New Tasting Notes

What a delight! Sophisticated and vibrant, fresh and refined. I’ve been drinking this at work so haven’t really had the time to dive into the intricacies of what is a supple, floral and gently buttery green tea, but its qualities meld seamlessly with the delicately sweet rose petals, the soft Ceylon cinnamon and the sunny-spicy Manuka honey.

For some reason, I feel like the green tea could’ve been grown where I live in northern California rather than in New Zealand. ashmanra is right, the tea has a high energy, and to me, feels very natural, very ‘blue’.

I hope to come back with a more nuanced look into the green tea used in this blend, but if I don’t, know that Lady Gatsby rates exceptionally high with me and is very much recommended for lovers of a naturally perfumed tea.

I’ll create full pages for these, but I’m running out of time.

I got to try the Goddess London Fog (likely mispelled or mislabeled) from Magic Hour, and it’s a floral earl grey blend with Tie Guan Yin. Vanilla, Lavender, rose, jasmine, and of course, the bergamot are added to it. It’s floral, it’s creamy, and it makes anyone feel like a Fairy princess.

The Butter Assam from magic hour is interesting. It’s not as smooth as the Pu-Erh butter tea, but it’s very good. It tasted like a scottish breakfast with cream and sugar already in it from the butter flavoring, even though it’s more butterscotch in profile overall. I oversteeped it, so I splashed some milk to cut back on it. I can see it being more of a morning cuppa, but pretty good. I’m glad I got to try it.

Another of Bird & Blend’s recent Earl Grey collection.

Not too long ago I had another smoked Earl Grey from a company based here in Montreal and it was the first smoked Earl Grey I’ve really enjoyed. By comparison, this falls flat for me. It kind of has the same problems I’ve had with other smoked Earl Grey teas in the last, like the one from Fortnum & Mason, where it’s just too many really intense, aromatic flavours at once that are competing with each other. The balance is just off.

I think that’s because the amount of bergamot in this blend is stronger than the blend from Totem Tea (Earl’s Pipe) and there’s seemingly more lapsang in the blend overall too. Just so much boldness happening. It feels like two people shouting at each other as if they’re on opposite sides of the room, but in reality they’re standing right next to each other. Maybe with milk to dampen some of the flavour noise it might be better!?

But as it stands I just don’t think this one is particularly for me, which is a small bummer because I do tend to really enjoy Bird and Blend’s other smoked teas.

Iced Latte!

Another powder blend from Superbolt that feels like just a ton of ingredients tossed all together. This one is slightly less busy and more cohesive than the Performance Blend I recently reviewed, though.

It’s advertised as a ginger and grapefruit blend, but to be honest it’s really mostly a turmeric powder. Like a souped up/fancier take on a golden milk powder, I guess. A little goes a long way. Overall I thought it was pretty good! Definitely earthy with an aromatic heat to it. You taste all the named spices (turmeric, ginger, cardamom) even if the turmeric is the strongest one. I like the grapefruit inclusion a lot. It’s subtle in taste, but the bright fruity notes did make this feel different from other golden milk style powders I’ve had and it does make for a more lively cup too.

The worst part about this is the same as the last Superbolt blend I tried: the lingering sweetness after each sip. In this case it’s coming from monk fruit instead of stevia and ginseng, and to be I think that does make a difference. It’s not as intense or offensive even if I do find it strong, and the more naturally “brown” flavour of the monk fruit is more complimentary with the spices anyway.

I think I could see this growing on me…

Cold Brew Sipdown (2906)!

This is definitely a tea I’m kind of sad to be finishing off because it’s a really good grapefruit flavour. So fresh, bright and juicy with that signature pink grapefruit flavour without relying on a lot of sweetness or abandoning that touch of pithy bitterness in the tail of the sip. Just a touch! But it’s needed to make this feel as natural and authentically grapefruit as it does. The floral of the elderflower is so well integrated, and it just makes for a cold brew that is practically effervescent without any adding carbonation. Really spritzy and summery!

