4943 Tasting Notes
(DavidsTea 75)
I was confusing this with DT’s other lychee tea, the name of which is escaping me right now. On the plus side, this is much fresher (still from 2017 though), but on the downside, this is sweet due to candied pineapple and sweet blackberry leaf. I do taste peach, not as much lychee, but the extra sweetness is not working for me.
(DavidsTea 74)
I think I bought this for the appealing name alone. The ingredient list is quite a mishmash, with mate, rooibos, black tea, fennel, coriander, coffee leaves, carob, chicory… plus our constant foe stevia, which I hadn’t realized. No real idea how it would taste (to be honest, I don’t actually like oat milk, but I like the idea of oat milk, haha).
It turned out to be a fairly complex, rich, sweet blend (I chose to drink it plain but presumably it would be best as a latte). The flavours are familiar, though I don’t know what in particular is causing that sense. I’m not too bothered by the stevia, and in a latte, it would likely be even less noticeable, especially if sweetened.
I’ll have to try this again to really know how I feel about it – initial thoughts are that while I am enjoying it, it probably wouldn’t be a favourite?
(DavidsTea 73)
Made another order, which just arrived today, and included 4 new-to-me teas, including this one! I really don’t know why I picked this up in 50g size, but… here we are. I plan to send the remainder to my mother, who I suspect will enjoy this more than me.
This is really quite what you’d expect – green base with ginger and jasmine. I didn’t even know it contained matcha until I read Roswell Strange’s tasting note – so let’s just say it’s not a dominant flavour. I enjoyed that the ginger and jasmine seemed fairly well-balanced, which is probably going to be a product of infusion time more than anything.
Overall, a pleasant green tea blend, but not overly special.
2021 Sipdown 26/365!
(DavidsTea 72)
This doesn’t have much flavour at this point, mostly greasiness from the white chocolate chips. I have much better eggnoggy teas in my stash. It doesn’t taste bad, though, just boring, and no real resemblance to eggnog aside from, perhaps, the thick mouthfeel.
(DavidsTea already recorded)
Ok, found one of the errant bags of this. Unfortunately, this one does not smell great in the bag. It’s only from 2017, and there aren’t any ingredients in it that typically go off, so I’m wondering if either it was partially unsealed at some point, or, if this is from the time that I remember the fresh DT silver bags having an odd aroma that transferred to the tea. Hard to know.
It looks like I likely drank this 2 years ago and remarked at the time that it had lost some flavour. So who knows.
Anyhow, if I’m being honest, it’s borderline drinkable right now. All of the delight I had drinking the fresh package is totally absent, it’s just a mildly lemon, kind of stale-tasting, cup of a not-great oolong. There is one cup left, maybe I’ll drink it. Maybe it’s better hot; maybe it’s better not after ultra-sweet Berry Poppins?
2021 Sipdown 25/365!
(DavidsTea 71)
Hmm, I thought I had liked this more than my rating suggests. My recollection was of a berries + cream type tea that I should have stocked up on a bit, but perhaps I’m confusing it with something else (although it does contain cream flavouring?)
I should have listened to my gut when I poured the last of the dust into my infuser – yes, it was sweet blackberry leaf dust and wow, is this ever sweet. Surprisingly, though, I’m not finding it offputting, and am actually enjoying it, because the rest of the flavour I’m getting here is a strong, delicious, berry medley. Which… doesn’t totally match up with the ingredient list, unless I’m pretty much just drinking blackberry leaf + blackberry flavouring (which I’m not, there were some other ingredients there, but perhaps these two are just overwhelming everything else).
A better, albeit very sweet, sendoff to this tea than I had anticipated.
ETA: Got some distinct hibby in the last couple sips – but totally acceptable tartness level.
(DavidsTea 70)
Just spent an hour dealing with my tantrumming son; need a nice calming tea. I’d made this before he woke up crying, and now I get to have it cold. Oh well.
It’s really quite a pleasant sleepytime tea, as they go. I don’t mind the chamomile or valerian, and the coconut is fairly strong, which likely covers some less pleasant flavours.
Ok so, this is better with milk, and I think the rotten overpowering banana flavour has dissipated, but still not a fan of the licorice. However, sweetener masks some of that detestable flavour and turns this into a banana cream pie sort of flavour (so, bananas and custard), which is ok. However, I’m not really keen on having teas that require milk to be palatable, so although this is probably how I’ll use up the rest, it would definitely not be a repurchase.
