17455 Tasting Notes
Grandpa Style!
I only did half of a coin snapped, along with quite a lot of fresh basil leaves muddled up and steeped together in the liquor grandpa style, just to do something a little more fun and experimental. The result is still pretty delicious with a very, very bitter dark cocoa note swiftly followed up by a whole lot of fresh, savory herbaceousness. Even though this isn’t even close to being a sweet brew, there is something sorta indulgent about it. If you’ve never had dark chocolate dipped or coated basil before, I’d highly recommend. It’s a unique juxtaposition of flavours, but it works shockingly well and this is basil just the tea version of that!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIHpb49yGcA/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7szEV16-wI&ab_channel=TheBrook%26TheBluff
Gongfu!
I’ve been loving the little explosion of Vietnamese teas that I’ve been seeing here on Instagram lately, so I decided to dig out this sample from Tea Thought’s last advent calendar and revisit it. It’s definitely a delightfully sweet and deeply full-bodied tasting tea with such an incredibly distinct burnt sugar profile with almost biscuit-like undertones. I feel like last time I got a lot of more jammy and stewed red fruit/plum notes, but this time I thought those flavour were a lot more modest and the cozier baked sweet potato and cinnamon notes were bolder. With such a strong burnt or caramelized sugar note I thought the whole session had an almost sweet potato pie kind of feel to it, which was just lovely! But also that sugar and biscuit duo also says “Okinawa Black Sugar” in a fun way too!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIKYg7nSMYV/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxHS0NFfE9k&ab_channel=ChickadeeRecords
Gongfu!
Steeped this along with some fresh, lightly sweet green grapes. This was an early morning session, and the lighter but crisp and cooling flavours of the white tea were the perfect gentle but still invigorating and fresh feeling start to the day. Less of an early morning slap awake than a black tea, but still kind of perky in its own way. For me, cucumber pulp is always a favourite tasting note in a white tea, and it pairs so naturally with the subtle but crisp sweetness of the grapes that were nibbled on throughout this session!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIM7VUfIwU6/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FvfTI8MY3k&ab_channel=LipstickPalms-Topic
I think this is the best drink I’ve ever had from Guayaki! The carbonation level isn’t too intense at all, and the flavour is pronounced without over taking the more subtly smoky, sweet and grassy flavour of the guayusa. It makes me think of ginger beer crossed with, like, a cola gummy candy?! Definitely spiced, but in a sweet and soda-like kind of way. A fantastic option, IMO, when it comes to RTD with a bit of an energy boost.
Saw this the most recent time I was grocery shopping and, of course, I always have to try a new Brisk flavour when I see it. Obviously it’s incredibly sweet, so if sweet tea isn’t your thing I’d for sure recommend avoiding. However, looking past the near-cloying level of sugar I _do_actually QUITE enjoy the particular mango flavour used. It starts very ripe and juicy with an almost honeyed undertone, but then it finishes with a little more of the pine-y and resinous edge that you get from just underripe mangoes. It’s deceptively nuanced!
The blackberry flavour from Brisk has been my favourite for a long time, but I think this could maybe give it a run for its money.
A hot cuppa from earlier in the week! I still really enjoyed the playful balance of sweet, jammier raspberry with the bright and lively lemon, but I did find this a little bit more of a brisk and tannic cup with a more intensely bodied black tea, maltiness, and also notable astringency.
Late night cuppa!
I own a pretty shockingly high amount of different root beer flavoured teas, and each and every one of them really feels distinct from one another. This is probably the sweetest and creamiest tasting, really nailing that thick and creamy vanilla ice cream note in the back end of the sip. Though it’s initially all root beer, the woody quality of the rooibos does peak out a little bit between the initial sweetness and then that float component. I like the taste of it, and I think it helps counter some of the more sugary notes. But I don’t think it would be for everyone…
A late night cuppa. I expected it to be sweet, but it was surprisingly a little more sweet than even I had anticipated. Really, really strong amber maple flavour that coats the whole palate and lingers well after each swallow. However, also this sort of undertone that I can only think to describe as oatmeal-like!? Definitely a cozy breakfast kind of vibe overall which is a little ironic because I was drinking it so very late in the evening.
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!
Surprisingly this cold brew was, like, 80% super thick creme anglais flavour with very minimal floral rose. I appreciated the thickness of it though, and I’m never really upset about a really rich and velvety smooth vanilla black tea. Still, I’d have liked a SMIDGE more rose in this brew.
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.