Usually I get the iced tea version of Zamalek, but this time I decided on a whim to get the sparkling hibiscus instead. I mean, they’re both hibiscus based beverages – but this is just more pure hibiscus instead of having the mint/lemon inclusions.

It’s definitely tart. Like, really tart. I think it would make such a fabulous mixer, but on its own I think that intense berry-like flavour feels a lot more situational for me. Something I have to really be in the mood for. In this case, I liked the first half of the can but then took ages to finish the last half because I was feeling a bit fatigued with the tartness/acidity. It was almost flat by the time I’d actually finished it.

It’s not bad by any stretch though – just really strong and one of those flavours that I personally don’t gravitate towards quite as organically compared to others.

There was a big stink here in Canada not too long ago because the licensing agreements for Nestea changed, so it was discontinued by Coca Cola and replaced with Fuze. Except the formulations for the teas are IDENTICAL – it’s just the branding that’s different/new.

But of course even if you take the same drink and slap a new label on it people are convinced that there’s been a change. I recently tried this next to the Nestea version, though, and at least to me I found absolutely no perceivable taste difference. It’s just as sweet as ever, with the same exact raspberry flavouring…

Ditto for all the other Fuze flavours that are now evveeerryyywheeerrree in Canada instead of their Nestea counterparts.

Had a mug of this with a nice splash of milk on Monday.

I do very much enjoy a simple black tea with rose, and that’s kind of what I thought I was getting with this. It was rich, full bodied and definitely floral. Personally, I would have still enjoyed twice the amount of rose, but I understand that most people would likely disagree. The mug through for a loop though because it was also pretty fruity. I even went back to double check the ingredients because I was seriously tasting something like strawberry as I was sipping. I did like that berry-ish flavour with the florals, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s intentional.

I have more teabags of this one though, so I’m curious to see if I still get those fruity notes if I try this without the milk addition.

Cold Brew!

This was quite nice! At first I struggled to put into words what I was tasting because it was a combination of bright, citrusy, and creamy flavours that was familiar but just a little off? Definitely a pina colada kind of vibe, especially with the sweeter coconut cream notes. However, the pineapple component reads a little more generically tropical than specifically pineapple and there’s some lemongrass in the mix too.

Regardless, it’s very smooth without masking the lovely malty floral notes of the black tea itself. The finish has a bit of a sticker, mouth coating and lingering sweetness and that’s the only element I didn’t love. It just clings a little too long. But otherwise I’d call this very refreshing, tea-forward and for the most part nicely balanced.

This is so familiar tasting, but it’s hard to pin point exactly what tea it’s reminding me of. I think I’ve just had so many different spiced lemongrass-based tisanes before. This is a lot of lemongrass too, but it’s fresh and zesty with a really clean finish. I feel like I can tell it’s good quality because of how aromatic and lively it is. It works well with the spice inclusions, which are also quite aromatic but with a tingly sort of heat and earthiness. Sort of has a profile that makes me think of Thai cuisine!? But in a good way.

Iced Latte!

Made this one yesterday afternoon and it was delicious! Very, very intense and roasty tasting with a bold, in your face sort of earthiness. Not sweet at all, despite the creaminess of the milk. I really found it refreshing, and that thick and mineral sort of flavour with all the roasted root notes was exactly what I’d been looking for when I steeped it up.

Latte!

Lately I’ve really been leaning into iced lattes at work, but this weekend I treated myself to a hot latte with this deliciously decadent powder blend. My favourite of Blume’s superfood latte powders – and it isn’t even close. There’s a hint of cocoa, but mostly this is rich and toffee-like with a pleasantly present hit of sea salt that adds so much dimension and nuance to this creamy, golden flavour. I made extra foam too, so it was an especially rich and delicious latte! Great for a lazy weekend in.

Iced!

