Tea of the month (June 2014) - Hot Tropic

From David's Tea's website

I love the first of each month, it’s always filled with surprises and discoveries :) 

This month was particularly special at Davids tea because they came out with such a wonderful herbal tea blend that SCREAMS summer vacations!

The ingredients in their new herbal tea "Hot Tropic" : Apple, mango, raisins, cinnamon, coconut chips, star anise, vanilla, natural flavouring*. 

My first smell : HEAVEN SWEETNESS! The coconut wins hands down for me then the apples – mixed with cinnamon - and mangoes. The vanilla is marrying all the scents together. Overall, it’s a pretty tea to look at with full pieces of star anise. 

While steeping,  the fruits are starting to take over the smell battle. The mangoes are impressively strong so are the apples and cinnamon. I steeped my tea for 5 minutes and did not bother adding any sweetener considering it already smelt so sweet! The tea has a beautiful yellow color.

The end product is to me is almost like a summery fruit pastry.  You get a strong taste of apple and cinnamon, refreshing taste of coconut and the sweetness of the mangoes. Everything works together! I was a bit scared the star anise would be overpowering but it turned out just wonderful. I'm very satisfied with this tea and will most likely get more for the warmer days to drink on ice :)

You can purchase David's Tea Hot Tropic here  or in store.

Don't hesitate to ask questions or request tea tasting in comments.

Magali

My stumble upon David's Tea

I'm by no means trying to advertise their store but I can’t help it… I LOVE THEM! 

Although, my first tea love wasn’t them at all...  Almost 10 years ago, my boyfriend at the time took me to this tiny little tea salon in Montreal called Camellia Sinensis. I fell in love with place. It had this zen mood, so calming: they played soft Asian music and the place was quiet like a library. If fact, if you talked to loudly , they would hit a big gong they had in the corner of their little salon to let you know the sound was too loud! At the time, they had 2 rooms for their customers: a sitting area up front with a high counter top bar and some tea made pastries and then in the back, couches where you could play checkers.  I remember going there during my college exam period – SO RELAXING! I’d always order their Moroccan mint tea with orange blossom. They had this whole serving ceremony, it made the tea experience that much more enjoyable. The place has changed quite a bit since then. They opened their own boutique from which they sell teas they gathered from around the world. They even opened other locations on the island... They are always busy so be prepared to wait for a seat!

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I have been to many tea house around the states and I cannot say many compared to this one in Montreal. The overall experience is what made it so lovely and made you go back!

When it comes to David's tea, it's a different experience. In the city where I live at least, there isn't a sitting area to savor your tea and whatnot. You come in, experience with all your senses the teas which are exposed all over their "Tea wall", divided by the kind of tea they are (White, Green, Oolong, Pu'erh, Mate, Rooibos, Herbal). I would personally say that they specialised in flavored tea. If you are looking at experiencing all sorts of party flavors this is the right place for you. If you like your plain old Silver Needle white tea or again straight green tea, or breakfast tea, you might not be totally happy with all the teas they carry as they have a LOT of mixed teas which is fantastic for beginners. Not only do I love their teas, but they tend to hire the such great people with fantastic personalities. Heck, I'd love to work in their store just for the atmosphere!

In their store, they offer absolutely anything you will need to create your perfect tea at home: Teapot, mugs, travel mugs, filter, sweeteners, you want it, you name it! This week they even introduced little tea snacks! You can ask their tea guides for help regarding the best way to prepare each teas and they'll even help you identify with tea you would prefer best.

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Recently, they even added a reward system. Each dollar you spend is earned towards free tea at the end of their season and you get free tea in return! LOVE IT!

Find your nearest David's Tea and check it out :) I'm sure you'll fall in love with them as well!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I can review their teas for you with great pleasure!

Magali

Mint craziness... part 1

Mint teas have to be some of my favorite teas to drink. They are so refreshing and they are timeless. There is no time and place to drink a mint tea! Straight mint teas can also be mixed to other tea to add freshness and the benefits from them are amazing (rely on my blog post about the benefits of peppermint teas)

My reviews on a few peppermint teas by Davids teas

David's Tea - Peppermint amour 

Peppermint Amour is an herbal tea, meaning there’s no caffeine at all.

The first smell: The leaves themselves are very herby and peppery - very fresh!  As it is only peppermint leaves, there isn’t much to say about it!

The steeping time is very short. I usually steep my mint teas to the limit, so a full minute. For the sake of this taste test, I did not add any sweetener but feel free to add some honey or agave as it is excellent and does enhance the taste greatly. I absolutely ADORE the smell of the tea as its steeping. You can already smell the revitalizing smell of the mint; it puts a smile on my face.

Once stepped, the tea has a beautiful amber color, the smell of it will unclog your nose! After drinking it, you really do feel the freshness  going down and cooling you off, so refreshing and revitalizing.  You can feel the soothing feeling in your stomach. This mint tea is so potent and is excellent if you suffer of a cold.

Peppermint Amour to the left
Organic Spearmint to the right

David's Tea - Organic spearmint

Organic spearmint is also a caffeine free tea.

