16 Tasting Notes

83

This tea goes down really nicely first thing in the “morning.” On the first sip it is light, lemony, and green. There is a slight bitter/ acrid side to it but I actually enjoy that. I I like bitter foods (cranberry, grapefruit, etc.). Helps me to feel awake and cleansed in a way. I could be imagining it, but I feel like this tea helps settle my stomach. According to my physiotherapist I have a “hot” stomach with an imbalance of chi. Haven’t looked into it but I do often get random stomach pains and acne on my right cheek, which in TCM indicates stomach problems. Things to think about.

Anyways. I have brewed this hot several times now from a sampler pack and am debating purchasing it on its own.

Flavors: Herbaceous, Lemon, Lemongrass

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 300 ML

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92
drank Ice Cream Cake by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

Mo sprinkles, mo better. After reading all the horrified reviews for Ice Cream Cake, I had to have it. This tea makes me giddy. The leaves, once steeped, look like the sad barfy aftermath of someone’s sweet 16. It smells cloyingly sweet – and there is a delightful sheen to the liquer from all those melted candy chips and chocolate curls. Yes. Sweet heavens above, YES.

I gave this a good steep of at about 5 minutes to make sure all the sprinkles were melted. I will go for a shorter steep next time though, because some astringency is just starting to kick in and I don’t necessarily enjoy that. I will also sweeten it with cane sugar next time because I used stevia and it feels like it is covering up some of the flavour.

Overall I love this tea. It’s a great little sweet comfort on saturday mornings, or as a reading snack. I have purchased 100 grams so as to not run out anytime soon.

Flavors: Cake, Candy, Cocoa, Honey

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 13 OZ / 375 ML

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65
drank Happy Kombucha by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

I am just getting into kombucha so I thought I’d give this a whack. Was curious to see how they would incorporate it into a dry, loose-leaf tea. Well – the answer was about what I expected. Powdered kombucha culture. Okay. My overall first impression was “not bad,” it’s got sortof a muddy, trail mix kind of fruit flavour to it. Could be cleaner. I wonder what this would taste like blended with green tea instead. I tried this iced overnight in the fridge and it was alright, but the flavour didn’t come out of the oolong very well. I just wanted to see what it would be like because I’d rather be able to preserve some of the integrity of the kombucha, if there’s anything left in it from being dried anyways.

Hot was much better. I sipped it unsweetened while checking emails and winding down for the night. I agree with other commenters saying it’s a bit on the syrupy side. By the end of the cup you’re left thinking about other oolongs or tropical greens that do a bit better job incorporating the same ingredients.

Overall, definitely enjoyable, nothing negative to say, but I don’t think I would repurchase.

Flavors: Apple, Malt, Mango, Perfume, Sour

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 200 ML

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60

Tried it iced in store and was not overly fond. I think I would have been more ok with it had it been sweetened more. I find that melon teas just don’t really do it for me because compared to other fruits, dried and re-hydrated melon just does not retain much flavour. Not sure. Maybe this would be really nice brewed strong, well sweetened, with some crushed fresh mint? I could see that. But I don’t know if I’ll be buying this.

Flavors: Apple, Carrot, Lemongrass, Melon

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90
drank Lemon Pound Cake by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

Was not expecting to love this tea as much as I do. When it first launched a month or two ago, I was looking at it like “Really?” “Did this really need to be a tea flavour?” Well – I was pleasantly surprised because it’s quite tasty. I am not a fan of lemongrass but the lemongrass in this takes a backseat – thankfully. This tea contains some artificial flavours – I know a lot of people get really wigged out over that, but honestly it doesn’t taste that way. More of a “I wonder how they did that?” kind of thing. Upfront is mostly that “baked” flavour found in some other dessert teas, and lemon. The oolong is mellow and …I want to say floral.

Got this in the breakfast collection. Debating on buying a bag of this on its own now :)

Flavors: Butter, Cake, Lemon, Lemongrass

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 7 OZ / 200 ML

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80
drank Eggnog by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

I’m an eggnog lover. This tea is pretty good. Not fantastic, but pleasant and craveable. The dry leaf would have you believe it’s spicy and grassy – but it’s less so once brewed up. What I’ll do is let it steep strong a good 5 minutes and then make a latte with it – with actual hot eggnog, and probably a sprinkle of extra nutmeg or cinnamon. De-licious.

