26 Tasting Notes

57
drank Fantasy Island by DAVIDsTEA
26 tasting notes

As usual, this is a popular tea with generally positive reviews, so of course I have to be the damper!

I liked it on first sip. Didn’t like it afterwards. It tastes a lot like drinking coconut oil. Or rather, it tastes like how my lip balm smells. I don’t know how I feel about it. I definitely don’t hate it, and I can see that making a latte out of it could definitely create something magical, but it’s not a re-buy for me, for sure.

I’ve had better tasting coconut teas.
Just OK.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 6 min, 15 sec

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33

Don’t I get sick of trying out teas that I inevitably will not like, you ask?
Apparently not. I always try to prove myself wrong by trying new things. Sometimes it’s a win, and more often than not, I have to tell myself “I told you so…”

Well, there was a lot of raving about this oolong. In my defense, I am a huge oolong fan. When done well, an oolong is amazing because of its distinct flavor and because of its resteepability. But it has peaches. I don’t like fruity teas. So what wins?!?!

Apparently the oolong lost out big time because I did not like this tea at all. Very similar to my sentiments on the Forbidden Fruit, this oolong falls short of…well, tasting like an oolong.

It has a strong peachy taste to it, that’s almost candied and a bit shocking to my system, to be honest. And while I wait for the oolong taste to kick in, a bit of a nutty aftertaste joins in instead. The oolong tastes weak to me. I’ve played around with the steeping method in terms of time and quantity, but I seem to get the same results.

It tastes like a candied peach tea with a very VERY weak tea-base that’s almost green-tea-esque.

Compared to other oolongs, I probably like this one the least. Doesn’t do anything for me. Even sweetened, I found the peachy flavor to be almost artificial.

Next.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 15 sec

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89

I love Earl Greys, as I find them to be great wake-me-up teas.
When I saw that there was a “Creamed” earl grey, and essentially it was just that kick of vanilla that made it “creamy”, I was sold. Vanilla and I go way back.

Excited, I brew my first Creamed Earl Grey latte. It was very nice! Much more exotic than the usual Earl Grey, which is surprising, because there isn’t a massive ingredients change. The vanilla softens the blow of the otherwise pungent bergamot.

It mixes very well with other caramel-based teas, or even nutty-based teas, in my opinion.

It is the best as a latte, but drinking it on its own is nice too, as the bergamot is strong and gives the tea body regardless of sweetening.

Will likely buy it again when I’m out!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 30 sec

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90

This is another one of those “everyone’s favourites” teas.
I had high hopes and expectaitons coming into my first steep of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong. It smelled heavenly, and the price was quite exorbitant.

To be honest, upon my first sip, I was underwhelmed. It smelled nothing like it tasted. It was not a distinct oolong at all. Seemed pretty pricey for something so run-of-the-mill—or so I thought. This tea really grows on you, especially because of its high re-steep value. And for some, it grabs you upon the first steep as a winner. It really took me a while for me to love it, but I did end up loving it eventually.

Upon perfecting the steeping of this tea, I managed to find a way to bring out the milky fragrance in the actual tea, I was hooked. This is one of those teas that you don’t want to oversteep. In fact, a shorter steep gives a milkier taste and fragrance to the tea, while a longer steep brings the oolong out more. I like the tea FOR its milkiness so I tend to go for the quick steeps. If I want a prominent oolong taste, I go for my High Mountain Oolong instead.

As mentioned, it’s great for many steeps, and I usually tend to think that second and third steeps are the best ones.

If you like an oolong with a bit of oomph, and want something you can steep over and over again, this is definitely a good go-to tea. Remember, don’t be overgenerous in the amount of leaves you steep if you want to keep the milky flavor, and do NOT oversteep it. Otherwise it becomes a strong Oolong, but no milkiness.

I’ve restocked this tea twice now. I’m so glad I learned how to steep this to my liking, because it has become a staple.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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66

I tried this because my sister raved and raved about it, saying how it was one of her favourites.

I like vanilla teas, as you might have noticed from my other reviews, so there was no hesitation on my part to give this a spin.

