Mulberry Magic (DAVIDsTEA)

Good evening, tea enthusiasts!

Last week, MK treated me to a free tea at DAVIDsTEA thanks to their “TeaFF” promotion, so we took the opportunity to grab a brew we’ve never tried before and discuss its flavours for your pleasure. Amidst thesis writing, face masks and licorice allsorts, we were able to review this neat herbal “spinach” tea. Enjoy!

Tea: Mulberry magic

Description: People have been buzzing about mulberry leaves for all sorts of reasons lately, but we just can’t stop talking about how good they taste. Combined with macadamia nuts, they make for a tea that is sweet, complex, and slightly earthy. Do they really have tons of other benefits, as the health freaks claim? We’re too happy to care.

Ingredients: Mulberry leaf, organic macadamia nuts, natural flavouring

Instructions: 1.25tsp, 4-7min 96C

—

MK: Wow, the water is so DARK! Like, a dark deep green. Can I taste it yet? *Sip* Oh. Oh… It is so weird.
Brooke: They put a lot of leaves in here… I would put that much in a whole teapot. Wait, MK, are you dissecting your tea bag?
MK: I want to see the macadamia nuts, I can’t taste them! Hey!! THERE ARE NONE HERE.  Oh, wait, this little itty bitty thing? Aw man!
Brooke: The wet leaves kind of looks like spinach. And it TASTES like it, too! Sweet spinach tea.
MK: Brooke!! WHY are you eating licorice allsorts? That’s going to ruin your tea taste!
Brooke: I do what I want.
MK: Well, I’m taking a picture of my dissection.

At this point, Stacey and Eric arrived from a yoga session and we forced the tea on them to get their opinions on its flavours.

Eric: Oh, yum! It’s sweet!
Brooke: And nutty! The mulberry is good for glucose regulation, says MK. It also has macadamia nuts in it!
Eric: THAT’s what I taste! Subway cookies! And what kind of berries?
MK: Mulberry! They’re prized because they’re all silkworm eat! Wait, am I lying? Lemme check! WAIT. Brooke. You have WAY more nuts in yours!! Try mine, I think ours taste different. Look, you have so many more than meeee! Clearly need the right ratio of nuts.
Brooke: Do you not like yours? Do you want to switch?
MK: It’s fine. I’ve already started licking the rim.
Brooke: What do you  think, Stace?
Stacey: That is very nice! It’s magical!
MK: Why does everyone like the spinach tea? Brooke’s is better. Maybe I’m just angry.
Brooke: Well, I like it! It kind of reminds me of a green tea, which mellows me out a bit. It doesn’t have any spicy or fruity notes which I really appreciate.
MK: You’re a purist, though, so I can totally see why this is Brooke tea. Maybe I’m an artificial flavour type of girl?

Tea Vibes

MK: What does this flavour remind you of? What imagery does it bring to mind? After all, we’ve got readers to think about!
Brooke: It reminds me of natural hot water springs that you would bathe in. Nature’s hot tub!
MK: MAN ! Let’s go. K, now rate it.
Brooke: 5/5
MK: WHAAAT. BROOKE. THE PHANTOM 100%. MAN. I give it a 4/10.  A macadamia-less 4/10.
Brooke: Different strokes for different folks, I guess!

And there you have it- another incredibly information tea review for the books. Hopefully we can squeeze in one more before MK heads off on her euro adventure at the end of this month. Can we do it?! Stay tuned to find out.

Until next next tea,

Brooke and MK (and Stacey and Eric)

MK’s comparison of our macadamia nut count after her dissections. She was not impressed.

Brazillionaire (DAVIDsTEA)

Happy winter weekend, readers!

It’s a cold one in the capital of Canada today as MK and I sat down to review a brew and keep ourselves warm. Stacey joins us part way through and we all shared in the richness of this brazillionaire blend. Enjoy!

Tea: Brazillionaire

Description: Get Rich Quick. Have you heard tales of the wealthy Brazilian eccentric? According to local stories, he was completely obsessed with Brazil nuts, the source of his fortune. He insisted on having them in every meal – even his afternoon tea! Was it needless decadence, or a stroke of genius? You’ll have to taste it yourself to decide. This fabulously opulent blend combines black tea with whole Brazil nuts, raisins and coconut. Trust us – it tastes like a million bucks.

Ingredients: Black tea, Brazil nuts, raisins, coconut, natural and artificial flavouring

Instructions: 96C, 4-7 minutes, 1 tsp

—

MK: It smells like the looseleaf did, which is a good thing!
Brooke: Your face is in the tea again.
MK: Another facial! Mmmmm.
Brooke: It smells like a creamy dark chocolate. Is that a thing?
MK: That… would be milk chocolate.
Brooke: Oh. Right.

*Sip*

MK: Mmm.. It’s really rich! Like… sitting on a velvet bed kind of rich. With lions and gold chains. Cause you know… Brazil? Okay, I’m digging myself into a hole, your turn! I dunno, I’m just picturing this pimp in velvet drinking this tea. Cause.. yeah. Yeah. Oh this is good.
Brooke: It’s so creamy yet again, I swear they’re magicians.
MK: I almost think I need to buy this if only to be reminded of this conversation every time I drink it. “Creamy dark chocolate.”
Brooke: OH lay off! I don’t think I have ever had Brazil nuts before… Have you? You’re making a face.
MK: I’m thinking of my grandfather. Brazil nuts came in our Christmas nut bowls at my grandparents. They look like.. wait, I don’t know what they look like. They’re really rich, though. So, it really works well with this tea. I’m gettin’ that rich nutty flavour, creamy coconut, then slight sweetness from the raisins.
Brooke: MK, you’re really getting good at this tea review thing!
MK: Well Brooke, I’ve got a good teacher, as I spit into my spittoon. You know, like wine tasters. Hey, this is getting better as it cools even (shout out to Brooke’s mom).