Flavors: Apple, Candy, Eggnog, Herbs, Musty, Nutmeg, Smoke, White Chocolate

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 250 ML

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80
drank Red Velvet Cake by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

LOVE red velvet cake, but this tea comes up a little short. It’s easy to overdo the steeping on this and get it too astringent/ beety, so be careful unless you plan on making a latte.

I think they could have added more vanilla/ butter flavour to this tea and I might have liked it more.

Flavors: Chocolate, Maple Syrup, Red Fruits

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 300 ML

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20
drank Sugar Plum Forest by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

I detest licorice and anise, so I am probably biased. But even beyond that, this tea just tastes confused. Muddy, sour in a bad way, and any somewhat pleasant floral notes are drowned in spice. It tastes spoiled somehow. I’ve tried to like this, I’ve tried different preparations, and it always turns out foul. I dunno. Maybe this would appeal to people that like a smorgasbord of flavours, but for me all the notes are confused and unpleasant.

Flavors: Absinthe, Anise, Herbs, Lemongrass, Licorice, Molasses, Rosehips, Sour

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 250 ML

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95
drank Coconut Cream Pie by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

A new favourite. I’m usually conservative with my stashes, but I blasted through a 50g bag of this in a week. I can drink this any time of day as a very pleasant pick-me-up.

The dry leaves certainly smell like a pie – the crust/ baked aromas come through quite strongly. Very sweet overall.

You don’t get much of a crust flavour in the liquer. Certainly butter, but no crust. Overall it’s very nutty and smooth. For the people that aren’t big coconut fans, it doesn’t have that poopy flavour that coconut can sometimes have. Slight oil droplets on the surface from the chocolate and coconut but nothing too obnoxious.

I prepare this a little differently. I will get the kettle to a full boil and as I am waiting, I pick the white chocolate chips out of the tea and put it along with my sweetner of choice into the cup. Once the water is at a full boil, I pour a little into the cup and stir it briskly to get the chocolate and sugar well dissolved. I then fill the cup and steep the tea (in bag or strainer) with the kettle water that has had a chance to cool. While the tea is steeping I usually tug the bag up and down a couple times to break up the leaves if they clump together. That way the chocolate is fully incorporated and you get a perfect, flavourful steep.

Flavors: Butter, Coconut, Creamy, Nuts, Roasted, Smooth, Sugar, White Chocolate

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 7 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 250 ML

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100
drank Serenity Now by DAVIDsTEA
16 tasting notes

This is my favourite tea from DavidsTea. Refreshing and soothing and perfect for any time of day. I personally really enjoy floral teas, particularly rose which is a principal flavour here. You get very different flavours depending how you steep it. A shorter steep will yield a complex flavour with lavender up front. 3-4 minutes will give you a balanced floral/ fruity strawberry flavour. After 4-5 minutes the currants and hibiscus take over.

Flavors: Apple, Hibiscus, Honey, Lavender, Perfume, Rose, Strawberry

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 250 ML

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Profile

Bio

Hi, I’m MG. I’m a gal in my mid 20’s, recently graduated from college. I am an illustrator by trade but have other hobbies on the side such as jewellery making, writing, and video games.

I am a casual amateur in teas. I enjoy trying most things. My favourite teas are greens, whites, florals, and dessert teas. I have a sweet tooth which dictates many impulse purchases. I really, really love a mellow black tea with rose. Am currently on a quest to find a nice clean rose/ black tea that doesn’t have any other flavours added.

Teas I really am not a fan of would be overly sour/ smokey pu’erhs, wine-flavoured teas, teas with hot chili in them, and teas that involve star anise/ licorice. I enjoy lighter pu’erh or pu’erh blends but I feel that tea should not taste smokey. Ew. I love wine, I just think trying to drink it hot or combine it with tea is nasty. And as for anise, it’s just a flavour I have strongly disliked since childhood. I’ve tried to like it many times…just..no. If I detect the slightest hint of licorice in a non-medicinal tea, it loses major points or gets chucked.

My rating system:

95-100: A perfect favourite. Loving it and hoarding mass quantities to keep forever.

90-94: Favourite, I will crave it often and repurchase indefinitely.

80-89: Very good, I enjoy it a lot and will purchase.

70-79: Left a good impression and will probably keep some around.

60-69: Drinkable but probably won’t be repurchasing.

40-59: Fail. Did not enjoy, but finishable.

0-39: Somehow this tea managed to be truly awful. These teas are about as rare for me as the 95-100’s.

Location

Canada

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