms with the somewhat jarring voice change in Leonardo from Jason Biggs to Seth Green, plus I was on more of a Japanese kick for a while there.

I've quite enjoyed this latest iteration of the heroes in a half shell particularly the running gag the turtles watching a different corny old cartoon each season that homages some of the great cartoons the preceded the original TMNT on the airwaves of the 80's. This time it's "Crognard the Barbarian" a mash-up of Thundarr the Barbarian and Masters of the Universe, with shades of the Herculoids. I might have to do a whole post on the topic sometime.

For more info follow the link: https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/our-teas/dark-chocolate-delight

David's Tea Organic Coconut Ice Herbal Infusion

Coconut Ice seems a bit of unexpected name for a typically hot beverage. Apparently it is supposed to invoke the flavour of coconut ice cream with its blend of honeybush, coconut flakes, cocoa shells, and natural whipped cream and coconut flavouring. I feel like this was purchased back in the summer with the intention of making it into an iced tea but I don't think we ever did. On paper this tea sounds like a winner and for many people it probably is but for me it's not so good.  I can't remember if I've mentioned how honeybush doesn't agree with me on this blog before, but I really dislike it. Mostly it's the smell I think, it reminds me of something alcoholic, almost whiskey-ish, but that really doesn't go with tea. Even with my nose plugged I struggle to taste the other flavours, the honeybush is just too overpowering.
Not Recommended.

 So this was a disappointing choice but luckily redeemed by delicious chocolate caramel cookies and a new animated discovery Wander Over Yonder from the creator of Powerpuff Girls and starring Jack McBrayer (Kenneth from 30 Rock). It's a silly little show that I will probably add to my post of current awesome cartoons like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe.