DAVIDsTEA "Pistachio Ice Cream"

Today was a lot chillier than usual, which is quite the positive change from February, which, according to Obama, was record-breaking in terms of warmth. Of course, being stuck in a temperature-regulated office for eight hours a day, I'm thankfully free from the frosty bite. I apologize for being absent from this blog since August 2015... holy moly, I haven't updated it forever! This blog was always meant to be a writing blog, but it's only now that I'm starting to write creatively again. I'm finally used to post-graduate Adult Life (although career changes might be in my future), and with studying and essays out of the way, I finally have all the time in the world (read: between 6pm and 12am every weekday) to fulfill whatever creative whim floats my way. 

To get back in the writing kick, I have started working as a content creator at Vivalife, though this website has not launched just yet. I have published an article on the best Japanese restaurants downtown, and though some of my personal recommendations didn't make the ultimate cut, I'm still pretty proud of this article. I put in quite a lot of time (and quite a few episodes of One Piece) into writing it, so I was really happy when my editor said she liked it. I will also be posting little excerpts from personal projects on here, mainly for my own benefit, so that I can look back in the future and see how I've improved. 

Today, I want to talk about the Pistachio Ice Cream tea from DavidsTea. This one is limited edition for springtime only, though some stores might have stock even after. I had this over the weekend when I worked a shift at Body Shop, so I didn't get the chance to take a picture; even if I had had the time to snap a pic, it would have just been a picture of my take-out cup, with my name hastily scrawled across the lid with a Sharpie. Not exactly Kodak worthy! Here's a picture of the tea leaves themselves from the official DavidsTea website. 

The pistachio ice cream tea is, just like the sweet it's based off, the perfect blend of salty and sweet. Mixed with honey, it's absolutely divine, almost like a tea latte without the foam. The lady at the store did tell me that the tea is VERY suited to be in a tea latte, but since I was already paying for my coworkers' tea lattes, I was a little 'eh' about it. I regret it now - it's only $1 difference, really! It's a shame that the tea is limited edition, because it's already crawling up the ranks of my Favourite Davidstea Teas. I will have to buy some of the tea myself to brew at home to really decide, though; I found it watered down when I drank it because DavidsTea employees are notorious for adding way too much milk. I will have to make it myself the way I like it, I guess, in order to fully appreciate the tea. 

Pistachio Ice Cream
Brand: DAVIDsTEA
Type: Black tea
Caffeinated: Low
Price: $8.75/50 g - eh
Flavour: 9/10 - delicate and harmonized, but I personally don't like the flavour of rooibos
Recommend: 99%

NaNoWriMo Day #3 / DAVIDsTEA 'The Glow'

Day #3 of NaNoWrimo has just passed. I thought I was making reasonably good progress, with just over 4600 words or so on my story. Then, I went to visit the forums and I saw that some people already had over 10,000 words. It's only the third day! Mad respect for them. 

It's starting to feel like winter now: Starbucks has their seasonal Christmas drinks out already; the weather feels like it's in the negative degrees; I slipped this morning walking to my tutor job ... it feels like December even though it's November! It's cold even in my apartment, which is notorious for its heat.

To keep myself warm and hydrated while I studied for my STAT midterm and watched TV, I made myself a cup of tea. It's a new kind I bought from DAVIDsTEA; I didn't know there were so many near my home - there's one in Lougheed, one in Waterfront, and one opening over at Metrotown. I applied for an opening as a tea guide to the Metrotown location but alas, I was a few days past the deadline.

Today, I poured myself 'The Glow', which is an herbal blend of rooibos, jasmine, cinnamon, and rose petals. 

I personally don't like tea from Tea Forte, but I can't deny that they sell very cute cups.

The Glow is said to be good for the skin - it's apparently like a spa in a cup. I don't know about any beautifying effects, but I love the delicate flavours of the jasmine and rose petals mixing together. The cinnamon is just barely there; you can taste it but it's not overpowering at all. It enhances the general flavour of the tea, and adds a bit of texture to it that might not have been there if it was only jasmine and rose. 

I've never had non-flavoured rooibos tea - I thought the taste of the rooibos was the cinnamon at first until the second sip. Though not bitter (even before I added my 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar), it certainly gives it a bit more of an earthy taste. It's not so bad the first few sips, but after a while, the rooibos seems to give the tea a sort of ... medicinal taste? That's my own interpretation of this odd feeling. It's not bad - it reminds me of the swallow nests or rose-infused Chinese medicines that people drink for skincare. It's just not something I would usually want to drink on a daily basis. 

'The Glow' was put on my 'To Buy' list when I went to the Waterfront location of DAVIDsTEA because I was interested in the beautifying effects. Now that I've tried the tea, I can positively say I will probably buy it again in the future. Despite my comments about the flavour of the rooibos, I am still enamoured by the delicate harmony of the rose and the jasmine. I am relieved, though, that I didn't buy too much - 50 g is more than enough at one time!

The Glow
Brand: DAVIDsTEA
Type: Herbal - Rooibos
Caffeinated: No
Price: $7.50/50 g - reasonable
Flavour: 9/10 - delicate and harmonized, but I personally don't like the flavour of rooibos
Recommend: 85%