Day 2: Vanilla Chai

Evening of December 1st:
Stacey: Oh Brooke, I’m so excited to do 24 days as a proper advent calendar this year! We’ll make the tea in the morning and then I’ll be able to bring my thermos to work.  I can critique the tea on the way, it will be so great!
Brooke: I thought we were going to wake up early and drink it together as roomies? Like the blog post said…
Stacey: Oh… right. Well then, I’m off to bed!

[Way too early in the] morning of December 2nd:
The kettle whistles and Brooke runs down the hallway and pokes her head into the kitchen.

Brooke: I heard the calling!!
Stacey: Bring on Day 2.

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Tea: Vanilla Chai

Ingredients: Cinnamon, black tea, licorice root, ginger, vanilla

Description: There’s no better way to warm up a chilly winter day than a hot cup of chai. The combo of rich black tea and exotic spice is like a cup of pure comfort. And this spicy black tea blend turns up the heat even more with a sweet and creamy hint of vanilla. It’s as cozy as a teddy bear wearing a scarf. In front of a roaring fire. While cuddling with a puppy. Try it with milk and sugar for a warming treat that’ll have you wishing for snow.

Steeping Instructions: 1.25 tsp, 96°C, 4-7 minutes

—

Brooke: TA DA! It’s Vanilla Chai!
Stacey: Ohhhh. That sounds interesting…do you think this will taste like a latte since it’s vanilla chai?
Brooke: No, Stace. You’d have to put milk in it, that’s what makes it a latte.
Stacey: Oh, right. I’m still so excited!
Brooke: It smells so good!
Stacey: Mhmmm smooth and spicy.

*sip*

Brooke makes a face and looks up the ingredients of the tea.
Brooke: Oh, okay, wow. Vanilla isn’t even the first ingredient in this! It’s cinnamon,then licorice, then ginger!
Stacey: Yeah, I stand by my original statement: smooth and spicy.
Brooke: I don’t hear the smooth.
Stacey: …You taste it.
Brooke: So it’s a hearing problem today then…eh? Here, André, take a sip. What do you think?
André: Mmm, vanilla.
Brooke: Really? I am bombarded by the ginger and licorice right now! It isn’t really a problem, but… name your teas right, man.
André: Well, I have to go, but enjoy your licorice tea!
Brooke: That’s more like it.

Tea Vibes

Brooke: If I went to to DAVIDsTEA on a cold day and asked, “what kind of tea would warm me up?” they would probably give me this. I would drink it and enjoy it…  but I wouldn’t want to get it second time. Such potent flavours! 7/10.

To make the blogging process a bit easier Stacey decided to turn on the “voice type” feature on her phone. This is what she got:

Stacey: I would have to agree that it does taste like ginger in a Christmas dinner. It is like, soft, like, it’s okay, I’m here. 7/10.

[Brooke: We clearly have to use that feature more often…]

And so ends a successful day 2 of the blog! Roomie time and Stacey still got to bring her tea in a thermos to work. Double win!

Until next tea,
Brooke and Stacey

Thumbs up for Christmas dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1: Forever Nuts

Happy December 1st everyone!

Yes, friends, it is that time of year again! The time of year where you can blare Justin Beiber Christmas music without anyone batting an eye (*cough* Brooke *cough*). The time of year you can wear Christmas socks to work and not feel bad about it (totally me today) and the time of year you can binge on Christmas movies and eggnog. Of course, the best part about this time of year is that it brings us another round of DAVIDsTEA “24 Days of Tea” Hurray! 24 delightful teas, one each day leading up to Christmas. Are you excited? We are.

This year, Brooke and I have decided to go the conventional route and we will be opening each tea on the corresponding day. We are calling it the “no-stress tea blog”. And since Brooke is waist deep in writing her thesis, we thought it best to use the advent calendar as a chance for some quality roomie time. Because what could be better than having tea with your roomie? So sit back, relax, and let’s enjoy a cup of “Forever Nuts“, together. No stress.

“Forever Nuts” is one of our favourites; nutty, not too sweet, and a cool shade of pink this is a herbal tea you can always enjoy before bedtime. Luckily, “Forever Nuts” is a staple on 24 Days of Tea, so you can take a trip down memory lane here or here to get the full “Brooke and Stacey drinking tea together” experience.

We hope you all have a wonderful 1st day of December and we will see you back here tomorrow. And for the first time we are anxiously awaiting day number 2 with you! We are so excited!

Until next tea,
Stacey and Brooke

 

 

Welcome!

Hi friends and fellow tea drinkers,

We are two twenty-something roommates living in the capital city of Canada who can’t get enough of loose leaf tea. This blog is meant to be a reflection of our opinions on any and all teas we try together. Whether it be over a scone at our favourite tea shop or during an evening of report writing at home, we are constantly consuming tea.

As it stands,  DavidsTea dominates our cabinets at home due to their incredible marketing ploys (“look at the packaging, Brooke!”) and it looks like this blog will reflect that, too.

For the past few years, we have bought the famous DAVIDsTEA “24 Days of Tea” box set. For our own entertainment (and hopefully yours), we’ve started this blog to discuss and provide commentary on each tea as we brew them (e.g. “whoa, is that a POPCORN kernel in there?”; “aw, this one reminds me of Nanny”). We’ll also be giving out ratings on the teas based on our own parameters (e.g. “this tea smells like birthday cake, but tastes like wood. 3/5”). Hopefully we can provide an unbiased opinion of the exciting flavours of DavidsTea for your consideration.

We don’t plan on following the rules and drinking a tea each day but our kettle is never cold for too long so expect blog posts fairly often.  If you’re interested in hearing what Chocolate Rocket, Goji Pop, or Organic Breakfast taste like, be sure to stay tuned. If you’re not, follow along anyway. We’re pretty interesting people as it is.

Welcome to what we’re sure will be the adventure of a tea time.

For now, drink tea and be merry.

Brooke & Stacey