Ginger Beer

HA. So I have to be at work early tomorrow, and it’s 7pm and I’ve already been drinking.

WHEE.

First I had a Dark & Stormy, and now I’m brewing up some Ginger Beer to have with the rum. So far, the tea smells sweet and gingery. I very much smell the apples. I hope it makes a good hot toddy to go with my fresh baked gluten free bread. :D

And tasting the tea, no. It’s too thin to have with rum. But on its own it’s nice. It’s kinda like watered down apple juice with ginger in it. I do like it. I’m not sure I’d buy more, but I’ll happily finish what I have!

Sipdown! My initial tingly-mouth reaction to this blend seems to have been a fluke. I finished off the rest of it today without a problem (other than the fact that I’m now out of it!). I’m moving soon, so the goal is to keep going with the sipdowns and not buy much new tea for a while.

oh. i like this one. I have a free bag of tea that i can pick from DT – so i was exploring the new teas. the gentleman working there said new teas out next week, and a possible sale, so i may hold off for a little while longer. THIS is on my short list though as both a herbal AND a ginger tea. I do love me some ginger. :) It’s not too intense – i think the apple helps dial the heat back, but man. yum.

After a lackluster birthday weekend, I came down with a terrible cold… this morning I dragged myself to work and had a few cups of Tea Guys’ Ginger Peach (which while good, I don’t feel comfortable taking notes on just yet given my inability to smell and taste properly.)
I left early and quick made some of this guy when I got home and let it steep for a good, long time to really pack in the ginger punch. It’s strong (at least strong enough to cut through my ailments) and I’m very very glad I held onto this guy, it’s more of a fall staple for me and though it doesn’t really speak “ginger beer” to me (it’s missing some depth of flavor,) I still enjoy it.

So last week I stopped at DAVIDTEA after work around when I was starting to get sick/just realizing I was sick and I picked up some tea to drink later and grabbed a hot, “To Go” cup of this as well. I picked it out because it’s the new Tea of The Month but I realized much later it was actually probably a good choice because of the ginger as well since that’s a good thing to drink when you are sick.

I had a really neat experience at the store, though! I know two people who work at the DT in Regina – Zoey and Kandyce who are both former highschool classmates of mine. So, running into one of them wouldn’t have been startling. What was startling was running into someone else whom I also recognized but never would have imagined to see there. Who’s that? The manager of the SASKATOON DAVIDsTEA at which I frequently shopped (and even knew some of the employees outside of work as well because my ex Tyrell was friends with them). We both kind of just took a look at each other and were all “Uhh, what are you doing here?”. Turns out she’s in town the next few weeks training the new manager of the Regina store, and of course I just moved back here. I swear, I see her around all the time though: not just at DT but when I was working at Sobeys I saw her all the time there too. We chatted for a while and it was nice. Maybe I’ll stop in again next week and see if I can run into her again…

As for the tea I ordered, I was a little taken aback! I’m honestly not the biggest fan of Ginger Beer. Every time I’ve tried it it’s just been a little too concentrated and spicy for my liking. And actually, I’m also just not a huge fan of ginger in general. However, that said, I actually found this pretty enjoyable. It’s not like it didn’t taste like Ginger Beer either; the ‘zippyness’ and almost ‘bubbly’ ginger flavour was accurate to my memory of Ginger Beer and very well captured the spirit of the drink. This was just much lighter overall and didn’t have that ginger burn that comes with too concentrated ginger. I dislike that sensation so much.

Of course, ginger isn’t the only flavour going on in this blend. I also tasted notes of honey and apple, both of which were quite nice and provided a sweet juxtaposition from the ginger. However, the most interesting flavour I tasted was lime!? I’m not sure where that’s coming from at all because there are no ingredients that should be contributing that flavour however it’s definitely something I tasted, and I quite liked it. Maybe it’s because I was slightly sick and my sense of taste may have been a little off. I’m not sure.

Overall? I wouldn’t buy this again but I liked it and for me that’s more of a ‘win’ than I ever expected with this blend. If I did drink it again, it would probably only be to see if I could taste the lime again when I’m not sick.

I’ve been fighting some sort of bug all week. The rapid weather changes from warmish to windy and below zero hasn’t been helping.

Needed something non-caffeinated and soothing for my throat. This gingery herbal was a really good pick.

Why exactly did DTs discontinue this?

I finally got to redeem some frequent steeper points at DAVIDs! I spent so much money on tea during the summer through iced teas and gifts I had enough for 150 grams free. I redeemed it all on Butterfly Jasmine (which is nearly $60 of tea for free!). I also decided to pick 12 grams of this tea up to give it a try. I know I already have a spicy tea and have been avoiding buying similar teas, but I wanted to try this since it sounds so unique.

I brewed it up in a tea pot- about half the leaf with 1.5 L of boiled water,. Steeped for at least 5min before pouring a cup for myself and husband. The taste is first ginger, followed by a slight sweetness from the apple and flavouring that almost taste like carbonation (does that make sense?). Really reminds me of ginger ale without carbonation or excessive sweetness. I really enjoy it, and plan on picking up more. My husband also really enjoys it as well and he says it does taste a bit like beer too.

I am obsessed with ginger. I’ve tried every kind at my natural foods store and grocery store and I’ve even tried minute amounts of ginger essential oil in sparkling water (not bad, but not necessarily a safe way to consume).
I possess a plain ginger tea (just pure nubs of dried ginger) that I was not particularly fond of as it has a way of going from too watery to oversteeped and peppery rather than pungent.
This tea, however, is not a disappointment. I had doubts upon sniffing it because it smells tart. Once you steep it though, it delivers and brings out these balanced, layered flavours (though I experienced the sweetness as more of a honey topnote than as apple or raisin flavour). The hints of ginger sparkle like carbonation. So far as ginger beer brands go, it reminds me the most of “Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale”.
It genuinely has a smooth, bodied, “ale” feel to it.
I tend to get obsessed with certain teas and not to venture too out of my comfort zone. I can tell this one is going to be a solid, if not daily, standby in cool and warm weather.

Oh wow, this is so good! I was looking for a ginger tea at the end of August and picked up some Ginger Pear, but this is much more like what I’m looking for! Absolutely tastes and smells like ginger beer. I was nervous about the raisins, but fear not! There’s maybe the slightest hint of them in the aftertaste and it’s not off-putting. Only complaint is the lack of caffeine and only because I decided to have this for my morning cup but then my new kitten (got her yesterday, she’s so cute!!!) decided to wake me up at way-to-early am. Ah well.

I’m glad I only picked up 25g of this. I don’t dislike it, it’s just sort of mediocre. All I taste is ginger, just ginger. I guess it’s good if you just want a solid ginger tea.