So I went and… splurged… on tea. Lots of it. I had heard of David’s Tea through teh Twitters, a new blender who had set up shop in Canada and had what seemed to be a fun take on teas. See, it’s the difference between naming a tea “Coco-Chai” versus calling it “Bollywood Chai”; the difference between stopping at a vanilla-coconut blend and proceeding post-haste to “Buttered Rum”; the kind of tea company that will joyfully call things “Love Tea #7” and “Chocolate Rocket”.

Plus the Bollywood Chai smells wonderful and different from other spicy blends that wear the “Fill in the Blank Chai” name.

So far over the past two days, have been sipping the following:

Buttered Rum I did not expect to taste like its namesake, given that the ingredients are coconut and vanilla beans. Even if the coconut was toasted (which it was), shouldn’t the taste have been more coconut/vanilla? But no. It tastes like… well… like what I imagine a Butter Beer for adults might have tasted. There are caramel notes somehow without there being any actual caramel. Whatever magic is in this blend, it works. They recommend dark sugar and rum for accompaniment.

Read My Lips is one of the best chocolate teas I’ve tasted. It’s a rare chocolate-chunks tea that uses dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate, thus removing a source of painful dairy for me. (Most chocolate teas I can drink are chocolate in natural flavoring only.) I should note that David’s Tea is pretty good about listing allergens for their teas, something they need to do since they take an approach with many ingredients (an approach similar to Mighty Leaf) as opposed to just tea and flavorings. This tea also looks beautiful.

Glitter & Gold is a disappointment. It mainly tastes of sugar (since it has those shiny sugar baubles in it) and tea. Vanilla and orange, it claims, but I’ve met orange-vanilla teas with more personality (such as Mighty Leaf’s masterful Orange Dulce).

Fantasy Island is excellent! Coconut-raspberry, if you can believe it, and it works. It’s like being on a tropical island where there are coconuts and flowers. At least, that’s what comes to my mind when I’m sipping this tea. I love it. It’s a must-buy-again for me along with Read My Lips (Buttered Rum by contrast arrived in a 100g tin… I must say, David’s Tea sells very nice and economical tea tins for $2.50 each. Highly recommended).

Mint Julep is, well, a mint julep in tea form. Pineapple and coconut and mint. The blend of black and red tea works so well. It’s gorgrous. Also another buy-again.

Love Tea #7 has a flavor profile that strongly resembles Read My Lips. There are roses, but not overpoweringly so. Since it resembles Read My Lips so much to me, and I’m not a fan of roses, this will be left on the wayside. But I’m so finishing the sample.

Creme Brulee is a red tea, but I find that my hankerings after Creme Brulee are more satisfied by Simpson & Vail’s black tea of the same name. Though I got it in a tin, after an optimistic shade of mind, I don’t think I’ll be buying more of it.

Chocolate Rocket is a maté blend with cocoa, almonds, chicory, and raspberries. It’s quite good, although I want to compare it to Queen Mary’s Afternoon Tango, which is a similar blend except, I think, for the raspberries. I may want more of this.