48 Tasting Notes
The second half of the giant blooming tea tin that my Mum brought back from the US is filled with this peach-scented white.
See my note on Teavana’s Strawberry Misaki for my feelings about blooming teas in general.
The dry tea smells like peach candy, but not in an offensive way. It’s more delicate than some other fruity scents.
The ball bloomed fully in 4 mins. It was pretty spectacular – I like the ones with long finger-y extensions. Reminds me of an alien. In a pretty way.
The infusion is pale yellow and still has a nice peach aroma.
My first sip… I burned my tongue. Badly. Now, I’m not gonna blame the tea itself for that, but the experience overall has been somewhat tainted now. ;-)
After letting it cool down a bit, like a sensible girl, the tea is pretty weak. Like drinking peach-scented water, because I’m fairy certain that most of what I’m tasting is actually the scent. If I were to plug my nose, it would probably be pretty close to plain old hot water.
Maybe I would let this one steep a while longer the next time to see if I could draw more flavour out of it. I doubt if a second steep would yield anything worth drinking. At the price these little guys go for, I would be pretty disappointed with these results – if I had paid for them myself, that is. As it is, with these being gifts, it’s is a fine experience, but not remarkable.
I probably won’t be looking to re-stock this one when I’ve gotten to the bottom of my tin, but may entertain some folks with a pretty display until then.
Preparation
Oh I love Genmaicha. It’s probably my favourite way to drink green tea.
That being said, I haven’t had a really broad sample of varieties. I used to drink a bagged version from the Asian grocery store before I got into loose leaf teas, and this one from David’s has a much fuller flavour than those. The green tea is sweet and the rice is toasty and yum. I’ve also gotten totally lazy with this and completely oversteeped it some days, and it’s not gone bitter on me yet.
I do wonder if there are better versions out there, and I’d be keen to give them a shot once I’m through this tin.
PS – I totally judge the appeal of a Genmaicha by the ratio of popped kernels to unpopped, because I think it’s cuter if there’s more. Is that wrong?
Preparation
I totally judge the ratio. And, I prefer the popped rice as well as toasted, though I’m not sure it really makes much of a difference in either case.
Yeah, I doubt actually matters one way or t’other, but it’s so much cuter when they’re popped, no?
Oh, it is definitely cuter when they’re popped. :P
My very generous Mum recently spent some time in the US, and knowing that I’m a tea-granny, she, bless-her-heart, bought me a whole tin of these blooming teas from Teavana. “Because it’s very fancy there, you know.” Well, we all have our own thoughts about Teavana and just how fancy it may or may not be, but who am I to turn down free tea?
First off, I’m not really an appreciator of blooming teas. I know they’re lovely to look at, but since I do the majority of my tea drinking alone, I kind of feel like the entertainment value a blooming tea provides is wasted on me. And plus, I almost never resteep them, because I’ve usually just consumed a whole pot of tea by myself. Also, I’ve never had one with a taste that’s comparable to a regular loose leaf tea.
This one is no different to me. I should also mention at this point that I quite like Davids Tea’s Strawberry White to fill the fruity/white tea niche in my tea cupboard. So this tea ball is facing some direct competition.
It smells of strawberry candy, which seems promising. It’s a little artificial for my taste, but fine.
I poured the water over the ball, as gently as I could, trying to avoid direct contact. It still fell apart a little, shedding some leaves into the pot.
After the suggested 4 mins, it had bloomed fully (Pretty! Flowers!), and the liquor was a light yellow colour. It was darker than I expected. The strawberry smell had mellowed out, and it was quite pleasant.
The flavour is pretty gentle, and it’s mostly strawberry candy. I don’t really get much white tea, but there is a bit of a floral quality that pokes through.
I don’t think I would have picked this one up on my own, and if I didn’t have a whole tin of them, I probably wouldn’t give it another shot. It might be nice to give as a gift, or to bring out when my Mum comes over, but most of the time, I’d rather drink Strawberry White, which tastes more like strawberries and white tea than this.
Preparation
The guy at Davids called this “the key to a lady’s heart” when I went there to buy some, and I completely agree! Every woman I know who has tried this tea just loves it. Myself included.
It’s not my favourite, but when it’s cold outside and I want something sweet and comforting, this is what I turn to. I like it with cream and brown sugar to add to the indulgence. I indulge even more when I get nice and lazy and just leave the leaves in there the whole time. I’ve never had it go bitter or weird on me… there’s probably enough other stuff in there to hide my sins.
The only points off are actually for the smell, which I find a bit too strong. The caramel candy smell is delicious, but just a mite overpowering. It totally mellows out when brewed though, so I don’t mind.
Now, I’m off to have a mug for dessert, because it’s -21 out there!
Preparation
not my fave, too pumpkiny lol – I guess I’m an odd one :P
Nothing wrong with being unpredictable, Indigo!
I didn’t really like this one either, and for the exact reason you pointed out in your post – the smell is completely overpowering! Which is sas, because the flavour is wonderful, especially with milk and brown sugar… darn smell!
I totally get that, Kay! When I’m introducing my friends to Pumpkin Chai, I always tell them to smell it from afar. If they put their nose right in the tin, they’re usually turned off by the blast of candy smell. That being said, one taste, and they’re pretty well sold. ;-)
When I was a kid, I remember my Mum served us a Lapsang Souchong after a family dinner one night, and we all hated it so much that the very mention of the name today is still enough to make my sisters pull faces.
But I am brave, and much cooler than them, so when I started to see recipes that suggested using Lapsang Souchong to impart a smoky flavour to the dish, I was intrigued.
Now when I smell that distinctive smoke from this tea, it hits me in the same spot as the smell of baking bread, or macaroni and cheese. It’s completely comforting, and makes me want to snuggle up with a cup of this and a book and read late into the night.
The smoke flavour profile in this one seems to be lower that whatever it is that I had as a child. It’s definitely strong, but not like drinking a cupful of ashes. The tea adds a nice astringency, and the smoke lingers in a very toasty aftertaste.
I think I can consider myself a convert. I don’t think anyone here would see this as an everyday tea, but it’s an evocative experience in a cup, and I’m a fan.
Preparation
Oh Santa’s Secret. Why are you so awesome?
I’ll tell you why – because you offer a delicious blend of subtle flavours that don’t overpower each other.
Chinese Black tea? Present!
Peppermint? Present!
Vanilla? Present!
Candy Sweetness? Present!
All that with spicy support from cinnamon, clove, and orange? Yeah. I’m sold.
Although this is a seasonal tea, I can totally picture myself drinking this while camping in the summer. It’s a decided favourite, and I’m not even ashamed to admit that I bought a whopping 250g bag of this to stock up for the year.
I think if this doesn’t get renewed again next year, I may turn my back on Davids entirely (yeah, right. good luck with that one!). But it really is that good.