So I’ve had this a few times now, and it’s always smooth and refreshing each time with a bright tropical mango flavour followed by a bit more passionfruit in the undertones and finish. I feel like each time I make this I am expecting a lot more of a tangy, sweet intensity in those first few sips – and it kind of just doesn’t happen? It’s good, don’t get me wrong! I just feel like all three of the other flavours have more of that intensity (from the ACV, maybe) that I feel like I’m kind of looking for in this one…

I was having some rather unpleasant cramping over the weekend so I made myself a large mug of this tea at one point, and I think it helped a fair bit with the discomfort. As far as taste goes, it was mellow and herbal leaning but with a soft bit of fruitiness. Raspberry, yes, but mostly a nice fresh apple flavour. Perfectly smooth and comforting.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Tea Pop!

Sometimes I find this tea a little too tart and hibiscus forward, but recently I had it as a tea pop with mango flavoured Bubly as the sparkling water component, and I thought the tropical mango flavour and gentle sweetness really did a lot to offset some of that tartness while still really complimenting the juicy, bright berry notes and subtle creamy finish.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

Gongfu!

The liquor of this tea is surprisingly thick and round feeling, with a smooth and mouth-coating creaminess. The taste is a bit creamy, too, though more nutty than anything else. The first few steeps really reminded me of crepe batter mixed with lightly toasted chestnuts. Like a lighter and more airy version of the rich and decadent buckwheat crepes stuffed with whipped chestnut cream that you can get at the market here in Montreal. The rest of the session had notes of vanilla, almond milk, and golden raisins peppered in throughout, with a fairly consistent undertone of brown sugar. For sure on the sweeter and less crisp/vegetal or floral side for a white tea, but not in a bad way at all. I’m always so impressed whenever I revisit any of these Hawaiian teas from Treehouse!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DI9pCEqSPaG/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEEPPob8lFc&ab_channel=OfficeDog

Grandpa Style!

I’ve sort of unintentionally been on a bit of a white tea streak lately. It’s probably because it’s getting greener and greener outside each day, and the more fresh and crisp notes of the different white teas I’ve been tasting through have really echoed that. This one starts especially soft and milky, even brewed up grandpa-style like I’m enjoying it today. However overtime that flavour becomes a lot more fruity and sweet. Though I tasted a wide range of fruity flavours whilst drinking this tea today, it was a ripe and almost jammy blueberry note that stood out the most to me. It was practically blanketed between delicate sweet cream top notes and a wonderfully floral finish of lilac and violets.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJAUzdmSiZI/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2qy-10GkHM&ab_channel=JuiceWebster

Gongfu!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJCy0utyQfW/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w27D8RHI1w4&ab_channel=AnnieDiRusso

I mixed Cranberry of Basilur (a sipdown!) and Lime Flowers by Sonnentor. The latter one I have hoped to make it a sipdown too, but I had too much; so last cuppa remains. Also the latter one have a great chance to repurchase.

It smells quite funky. Flowery (lilac? how?) and tart cranberry / plain hibiscus. But it tastes better — it brings fruity cranberry with nice floral and sweet notes, so it isn’t that tart, as plain fruity element of this tea.

I wouldn’t blend it like this always; afterall the cranberry tea I preferred to have with black tea; but it works together fairly well.

marking as iced with an 8+minute steep time but actually this is a cold brew, no ice involved — and with a very fun story behind it
in case the news didn’t reach you, my entire country lost electricity yesterday (28th april) at around 11AM; my gf decided to think ahead because ‘hey, we don’t have power, spain doesn’t have power, what if we can’t heat water up tomorrow morning?’
so she prepared cold brew, just in case (I like my cold brew with at least 12hours steep, and she wanted to make sure I’d have my morning tea)
we got power back at around 8PM, but hey, here’s to being prepared!
(and the mini apocalypse was actually kind of fun, we got to nurture our community; you know, if you ignore the stress of everything)

TTB! Despite all the almond ingredients, this reminded me a little of oat milk? And sometimes it was just generic black tea with maybe a hint of dessertiness. Not bad, just average.

Sipdown! I would definitely get this one again. It rivals Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Sunset. Liquid cinnamon candy. The second steep went a while and it was extremely cinnamon and sugar! Delish.
2025 sipdowns: 31