Sweet Strawberry

Fruity heaven, here I come.

The details:

Type: White

Bought at: David’s Tea

Description: There are hundreds of reasons to love strawberries but our favourite comes from Bavaria.  Every spring, they tie small baskets of strawberries to the horns of their cattle to attract berry-loving elves.  Legend has it, with the elves on your side you’re sure to have an abundant year.  So when you enjoy a pot of this sweet, berry-laced tea, try leaving a cup on your doorstep.  You never know what your neighbourhood elves will leave in return.

What I think:

This dry tea smells incredible.  Super sweet, just like strawberry juice.  Despite having rosehips and strawberries in the mix, the dry tea is very lightweight so you can get a couple of cups out of as little as 15 grams.  The tea steeps to a light pink colour, and is still exceptionally sweet-smelling.

At first sip, I’m a little unimpressed.  It tastes a little tart, a little sweet, but there’s no notable strawberry-like flavour.  The tea is unfortunately bland, so I’ll add sugar to see if it improves the situation… The tea’s still a touch tart, (obviously) a little sweeter, but is still lacking that true strawberry flavour.

This tea smells incredible but unfortunately doesn’t deliver on taste.  It tastes a little watered-down, and even with the addition of sugar, doesn’t taste much like strawberry.

Pom Power

Pom Power makes me think of The Powerpuff Girls, so I guess I’m already sold.

The details:

Type: White

Bought at: David’s Tea

Description: Need help getting through the daily grind?  Try pomegranates. Doctors have used them for thousands of years to heal just about everything.  Warriors in ancient Persia ate them before combat for strength.  But we love them because they taste amazing.  With tart pomegranate seeds, hibiscus blossoms, and white Silver Needles, this fresh and fruity tea will help you face any of life’s little battles.

What I think:

This dry tea smells nothing short of amazing.  The sweet and tangy mixture of pomegranate and hibiscus create a very girly perfume-like aroma.  Incredible.  The dry tea looks exactly like one would expect – Silver Needles and pomegranate seeds!

Once steeped, the tea turns a deep, rich pink.  This is definitely one of the prettiest and best-smelling teas I’ve tried so far!  Even steeped, the sweet scent is prominent.

I can taste the tart pomegranate, but unfortunately there’s a bit of a bitter aftertaste.  I also find that the tea’s not very sweet, so I decided to add a little brown sugar… It definitely helps bring out the pomegranate!  I still find that my tea’s a little bitter, so I suggest you steep for less than the max five minutes and be really careful about the 94°C suggested steeping temperature – don’t go above it!

This is another tea that I think would be nice iced!  The fruity flavours would make for a nice poolside drink. *sigh*  Now I’m wishing it was summer…

This tea probably won’t be a repeat buy.  It’s a little too tart for my liking, a touch bitter and not quite sweet enough naturally.  If you do decide to make this tea, be really careful with the steeping time and temperature!  And don’t forget to try it iced!

Hot Cinnamon Herbal

On Saturday afternoon, I went to the Toronto Tea Festival.  I had the pleasure of learning about tea shops in Toronto, and even across the province!  This tea was a gem I discovered at the festival.

The details:

Type: Rooibos

Bought at: Stratford Tea Leaves – Order online HERE

Description: This is a highly popular flavoured tea at the tea bar in Stratford.  It is a blend of three types of fresh cinnamon, orange peel and sweet cloves.  It is remarkably assertive and bold.  It boasts a very complex cup that rewards you with flavourful aroma and a lingering spicy sweet aftertaste.  Enjoy natural fresh sweetness without the sugar.

*NOTE: The Hot Cinnamon tea available online uses a black base, whereas the one I bought at the festival (and am reviewing here) uses a Rooibos base.

What I think:

This dry tea smells incredible.  It’s sweet and very spicy, just like cinnamon hearts!

The tea steeps to a lovely deep orange, and smells just as strong as it did in the bag.  Upon first sip, I think “Valentine’s Day.  This is a Valentine’s Day tea”.  The sweetness hits your tongue first, and I find it very hard to believe that this tea doesn’t have sugar in it.  This is easily the sweetest tea I have ever laid my lips on.  The spiciness of the cinnamon tickles my tongue and lingers in the back of my mouth for a long time.  It is incredibly similar to eating cinnamon hearts, down to every last detail.  My friend and I actually joked that this must just be ground-up cinnamon hearts.

This is such a flavourful, powerful tea and I think the natural sweetness from the Rooibos base is perfect.  I’m not going to add sugar to this as there’s no need!

This tea is easily my new favourite.  It beats all the others by a long shot.  It’s very powerful, very bold, beautifully sweet and tastes exactly like cinnamon hearts.  Did someone say Valentine’s Day?