New Tasting Notes
The quality of the green rooibos here is really fresh and tasty. On top of that, I taste fruitiness. I don’t know that I’d say banana specifically, and smoothie is pretty hard to communicate in a tea vs general fruitiness. The resteep is the same as the first. The second time I had this, I think the green rooibos plus green banana combined to be a little…I guess plantlike, and it wasn’t that pleasant of a cup. I didn’t steep for as long the last time I had this, and I enjoyed my cup again.
TTB tea!
I arrived home from a weekend away to a Huge box with lots of tea! I picked this one for an afternoon tea and it was ok, it was more chocolate the more it cooled, and I typically drink my tea hot. I did like the cinnamon in this blend, but overall I was looking for a bit more flavor for this blend since I thought I overleafed it.
Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon
My stomach has felt like it’s doing somersaults all afternoon, so I wanted something a little bit more soft and soothing to settle it some. I’m not feeling mint or ginger though, so I thought this might do the trick. I don’t really know that it’s helping, but it also doesn’t feel like it’s hurting. Warm and toasty, with notes of cocoa powder and plain, unbuttered or salted popcorn. Can’t complain.
Steeped this one up over the weekend! It’s definitely not my favourite of the Trader Nick blends I’ve tried, but I think it’s a very solid and well balanced one. I do definitely taste the rose but, as indicated on the packaging, it’s offset by a more jammy black currant note. Both black currant and rose can be quite polarizing but I do really think they compliment on another and create this rich yet aromatic cup profile with a surprising amount of complexity to it. The body was great, and it was just really smoothing and easy sipping. Nothing magical, but nothing unpleasant either. I’d say that, if florals and currants don’t turn you off, it’s well worth a try – seems like it has the potential to be steeped with a lot of flexibility. Hot, iced, tea pop, with milk, with honey…
A cuppa from this past weekend. Very much a maple syrup type of taste, but balanced out by the brisk and slightly tannic black tea. It taste the edge off some of the sweeter elements that could read as cloying, without diminishing the richness of the blend either.
Cold Brew!
Drank this one yesterday and really enjoyed it. The banana notes is a bit like the banana penicillin that you’d sometimes get as a kid, but definitely not as sweet/cloying. There’s also a sort of ‘milky’ cream note that accompanies it, and it makes me think of banana pudding. More the banana pudding that has the soaked wafers in it though and less of a “pudding cup” kind of pudding you’d get in your childhood lunchbox. I think, to me, the key differences is the latter is a little richer and more processed tasting. This is still a dessert type banana profile, but there’s a little more of a delicate nature to it and I get elements of real banana in addition to the banana medicine/candy vibe.
If my tin of this tea was a person it would be in kindergarten…
So, y’know, not exactly a “fresh” tin of tea. Even still, it’s plenty delicious and it does make me feel kind of nostalgic for my time working in stores. Getting to talk about tea all day to people in different stages of their tea journey was really so magical feeling.
The peach notes are still sweet and slightly tangy, though they’ve lost a little juiciness. I get elements of pineapple which bring the tangy elements of the blend more to the forefront while adding a slight tropical spin. A hint of ginger brings out the sweetness and makes the fruit notes pop, and the whole thing finishes just a little bit buttery with more of the black tea itself coming through.
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.
Had a hot cup of this a few nights ago at, like, 1AM. It was just one of those striking late night cravings that feels like it immediately needs to be resolved and thankfully I had the tea to satisfy it. Very cinnamon forward brew, but with all of those dense red fruit, orange, and hibiscus notes to go alongside. Very “mulled wine” in feeling, but it felt cozy in a way I haven’t really gotten from Sleigh Ride in years. I know so many people love this blend and find it really snuggly but I’ve always had a more fickle relationship with it.
I don’t know. I’m not saying I’m suddenly a ‘Team Sleigh Ride’ convert based on one cup, but I did feel like I kind of “got it” for the first time in a long time as I was slurping back this mulled fruit and spice blend in the dead stillness of the night/morning.
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.
Cold Brew Sipdown (2307)!
Sipping on this one currently, but it definitely feels off to me. I got this last little bit from a coworker who said they’d had the bag for ages and felt bad because they were never going to drink it. I was feeling all nostalgic for old summer tea blends so I offered to finish it off for them…
I do get those sweeter champagne-like notes alongside the tropical passionfruit that I most associate this tea with, but it’s a little bit stale and dull. I think probably age, but since I don’t know exactly how old the tea is I can’t be 100% sure of that. It’s arguably the most flat tasting brew of this particular tea I’ve ever had though. The most ‘off’ seeming element to me, though, is the surprisingly earthy tasting note that I find lingering on my palate after each sip. I simply can’t explain it and it’s definitely making me feel hesitant to finish off this brew…
Normally I love this tea, so this experience is just kind of weird feeling.
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.
This one really gives Mateina’s Mango Key Lime a run for its money. Definitely the second best flavour that they offer, and I think I’m only splitting it off from first place because the flavours were a little less well balanced. Mostly this comes off as raspberry, but a super bright, tart and sweet raspberry that tastes quite authentically of fresh raspberry juice. It’s like the epitome of summer nostalgia for me – right back to picking berries from my Grandma’s garden on summer vacations.
