DAVIDsTEA- Santa's Secret (Unpopular Opinion??)

Name: Santa's Secret
Company: DAVIDsTEA
Type: Black Tea
Price: $8.50 for 2 oz.
Suggested Amount: 1.25 for 8 oz.
My Amount: 1.75 for 8 oz.
Caffeine: Medium

I need to start with this: I can't stop smelling this tea. I mean it's actually been becoming a serious problem. Every time I walk by my tea counter, I have to open up the tin and give it a sniff. Also, I'm a sucker for the novelty, and the mini candy canes break my heart every time.

I will say however, that in my personal–and most likely unpopular–opinion, this tea makes for a great potpourri and a not-so-great tea.

Don't get me wrong, I don't actually think this tea is bad. I just don't see the hype that has had me waiting the whole year to actually get my hands on this tea.

I like the idea of the peppermint and black tea mixture, but I just felt that the tea was too weak to live up to the peppermint. After a bit of sugar, I could go for it, but it isn't something I would purchase again. So far, I've only really liked the Sweet Almond Green (which I did love) from DAVIDsTEA's winter collection and I'm a little bummed about it. 

Anyone else enjoying the winter collection more than me?

1st Steep:

• Time: 5 min.
• Temp: 205°F

Ingredients:
Black tea, Peppermint, Sprinkles, and natural an (←don't know what that last one is)

Tea Liquor:

• 1st Steep: Red-Brown

Flavor: Peppermint, Smokey, Smooth, Weak

Rating: (3/5)

DAVIDsTEA- Glitter & Gold Black Tea

Name: Glitter & Gold

Company: DAVIDsTEA
Type: Black Tea

Price: $9.00 for 2 oz.

Suggested Amount: 1.25 tsp tea per 8 oz. water

My Amount: 2.5 tsp tea per 8 oz. water
Caffeine: Medium

Honestly, I am a little disappointed by this one. I'm not gonna lie, I bought into the gimmick and mainly bought this tea for the edible glitter stars. 

The first problem was when I steeped this tea in a cast iron kettle instead of directly into my cup. No matter how much I kept stirring the glitter kept settling at the bottom of the kettle and mug. So the moment of glittery swirls I was hoping for was fleeting, and even then it was never anything exceptionally eye-catching. I can't even say that the taste was that memorable; it was a lot weaker than I prefer my black teas to be– even after using twice the suggested amount. I was too scared to even try a second steep.

I'd really only recommend this tea if you don't like your tea to be strong, and you don't want the cinnamon to be too strong either. Since I already bought two ounces of this tea (b/c its the smallest amount DAVIDsTEA sells), I am going to give it another try by using 3x the suggested amount. If I find this makes any major difference I'll update this post.

If you're looking for a cinnamon black tea, I'd instead suggest Harney & Sons Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice (link), a favorite which I will review soon.

Let me know if you've had better luck with the glitter in this one.

All that glitters is not gold. (don't worry, I hate myself for being so cliché)

1st Steep: 

• Time: 5 min.
• Temp: 205°F

Ingredients:
Black tea, lemon peel, sugar sprinkles (sugar, rice flour, partly hydrogenated canola oil , shellac, titanium oxide, iron oxide, potato starch), sugar, cloves, natural and artificial flavouring.

Tea Liquor:

• Transparent medium-brown, light gold undertones.

Flavor: Light black tea flavor, cinnamon undertones.

Rating: (2/5)

Mighty Leaf- Green Tea Tropical

So I picked this tea up at the supermarket because my mom had raved about this brand and I'd heard that it was a good supermarket tea. Read my review to see why I don't think I'll be getting this tea for myself again. Maybe for my mom who's still trying to get used to the flavor of green tea- the fruit flavor might help her.

Tea Box and Sachet

Sachet w/ Dry Leaves

Name: Green Tea Tropical

Company: Mighty Leaf

Price: $7.66; Sachets

Suggested Amount: 1 Sachet for 8oz

My Amount: 2 Sachets for 16oz
Caffeine: Not very much

1st Steep: 

• Time: 3 Minutes
• Temp: 175°F

2nd Steep:

• Time: 3.5 Minutes
• Temp: 175°F

Ingredients: 
Green tea, natural tropical flavors, natural flavors, flower petals, pineapple bits

Dry: Smells wonderful, you can definitely pick out the pineapple smell. Nice full leaves and very minimal tea fannings. You can see the blue cornflowers, some red flower, but I didn't see the pineapple bits that others have talked about.

Tea Liquor:

• 1st Steep: Very nice deep golden colour.
• 2nd Steep: Dark Yellow

2nd Steeping

1st Steeping

Flavor: Fruity, Weak

Notes:
 On first taste I unfortunately found this tea to be weak and lacking in any tropical flavors. With some previous experience with teas that have artificial flavoring, I knew that a tiny bit of sugar might help bring out the tropical taste I was looking for. After a teaspoon of sugar I found that the tea did get much better, but as the tea cooled instead of getting less bitter like other teas, it actually got more bitter. I wouldn't suggest a second steeping because its just weaker.

Overall, I guess I would suggest this to someone who isn't used to Green teas and wants to slowly get into it.

Rating