Teavana’s White Chocolate Peppermint tea has been a Christmas fave of mine for a few years, but now that DAVIDsTEA Candy Cane Crush is available, how do they stack up? Here is my comparison of the two teas (and why I will be buying more of both).
While both are white chocolate peppermint teas, the major difference is of course, the tea base. Candy Cane Crush has a black tea base and so is caffeinated while Teavana’s White Chocolate Peppermint is rooibos and caffeine free so more suitable for evening drinking. Not that caffeine stops me drinking teas later in the day personally, but for many it does make a difference.
DAVIDsTEA Candy Cane Crush Review
First, I find DAVIDsTEA Candy Cane Crush more visually appealing compared to White Chocolate Peppermint. The white chocolate drops just seem more like chocolate even if they take longer to melt and the pieces of candy cane and snowflakes just seem more Christmassy.
The chocolate melts to make the tea look like milk has been added and it has a thick feel to the tea. There seems to be some vanilla in it to calm the mint which makes it more drinkable for those who are not huge mint lovers. The mint is much milder than say Snow Day but enough that the black tea base is barely recognizable. To be fair, you don’t taste the rooibos in Teavana’s White Chocolate Peppermint either.
You do need to give it a good shake, I bought the tin which includes a bag of tea and you can see how much the sugar settled. Many of the chocolate chips were also at the bottom of the bag. So you may get very uneven results from small batches. Like White Chocolate Peppermint, it leaves a slight film in the cup so make sure any latte foam is well set or it seems to eat through it.
Personally, I do prefer it as a latte. The same is true for White Chocolate Peppermint. Something about the richer taste of a latte with these rich teas is just perfect.
Teavana White Chocolate Peppermint
I have a full review of White Chocolate Peppermint here so won’t say it all again. It is a much heavier tea and you do get an extra cup of Candy Cane Crush out of 50g which is also cheaper per bag, so you are paying a premium for White Chocolate Peppermint.
Comparison: DAVIDsTEA Candy Cane Crush vs Teavana White Chocolate Peppermint
Ingredients in DAVIDsTEA Candy Cane Crush: Black tea, white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder , butter oil, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), peppermint candy (corn syrup, sugar, peppermint oil, colour (red 40)), snowflake candies (sugar, rice flour, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soy bean oil, corn starch, gum arabic, cellulose gum, titanium dioxide, confectioners glaze, carrageenan, soy lecithin & artificial flavour), cane sugar, peppermint, natural peppermint and vanilla flavouring.
Priced at $7.98 per 50g (6-7 cups using one heaped perfect spoon for a 16 oz latte)
Teavana White Chocolate Peppermint Tea Ingredients: White chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa butter, dry whole milk, dextrose), cocoa nibs, carob pieces, rooibos, natural flavour, coconut blossom sugar, vanilla pieces, licorice root.
Priced at $9.98 per 50g or 2oz if bought online (a little over 5 perfect spoons) but Teavana does have more sales than DAVIDsTEA to bring down the price.
Overall, I do actually love them both. I find that Candy Cane Crush smells more pepperminty than it actually is while White Chocolate Peppermint doesn’t smell as minty as it tastes. Both teas are limited edition, but DAVIDsTEA more so since Teavana’s is a returning tea and they are aware of the demand for it. Teavana’s White Chocolate Peppermint is also a bit more natural in ingredients without the added snowflake candy and candy cane pieces.
Overall, I would probably reach for Candy Cane Crush first unless I didn’t want the caffeine but they are very different teas despite the similarities and I am stocking up on both (which is getting harder with DavidsTea as it sold out quickly).
Which do you prefer?
I ordered the Candy Cane crush because folks were saying it was really good and I didn’t want to miss it. I’ve been working my way through my advent calendar so I haven’t tried it yet. As for White Chocolate Peppermint, I happened to pass by Teavanna yesterday at the mall and they had it available for sampling. It was delicious! The tins were BOGO 50% off. I was tempted, but resisted only because I have so much tea and I’d like to try to make a dent in my stash before buying more.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
They are both delicious, but very limited edition. Candy Cane Crush is already sold out online and in many stores, so if you like it, get more now! Teavana’s usually lasts until the January sale