Well. I was underwhelmed. It feels a bit weak compared to other vanilla black teas I’ve had. In fact, when I added milk and sugar, it washed out the vanilla taste.

It wasn’t horrible, but I’ve definitely had better. Just a standard vanilla black with a higher price tag, sorry to say.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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87
drank Orchid Vanilla by Tea Forte
26 tasting notes

Mmmm.
I always love Vanilla Tea.
I must say, when it comes to teas, teaforte has been my first love.

The cute little packaging had me at “hello”. The array of flavors also captured my tiny little heart.

When I saw that they had a Vanilla tea, how could I not try it?
It’s lovely! I can’t say it’s my absolute favourite vanilla tea ever, but it has a strong vanilla smell and taste, and a prominent black tea flavor to back it up.

Like usual, I prefer these types of flavoured teas with a bit of milk and sugar, but the vanilla hit is strong enough that you can have it on its own, really.

I really enjoy this, but since it’s fairly pricey for a teabag type tea, I do have many other vanilla teas I prefer over it.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 15 sec

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95

I normally don’t like rooiboses, probably because I don’t like fruity teas, and most of the time, rooiboses involve some sort of fruit.

Well, I was a bit skeptical to buy any of this, but it was the tea of the day, and I did enjoy it with a bit of agave nectar (the manager was nice enough to give me some of that to go with my tea). I thought “this isn’t so bad. Maybe I’ll buy a small quantity to bring to work”
Now I regret that decision. Not because I don’t like the tea, but because I should have bought more!

It’s lovely! A fantastic tea that goes so well with milk and sugar, it’s like drinking candy. It has a beautiful creamy base to it that I did not expect from a Rooibos. The caramel aroma is strong, but not too sweet.

This morning, I tried mixing it with Cream of Earl Grey and it has resulted in a fantastic tea (a recommended mix if you haven’t already tried it). It gives the Cream of Earl Grey a nice hit of caramel that jives really well with the bergamot and vanilla. Of course, the milk and sugar really pull the entire package together even better.

I’m slowly enjoying my large mug and I can’t wait to drink another mug of it on its own again. It’s great with milk and sweetener, just with sweetener, heck, even without sweetener. I prefer the first option the best, but any way you look at it, this tea is amazing, and a huge surprise to a non-rooibos fan like me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 45 sec

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93

This was a nice surprise!

I bought this because the description sounded interesting. I’m not much of a rum fan, but the smell of this tea was so nice that I figured I could become one. Plus, most of the times, flavoured teas don’t taste like what they’re supposed to anyway, so I really didn’t see the danger in it.

Well, apparently a) it does taste like buttered rum and b)I love it!

It has a very strong, but not overpowering coconut smell, and buttery notes that give the tea a nice creamy texture. In addition, it has a slight rummy taste to it as advertised, but of course, without the alcohol.

The tea is really pretty to look at as well, with the variations of colours and ingredients.
It is divine mixed with milk and sugar, and lovely mixed with other teas as well. I like it with some Assam or a nice Earl Grey to create a nice coconuty mix of goodness, but it is the best on its own.

I just had my last mug full yesterday, and will be needing to restock cause this is a tea that I do crave from time to time. It works nicely as a dessert tea as well.

Beautiful.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 15 sec

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93
drank Coffee Pu'erh by DAVIDsTEA
26 tasting notes

I didn’t think I’d like this because I’m not a huge fan of coffee, but this name is completely deceiving. It doesn’t taste much like Coffee at all. In fact, I’d say it has more of an almond/hazelnut base more than anything.

I love this tea for its versatility. I almost always have it with milk and sugar, and it makes a mean latte! It is also fantastic to mix with other teas that have a creamier base to it.
My favourite is to pair it with an Assam, but I’ve also tried it with Jumpy Monkey and it is also fantastic. I plan to add some Buttered Rum to it next time to give it more of a Bailey’s type of taste, but I haven’t had any problems with mixing it with other tea leaves because it always creates a uniquely tasty concoction.

I would not recommend this for a coffee-fan as it falls short when it comes to tasting like coffee. BUT those who like to make dessert lattes, or hazelnutty drinks, this one is for you!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 45 sec

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