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much thanks to scribbles for this tea experience!

i really do enjoy puerhs, overall, but this one (to my surprise) was too much for me!

within about 30 seconds of steeping the water in my cup went the colour of coffee and i couldn’t see through the sides of the cup. total steep time was maybe a minute?

very heavy, very dense, heavy stick of caffeine on the tongue. i say this WITH cream in it! as i finished the last few sips i discovered there was an accumulation of syrup about 1/2 centimeter thick at the bottom.

it occurs to me that possibly the cooking process that takes place to form puerh bricks changed the nature of the tea that i usually enjoy so much. this tea company is also very young by my standards, having been established in 2009.

afraid i can’t give much of a taste reference other than the word ‘heavy’…. actually ‘HEAVY’ is more accurate. not sweet. not fruity. no liquor that i could pick up and the nutty flavour that normally accompanies puerhs was also undetectable.

again, not sure if it was the cooking process or the tea quality with one.

thanks much to scribbles for sending me this lovely sample in our exchange!

when i popped the bag open blueberry mixed with the clean dry smell of tea and the twang of elderberry immediately came to me. i like a tea where i can see the contributing agents, lol— this blend has whole berries in equal amounts to the tea. the stevia add in makes sugar unnecessary depending on your tastes. it’s interesting because this is so mellow for a black tea, a robust flavour overall, but sometimes black teas are difficult to layer with fruits because they can be overbearing. not so in this case!

lovely with cream, lovely on the second steep as well as the first…. a new favourite from david’s for me. once i finish this sample i will absolutely buy more!

i am very new to green tea so my rating will be rather metaphorical and adjectival!

this tea is both simple and complicated concurrently. before i sip it smells like the ocean, reminding me vaguely of nori from when i make sushi in my kitchen. in my mouth it has light curls of smoke that add layers but don’t overpower. sliding to the back of the tongue caffeine asserts itself, the potential for bitterness is there, but doesn’t develop.

the most surprising element appears at this point…. after i have swallowed sweetness comes up from under my tongue. verdant tea…. how did you manage this?

this tea is outstanding. i added nothing to it and will continue to refrain to (high praise from me). i should also say as someone who has worked in customer service for years that the hand written signed notes thanking me and wishing me well truly meant to world to me. classy company, quality product.

i did cream and sugar this one. the smell is incredible. the taste (on this first brew)was not what i had hoped it would be. i’m going to chalk that up to possible operator error. i really like a long steep, especially for a robust tea like this one and i think i may have cut off my steep time. thus far i find this to be a god tea, but not a great one as i was expecting…but i hope my mark will be adjusted.

what is interesting about this tea: i have a heavy brown layer visible through my clear tea cup. if i’m judging by bouquet alone then i am absolutely convinced. once it’s steeped: the chestnut has a significant presence! it makes for a very nice, rich, stable base…. an exotic neutral, if you will.

sadly, at the moment i cannot see having this blend without cream and sugar… but that may change. stay tuned!

UPDATE: for reasons i cannot fathom this tea was loads better on the second steep?!! i have no idea what toned down or how i managed it, but the second steep makes aaaaaall the difference. happily, i am increasing my initial rating! again, the chestnut base in this blend is divine.

this tea is light with a beautiful combination of fruit and flower notes, though none of them overpowering. although i haven’t tried it, i have every expectation that it will be brilliant iced. (i had waaaay too much fun today at teavana….. i need to seriously consider putting myself on a stricter tea budget!)

i just add a bit of sugar to this one, no need for cream because it’s so lovely clear. i have a single grouchy caveat: i dislike the name. if beth didn’t know me and what i like i wouldn’t have given this tea a second thought because the title rubs me the wrong way….. but in the grand scheme of things that is a very small gripe. head of the class teavana!

this.is.a.brilliant.tea. the smell you get in the store is exactly how it tastes once it’s steeped. the blend is absolutely honest in its bouquet representation.

the colour is warmly pink. the taste genuinely passionfruit— not a citrus approximation. just enough flowers for it to be a tea and not just a fruit blend. adjectives: robust, elegant, balanced…

beautifully done, david’s teas! i can only hope that i can get this tea in the fall (please?).

i prefer this tea from the first steep versus the second because i enjoy robust flavour. to be honest i didn’t much taste almonds, the strongest flavours in the first steep were chocolate and raspberry, in the second steep raspberry and mate. both times a very fruity tea.

quite nice, overall. it will do nicely as dessert!

okay, honestly, the first time i tried this tea it fell very flat and i was unimpressed. however, i figured i would give it another go seeing as it’s sitting in my cupboard.

tealux’s lychee raspberry is brilliant… but i’m afraid that my second go round with their lychee peach has not improved my opinion.

i love lychee and peach,but i taste neither in this blend. what i do taste is a creamy tobacco flavour. not like the smell of expensive pipe tobacco which can be nice, but something more acrid.

not more than a marginal grade from me…

my review of this tea is two pronged, personal and professional.

1) personally, i tend to be very picky when it comes to rooiboos. the smell from this herbal was great, but it didn’t follow through on taste for me. this struck me as odd because coconut tends to be such a robust flavour like in david’s teas coco lemon thai…. however, not in this case.

i will add another piece of relevant information at this point. my bag of alpine punch was a sample sent from montreal. this is where the professional aspect of my review kicks in.

2) the description of this tea on steepster is at odds with the packaging from head office. the list of ingredients on my bag of tea reads as such: rooiboos, COCONUT CHIPS (COCONUT, COCONUT FAT, SUGAR)apple, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, rose blossoms, almonds, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURING.

i like david’s teas. they’re canadian and they come up with very creative blends, regardless of whether they’re to my taste. however, due diligence in terms of ingredients listing is VERY IMPORTANT. i have come to understand that david’s teas is one of canada’s fastest growing companies which means that diligence across the board (ingredients especially!!!) becomes even more important.

david’s teas has formulated some of my favourite teas, but in my opinion this was a very big ball to drop.