The yuzu is present, but it comes off more like lemon. I like the brightness it brings to the drink, but because it sits in the top of the sip alongside the tart berry notes it can get lost a little bit. I almost wish there was something a little more dense and jammy to the brew because I think it would make those top notes really pop and explode with juicy, zesty flavour. However, I could also see that making the raspberry feel a little more candy-like of “cooked down” and I quite like how naturally lively it is without those low notes…
As I said in a past tasting note, this flavour of Mateina’s RTDs seemed to be practically impossible to find for quite some time, but I finally stumbled upon a fully stocked shelf of it my last time grocery shopping – along with its sister SKU too. So I obviously picked it up so I could enjoy more than just a taste, which is what I had to settle for at the Tea Festival…
Honestly, this is still my favourite of Mateina’s RTDs – I really wish they had a loose leaf tea equivalent of this flavour. It’s fresh and juicy with just a bit of lime tartness to go alongside that very ripe mango note with it’s slight, slight resin-like greener edge to it. Really refreshing mix of tropical fruits and citrus.
Gongfu!
This afternoon I’m continuing to sip through The Silk Tea Co’s newest collection of oolongs with a session of Temple of Stone!! Though the most immediate notes are of cassia, charred campfire wood, roasted chestnuts, wet stones and nutmeg there’s a definite fruity sweetness that slowly builds and pushes up on the palate from beneath the layers of roast, mineral, and spice. My first thought was more ethereal in that it tasted “purple,” but after some contemplation I’ve settled that it’s more a mix of jammy plum and black currant flavours! It is, as the name suggests, a lot of stone though…
It’s not a secret that I have a soft spot for rock oolongs, so I was definitely excited to try this one. Unlike the typical yancha from China, it’s actually from Yilan in Taiwan though, thanks to generations of shared knowledge, you really can’t taste the difference. As Marika once said to me super casually, terroir is as much people as it is land. Definitely, definitely, definitely thinking about that a lot as I sip on these infusions.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtkKDsrO3ol/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ftjm9KrXk
Lady Lavendar does do a milder, less intrustive Earl Grey with that floral touch – hence likely the “lady” – but I was hoping for a wee bit more strengtjh. The black tea is in the background, perhaps more of an oomph in that area? It’s mildly bergamot, which comes across more when cooling of course. The orange scent is predominant when in the bag but brewed it mixes in and hard to tell it from the bergamot besides taming it slightly. It is creamy and a pleasant cup, just doesn’t stand out as much as I’d hoped.
Preparation
Sipping on Shinigami Rise this afternoon as I begin a long overdo Death Note rewatch. It’s super grey and rainy outside, so an afternoon anime binge watch with a tea inspired by the same anime seems like the PERFECT Saturday afternoon activity! I think it was a bit of a missed opportunity for this blend to not be apple flavoured because, y’know, gods of death love apples and all. However, the richly sweet and spicy notes of cinnamon are actually surprisingly spot on for both the rainy weather and the anime itself; especially the first few episodes which are bombastically intense yet cozy and nostalgic feeling. The last time I watched Death Note through in its entirety was probably just out of highschool, so it really is a blast from the past.
I also love the slight hint of brighter citrusy top notes from the lemon balm, which is a fascinating inclusion to me for such a cinnamon forward blend. I would have expected the spice to drown them out, but instead they’ve not just persevered but also added more dimension to the tea. Thank you *officialochanime*for gifting me this deliciously geeky tea blend; definitely made my day today!!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtmfoKlRrjD/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvIx-SJvlNY
Gongfu!
So, so immensely tired today so I’m enjoying a very laid back session of raw pu’erh. It’s truthfully one of few gongfu sessions I’ve felt up to this past weekend. It’s a pretty nice sheng though, even with really relax and somewhat careless steeping attention being given. A little up front bitterness and astringency with a greener and more vegetal edge, however those slightly abrasive top notes and textures are rewarded with a sweet, lingering taste of honeycomb toffee with a slightly lemony brightness to it. Honestly, I’m picking out a solid amount of complexity with such minimal effort on my part – a great sign for sessions to come where I’m in a more attentive and observational mindset!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtpTBoduvkH/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPYyPBDb-Aw
Gongfu!
This was a short lived session as these leaves brew out quite quickly, but I always love the incredibly unique sweet and savory notes of honey mustard that so sharply punctuate the first couple of steeps. It’s very unlike any other yellow tea I’ve had the pleasure of brewing, though not in a bad way at all. Once the umami of the mustard notes subsides, the rest of the session is a gentle and muted decrescendo of toasted rice and nuts.
I was inspired to pull out this tea sample after seeing all of TheOolongDrunk’s stories from his visit to Great Mississippi Tea Company’s farms this weekend! From my understanding, the yellow tea productions were a bit divisive, but personally I really hope that they keep experimenting because I really do think there’s something quite striking and unique to be had here!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ctr1_H3upKa/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdE7w0JmzZQ
People weren’t wrong, this was actually a delicious mint seasonal tea. I don’t care for most of Adagio’s teas I’ve tried, so that’s a second surprise. Glad I took a chance and ordered a larger bag of this one for the price deal. The chocolate is creamy and blends nicely. Can be my first keeper for the shelf from Adagio – but of course it seems to be seasonally available, but that should be fine as long as I remember to re-order.