Stacey arrives after a visit home, sits down and reviews the final sips before we head out to play boardgames at a local café.

Stacey: Ah yes, I just had this with my family just yesterday! I only let my mom have a taste so I felt guilty. It reminded me of toasted walnut. It smells like it, too.
Brooke: Have a sip!
Stacey: This is lukewarm. I’ll heat it up. OH GOD MY TONGUE. I CAN’T TASTE.
Brooke: Karma?
MK: What do you think of the tea now, Stacey?
Stacey: Um… Well, because of its name, it reminds me of going through a rainforest in Brazil, if they exist, and you’d be with a guide, and he’d be like “try this piece of bark, it’s fantastic” and it would be like a local treasure. And he’d be speaking through a translator.
Brooke: …
MK: If anything, this tea evokes vivid imagery.

Tea vibes:

Since Stacey’s back, we spoke our final thoughts on this tea to her phone, which then typed up what it sounded like we said. Here are our final vibes on the brew:

Stacey: Mail fantastic. Also, taste pretty good. I would have it on a special occasion with whoever millionaire.

Brooke: Lifted and ride, so much joy to everybody sitting at the table because we got to explore our our creative minds! I hope that it inspires my creative mind to finish this god damn thing 2007 have I done.

MK: Ok. It was good. I like it. I want it and it was toasty in creamy and made me feel like a gazillion bucks. London, I’ll call you.

And there you go! Another wonderful tea time with your Ottawa friends. Or tea saints, says MK. I am apparently Tea Moses, since I “bring tea to my people”.

Any teas that you fancy we try? Let us know!

Until next tea,

Brooke, MK and Stacey

Brooke depicted as Tea Moses, by MK.

Rooibos de provence (DAVIDsTEA)

Happy new year, readers!

Christmas has now wrapped up, decorations have finally been put away and work has re-started (if it ever stopped). Luckily for us, Christmas provided everyone with some new teas to try, so today I sat down with our good friend MK and enjoyed some some “frou-frou rustic glamour”. Ooo la la, allons-y!

Tea: Rooibos de provence

Description: The scent of lavender never fails to evoke the south of France, with its fabulous mix of tiny villages and celebrity-filled beaches and yachts. So imagine yourself in Aix or St-Tropez, leisurely sipping on this smooth blend. It’s filled with sophistication.

Ingredients: Rooibos, blueberries, rosehips, rose petals, lavender, black currants, red currants, artificial blueberry flavouring

Instructions: 1.25tsp, 4-7 minutes, 96C water.

—

Brooke: So… I steep my teas for 5 minutes.
MK: What? Oh no, I keep mine in for longer. We’ll have to steep ours separately.

Each person may have their own preference for tea steeping time and that must be always respected! As the teas steeped, we debated on the brews’ smells and potential uses. 

Brooke: Mmmm blueberries… No. Wait…lavender?
MK:  THAT’s what that is.
Brooke: Um, MK… you’re putting your face IN your mug.
MK: BROOKE! I could turn this into a facial!
Brooke: What?!
MK: Yes. What’s in this?
Brooke: Blueberries, currants, lavender, rose petals… The title says “A little rustic glamour”.
MK: Oh. That is totally me.

*Sip*

MK: You know, in a past blog post your mom said she tastes the teas better when they’re cool. I am SO in her camp. All I taste right now is fruitiness. Hey, what do currants taste like?
Brooke: Like grapes… I think.
MK: Oh. Really?
Brooke: Well, when I was in the UK, we would have black currant juice. A campus bartender would put black currant syrup with beer and cider and call it a Snake Bite.
MK: In Calgary, we would put canned tomato juice in beer and call it the Calgary Red Eye.
Brooke: Oh my god I would barf.
MK: What do you think of the tea, Brooke?
Brooke: Hmm.. it’s like the decaffeinated version of Blueberry Jam, a black tea we had last year.
MK:I think.. I think… it’s pretty. Also, so was the smile you just had. Very pretty!
Brooke: How sweet of you to say!
MK: I think the long list of herbs and flowers bump it up to that pretty flavour. “The frou frou French”. Yep, I like this tea. It’s its own dessert.
Brooke: So, we don’t need dessert tonight?
MK: I never said that!!

Tea vibes:

(Without Stacey’s voice-to-text feature, we provide our final thoughts with articulation and accuracy)

MK: The ingredients wouldn’t normally be sought out in my favourite teas, but this tea was very pretty, frou frou, and French. I enjoyed it, it was something different. And you know, change is good. Want some life wisdom? Be spontaneous. Do new things. Drink new tea. I give it a good hearty 8/10.

Brooke: It reminds me a lot of blueberry jam, but this one has a nice “rustic goodness” about it that really brings it home. Reminds me of walks along the forest line meeting with the shore. The rooibos gets to come out in this one, too. It gets to be a player in the tea and gets to mingle with all the other flavours. I wouldn’t buy this for the apartment but would happily recommend it as a caffeine-free brew to my people. 7/10.

Well, with a final sip to finish things off, we felt satisfied with out visit to the South of France. And hey, we made it to 10,000 hits! Thanks to all who continue to read about our tea-steeped adventures. Stay tuned for our next post, where we try out DAVIDsTEA’s “Brazillionaire” with Stacey.

Until next tea,
Brooke and MK

P.S. Thanks to The Tea Sisters for the picture of the looseleaf tea. Reading their blog posts makes us want to meet them, because of their love for YouTube, tea and using capital letters for emphasis.

 

This tea review is dedicated to Dale Kohlman (1961-2012).