The first smell: The smell of this one is my favorite of all mint tea. It is like smelling a mint candy: sweet and delicious.

I also steeped this tea for 60 seconds and did not add any sweetener as spearmint is naturally a bit sweeter than peppermint. the smell of it is a bit less overpowering and you don't get that STRONG nostrils opener feeling you get with Peppermint amour. 

Once its stepped, it's also a beautiful light amber color, smells refreshing.For those who aren't too fond of mint tea but want to be able to get the benefits of the herb without getting too much of its taste, this is probably a better option. It mixes wonderfully with lemon and honey if you are looking for a great cold remedy.

If you have questions or review requests, don't hesitate to ask!

Magali

Review: Chai on Life by David's Tea

As the title says, this is my review on David's Tea Chai on Life

Chai on life is a white tea, it also contains green tea, cinnamon, lemongrass, pineapple, coconut, pink peppercorn, ginger, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, natural cinnamon flavouring*. 

The first smell: pre-steeping. The cinnamon wins the smelling test hands down! Then comes the peppercorn and the nuttiness of the cloves and cardamom seeds. In my opinion, the lemongrass isn’t too overpowering and I get a very subtle smell of the pineapple and coconut

As it is a white tea, I tend to steep them for about 4-5 minutes maximum. I even stop the kettle before it starts to boil and sometimes I even add an ice cube to my cup while it's steeping. As a sweetener, I added just a little dab of agave - something barely noticeable.

Once stepped, the tea looks gorgeous, a beautiful light yellow, completely see-through. The smell is DIVINE, something you would expect with any chai. Clove and cinnamon goodness!  The taste is very subtle on the lemongrass and pineapple. I don’t personally get much of the coconut but there’s a certain freshness even as a warm tea.

I also tried this tea as a latte. I used unsweetened coconut milk. When I prepare lattes I make sure to use more tea leaves and also steep my tea for a few minutes longer so the taste is a lot more noticeable. I also sweetener my latte with the smallest amount  of agave. For this drink, coconut milk worked wonderfully. As it's normal drink, the coconut wasn't so palatable, simply refreshing but it becomes absolutely lovely with the milk and balances out very well!

Love your Chai :)

If you have any question regarding this tea, don't hesitate to ask.

Magali

Why and how I got into teas

Teas are relatively new for me. Up until 2013 I was a heavy coffee drinker! Until I realized how damaged and damaging it was for my stomach. I had constant heartburns and this strange “golf ball” feeling to my upper stomach which I later found out with ultrasounds were ulcers.  Needless to say, coffee contain caffeine, adding that to stress and anxiety was just the last drop, it surely did not help my insomnia!

                 From Pinterest

I was actually introduced to tea in a very basic way,  searching for a natural remedy to relieve stomach aches. With my IBS, I suffered from a lot of abdominal pain and nausea so I had a mission to find teas that would help me counter those digestive problems. 

My first tea stop: Peppermint teas. Not only does it help against heartburn; it has no caffeine so it’s a relaxing tea, it relieves stress and it’s excellent to boost the immune system. It's also refreshing and can be mixed to other teas to enhance their taste.

My favorite peppermint tea: David's Tea Organic Peppermint Amour.

My second tea stop: Ginger teas.  Ginger teas are filled with Vitamin C, magnesium and other minerals. It’s a miracle root! Add peppermint tea, some honey and lemon and you’ve got yourself a magical potion against the common cold but there is so much more to it.  It relieves nausea and improves your overall stomach performance. It improves blood circulation, relieves stress and tension and most of all it strengthen your immune system.  It’s also packed with antioxidants.  My naturopath also recommended to drink it to detoxify my liver.  

My favorite ginger tea: David's Tea Super Ginger (Organic)

I'll naturally review those teas for you.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Magali

The first of many

Hello everyone, I'm going to dedicate this first post about me so you get a better image of who I am and where I came from :)

 

I'm a 25 years old woman and I've live most my life in Montreal, in Canada. I always had a passion for sports, fitness, food and video games. A few years back, I even  met "online" the man I thought would spend the rest of my life with and decided to move to the United States with him to start a family and a new life. I received the best present life could give me on April 2009: My sweet little daughter, Jayde. A few months after having her, I started feeling very different in my own body. I knew as the "nerd" that I was the something in my body aka computer was wrong.  I was suffering from a lot of abdominal pain, insomnia, and the list goes on and on. My life started taking turns places I never thought it would go. I moved a lot in the country, I've seen a lot of doctors and specialists (family doctors, , pathologists, naturopaths, rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, massus, chiropractors, and I'm sure I'm missing a few!), done many MANY tests, tried different diets, medications until I returned to Canada in June 2013, leaving behind my precious little girl with her American family...

In May 2014, I was finally diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepetitis and a moderate case of liver fibrosis. I also suffer of Sjogren's syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and IBS. A spiral of problems - but I try to keep a smile on my face.

I'm starting this blog to discuss the things that have helped me relieve most of the pain created by the man's worst enemy: STRESS. Ill be reviewing teas, explaining their benefits. Talking about yoga, sharing recipes, and topics of the sort.

Feel free to leave comments and questions.

Magali