DAVIDsTEA Valentine's Day Collection 2020
DAVIDsTEA is constantly coming out with new teas, samplers, and teaware. A few weeks ago, they released their Valentine’s Day collection in preparation for the February 14th holiday. It is full of teas that are sweet and festive, and I decided to try a few of them.
Loose Leaf
The Valentine’s collection features six loose-leaf teas: Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Bergamot Kisses, Sweet Tart, Read My Lips, Rose Oolong, and Wild Grown Rooibos. I was able to try two of these teas, Chocolate Covered Strawberry and Sweet Tart.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry was one of the Tea of the Day options when I went in store to redeem my coupon from the 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar, so I had to try it. It is a Mate tea that is described as tasting like “Sweet decadent chocolate with a bright strawberry flavor that cuts through the richness.” However, I would say that strawberry is the main flavor present. It tastes like strawberry candy—a little bit artificial but generally enjoyable. It has a hint of chocolate flavor, but I wouldn’t describe the flavor as decadent or rich.
Sweet Tart was one of the teas in the 24 Days of Tea, and it makes perfect sense to be part of the Valentine’s Day Collection too. The loose leaf contains pink, heart shaped sprinkles, and the tea brews up a beautiful red color. The tea is a little bit tart, but a hint of honey brings out the sweetness. It has a hint of cherry flavor, though not as bright and juicy as the website claims (which is a trend for DAVIDsTEA).
Heart Shaped Tins
The heart shaped tins are an online-exclusive, but I did see a few in store and I was surprised by how small they are. The website claims they make 15-20 cups of tea, the same as two ounces. However, after some searching, I discovered they contain about an ounce of tea each. On the plus side, they all have adorable and festive sayings on the lids, and you can order three for $15. With that being said, there are six heart shaped tins available: Sweet Tart, Forever Nuts, Chocolate Macaroon, Lavender Buttercream, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, and Bergamot Kisses.
I tried Forever Nuts in an old 24 Days of Tea and loved it. In fact, I have been meaning to buy more of it ever since. It is nutty and sweet, with a hint of cinnamon. It’s no wonder this is one of DAVIDsTEA’s bestsellers.
When I went into the DAVIDsTEA store, I had the intent of buying two ounces White Peach. When they didn’t have any, I decided to smell the limited-edition Lavender Buttercream, and ended up buying that. The buttercream is the strongest flavor—it almost tastes like popcorn. There is a hint of lavender, as well as something else sweet. Looking at the ingredients, I discovered that it is candied pineapple. This was a surprising combination to me, but I enjoyed it. I would love to try Lavender Buttercream as a latte, but I am pretty bad at making them.
Samplers
With every collection, DAVIDsTEA releases and/or features a few different tea samplers. The first sampler in the Valentin'e’s Collection is the Love Potion Blends 8 Teas Book Box. It contains Bergamot Kisses, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Chocolate Macaroon, Forever Nuts, Peppermint Amour, Read My Lips, S’mores Chai, and Sweet Tart. In addition to Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Forever Nuts, and Sweet Tart, I have also tried Peppermint Amour. It tastes like a typical mint tea—fresh and cooling.
The second sampler is the Sweet Treat 8 Tea Sampler. Like the first sampler, it contains Bergamot Kisses, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Chocolate Macaroon, Read My Lips and S’mores Chai. It replaces the other teas with Hot Chocolate, Lady Chaga, and Raspberry Cream Pie. I have a love-hate relationship with the Hot Chocolate tea. I often brewed it plain, and it tasted like chocolate water. I am on a mission to make a latte with it, which I think will be better. My first attempt ended up with steamed milk and no foam, which was already an improvement. I think it would taste great as a proper latte, and makes total sense to be in the Valentine’s Day sampler.
The Feel-Good Herbals 12 Tea Sampler is also featured under the Valentine’s Collection, though it doesn’t contain any of the teas from the collection. It has Forever Nuts, Frozen Raspberry, Headache Halo, Hibiscus Splash, Just Peachy, Mother’s Little Helper, Peppermint Amour, Serenity Now, Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, Sweet Tart, Tulsi Tranquility, and Valerian Nights, a few of which I have tried. Just Peachy is a deliciously fruity black tea that is just the right amount of sweet. Tulsi Tranquility is a subtly fruity herbal tea, while Valerian Nights is a sweet herbal tea with a strong coconut flavor and a hint of caramel. I also have many samples of Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, which I am more determined to try now.
Other Teas
In addition to all of these teas, you can also buy a large tea solo (four ounces) of Sweet Tart, Blackberry Jasmine Blast, and Chocolate Covered Strawberry. There is also the Heart Brews Mini Tin Gift Box with Spoon, which features approximately one ounce each of Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Forever Nuts, Read My Lips, and Sweet Tart, along with an exclusive metallic pink perfect spoon.
I wish I could try all of the teas in the Valentine’s Day Collection, but I wasn’t able to this month. My favorites are definitely the Lavender Buttercream and Forever Nuts, and I especially want to try Rose Oolong and Frozen Raspberry from the herbal tea sampler. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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