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To be honest, when I browsed through Deb’s new holiday cookie-inspired tea collection, minty matcha meringues was not a tea that stood out to me. I thought it would be like matcha cream puff, which was too coconut laden for my taste. However, I decided to just add this one to my cart, and I am pleasantly surprised.

This smells wonderful. Like sweet peppermint candies. I had to recheck the ingredients because I thought there might be some sugar in this, but it does not contain any sugar. As far as the taste goes, this tastes like a sweet, slightly creamy peppermint tea. Also, the matcha in this gave me a wonderful energy boost.

I really like this one. I think there is enough matcha in here to even replace my afternoon black tea. I will definitely repurchase minty matcha meringues.

I thought I would really like this blend. The ingredients list seemed inviting, yet simple. It was just a combination of green tea, oranges, and some sugary notes. It sounded like something I would like.

First Impressions: To be honest, the dry leaf of this smelled a bit off-putting, which was unusual since Deb excels at making her teas smell so darn good! I have tried her other citrus teas, and they always smell like fresh oranges. I think I expected this one to smell like a sweet jam, but it smelled earthy, old, and bitter. However, after I finished steeping it, it ended up smelling like a bitter, tart orange. Not my favourite, but it was no longer off putting either.

Taste: Ignoring the smell, I think this tastes quite good! Although this does not remind me of a thumbprint cookie per se (because when I think of a cookie, I think about something having a creamy or cakey note) it does remind me of an orange jam.

Although this is a pleasant blend and I am glad I got to try it, I am not sure if I will repurchase it. I think Deb has some other excellent citrus tea blends I prefer over this one.

Smell: It definitely lives up to its namesake and smells exactly like an orange creamsicle!

Prep: I cold brewed this for 3ish hours. I made it to re-hydrate after writing a gruelling assignment for school. I think I should have cold brewed it for longer to allow all the flavours to develop properly. However, I will say this was a good tea; I just wish that the flavours were stronger (I need to try making this again, sadly I only have a little bit left since you need more leaf to make an iced tea and I only got the 25 gram sample pack).

Taste: If you gave this to me and asked, what does it taste like? I would tell you it tastes like a refreshing, but watered down, orange creamsicle mousse. I did not have that many orange pieces in mine, and I wonder if that could have helped amplify the orange aspect of this tea? But overall, it is a very nice and refreshing blend!

First Impression: This is a beautiful tea! The pink cornflowers and golden maple flakes really give it a festive holiday cookie vibe! This also smells strongly of bergamot, but in like a refreshing way. It differs from Deb’s earl grey tea cake, which although I enjoyed, it had a strange smell to; I think this was because the bergamot was mixed with lavender? But earl’s sugar cookie smells very inviting.

Taste: I made a latte out of this! I will say that it does not need any sugar, and I say that as someone who has a total sweet tooth. Not that this is overtly sweet by any means. But it really lives up to its sugar cookie name. I am not sure if the creaminess factor is coming from the milk or the coconut? But this definitely has a cookie-like feeling to it. My only qualm is not steeping this for longer!

I will definitely be repurchasing this one! I think it is one of my favourites from Deb’s new collection! :)

I loved Deb’s other earl grey blend, spiced earl grey muffin. It was actually the first EG that I have ever tried, so I was looking forward to venturing out further and trying her other EG blends. I am not sure what to compare this to, since I have only had EG from Deb, however, like others have said, the bergamot in her blend makes itself known.

The dry leaf of this smells lovely and refreshing. You get a strong bergamot scent with a hint of lavender. I have tried this with coconut milk, but I find that it subdues the rest of the flavours, so this is one of those rare black teas I prefer to have straight without any add-ins like sugar or cream.

So, the main notes are bergamot and lavender. This is of course a bit astringent because of it has a black tea base, but it tastes very smooth and refreshing. I do not taste any of the other components such as maple, brown sugar, honey, or bee pollen. I thought the addition of these ingredients would make it super sweet, but I can barely taste them in this blend. They might be there, but used so sparingly, that they are being overshadowed by the other bolder ingredients.

But I like this one. Not enough to repurchase though because I think I prefer the spiced earl grey muffin. But this is still a good, floral tea blend.

Another excellent tea by the lovely Chai Brewing Company, a small business in Toronto. I know I said this during my last review of their masala chai blend; however, the owners of this company are SO nice and provide excellent customer service.

First Impressions: It smells strongly of turmeric, and then the other spices like black pepper and cardamon, are more so in the background, which makes sense since turmeric is a bold flavour/smell.

Preparation: 2 heaping tablespoons of turmeric chai, 16 oz David’s Tea nordic mug, and steeped in boiling water for 5 minutes. It steeps to a beautiful, vibrant orange.

Taste: I loved this blend. The turmeric tasted extremely fresh. There is no astringency or bitterness to this tea, but it has a kick.

Based on the ingredients, I knew I would love this one. I believe this tea is essentially Deb’s “pumpkin pie tart”; however, it has a black tea base, which I think works better if you want to make a latte. Because of Starbucks, this is what I typically associate pumpkin spice with: a warm, sugary cup of goodness.

It also contains apples that are look like pie?! Delightful! I think I read on Deb’s Instagram story that she cuts these by hand, which I think is so thoughtful!

Smell: It smells like a sweet pumpkin pie, with the most prominent notes being cloves and nutmeg.

Preparation: Stove-top method! I do this for all my lattes. I just put water in a pan, add a heaping tablespoon of tea and sugar, wait for it to reach a boil, and then add milk.

Taste: This tastes wonderful and is everything I would want in a pumpkin spice latte. I have tried pumpkin pie chai from David’s Tea and the classic pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, but I disliked both of them. I think I have just concluded that I am really sensitive to any overtly artificial flavours. However, this tea blend tastes very wholesome and natural. Like something I would make in my kitchen, as opposed to a large factory (which makes sense since Deb makes all these blends by hand and they contain no artificial flavourings)

I am not sure how this would taste on its own, but as a latte, it is scrumptious! I would highly recommend this if you like pumpkin spice flavoured things, or spicy teas! I will be repurchasing this for sure.

I thought steeping this for longer would bring out the other notes – coconut, chocolate, and coffee – however, it just made the red rooibos more improvement. I like this tea, but it is definitely not my favourite. Still glad I got to try it! :) I wonder if this would have been better with a different tea base?

When I saw this tea, I felt uncertain about what to expect since I dislike rooibos, but I love tiramisu!

I think the flavours for this tea are really creative and really capture the essence of tiramisu! Upon first sip, you get a hint of that red rooibos (but it is not too overpowering), dark chocolate, and a tiny glimmer of coffee. I think I should have steeped this longer and over leafed it!

Improvements: I think this tea could be better if it had a heavier coffee, coconut, and chocolate note. They are chilling in the background behind the rooibos, but I wish they were more central flavours.

However, I ended up enjoying this one! I might repurchase it.

First, Deb goes above and beyond with her packaging! My entire box came decorated with stickers, a handwritten note, and the tea ziplock bags came in such pretty colours. Deb is such a sweet heart! <3

I loved ginger berry crisp, so it excited me to try another ginger herbal blend by Deb! I steeped this for 3 minutes in boiling water. I want to start by saying that I love ginger! I also drank this tea to soothe my tummy after eating a ton of pizza, and it definitely was a very soothing blend.

I am sad I only got 25 grams of this tea. Next time I order from Deb, I will get 75 grams. A lovely, spicy but light ginger blend! :) I have never tried honey bush before, but I am getting a light earthy taste in this blend, which I am guessing is from the honey bush. And then I get a refreshing ginger hit and a bit of sweetness on the back end.