268 Tasting Notes

88
drank Bamboozled by DAVIDsTEA
268 tasting notes

First of all, bamboozled is a fun word. Almost as fun as lackadaisical, which is one of my favorite words. And I’ve never had a bamboo tisane before!
Dry, this tisane smells peachy and pineapple-y in about equal parts and like something else that I can’t quite identify. While brewing, the peach smell takes over and the others fade to the background. The mouthfeel of this tisane is very interesting. It is refreshing and feels like I’ve just had a sip of mint tea without tasting like it at all. The feeling on my tongue is almost exactly the same. While all that is happening, there’s some peach breezing by with a tiny pineapple tagalong. The fruit flavors become more apparent as the tea cools. I like it a lot! Especially for the summer, which may decide to make an appearance in Minneapolis at some point before the next 8 months of winter. One can only hope.
Thank you Virginia for this very interesting sample!

Flavors: Bamboo, Peach, Pineapple

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 30 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Virginia

Omg I’m so glad you like it! I get some light artificial banana notes when I drink it, and I was afraid you would hate it. It’s probably just my confused tastebuds though, ’cause no one else mentioned that banana taste in their reviews.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

82
drank Main Squeeze by DAVIDsTEA
268 tasting notes

Welp, that was quite the transition from the vanilla orchid lol. I’ve never had a maté before (also just figured out how to type an accent aigu…this is an all around learning experience). This tea smell like orange Tang, both dry and steeped. This made me a bit apprehensive and I almost added sugar to begin with, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m enjoying this much more than I thought I would! I don’t like orange juice (shhhh, don’t tell the other Floridians), although I do like eating oranges. This is a subtle enough orange flavor that it’s enjoyable and it’s also tempered a bit at the end by a sweeter general tropical fruitiness. That must be the pineapple and papaya, although I would not have been able to identify those flavors if I hadn’t read the ingredients. I bet this would be pretty good cold brewed too. All in all, I am enjoying this and definitely would not turn it down if offered but I am not sure I would buy it.

Thanks to Virginia for this sample! Left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have tried this tea and I would have missed out!

Flavors: Fruity, Orange

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 45 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank Vanilla Orchid by DAVIDsTEA
268 tasting notes

This is my first Davids Tea ever!! And it’s all thanks to Virginia, who sent me samples of every DT she had. I mentioned that I’d never tried any DTs and about a week later, I have 41 NEW TEAS to try! How awesome is she?

Back to the tea, I think this is a very auspicious start to my relationship with Davids Tea. This tea is just lovely in every way. The leaves are gorgeous and unfurled very prettily when steeped. I felt like I was watching one of those time lapse nature videos of a plant growing. When sipped, a mellow oolong taste begins and then melts into an elegant, understated floral note. When the floral fades, you’re left with a soft pop of vanilla on the tongue. I think I’m in love. I must have this tea always.

Flavors: Orchids, Vanilla

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 5 min, 45 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Virginia

I’m really happy you like it :) this was my first oolong

Marzipan

Keep the reviews coming, I’m visiting a David’s in two weeks.

ohfancythat

Oh this is one of my all time fave DT’s!

mj

Virginia, I can’t believe this was your first oolong! What a perfect first oolong. My first oolong was just some oolong at a chinese restaurant lol.
Marzipan, I will be trying ALL THE TEAS. Work is going to interfere considerably with all the tea tasting I’d like to do. I’m unreasonably (or completely reasonably?) excited. Also, I’m über jealous that you get to go to an actual David’s store!
whatshesaid, I can see why!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93
drank Yunnan White Jasmine by Verdant Tea
268 tasting notes

I tried this one cold brewed this time and it was really good! It’s super floral and refreshing, but you do almost completely lose the base in the cold brew which is a shame. When I thought of Jasmine tea before, I almost always thought of it cold but I actually prefer this one hot.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 6 tsp 24 OZ / 709 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

83
drank Snow Monkey Plum by Coffee and Tea LTD
268 tasting notes

I’m not going to lie, I bought this mainly because snow monkey was in the name. That just sounded interesting lol. The dry leaf smells tart mainly, if the makes sense. I can’t really pin it down as one thing, the smell just makes me think this tea will taste tart. It makes me want to sneeze if I sniff too deeply. Brewed, I smell the black base mainly with an undercurrent of the tart smell. The taste is mainly the black base as well, which tastes like an english breakfast tea to me, with the fruit taste stronger than the smell would lead me to believe but still quite subtle. There is an undercurrent of juicy fruitiness to the sip, which finishes with a strong tart stone fruit flavor that reminds me of the skin of a plum rather than the flesh. This is a pleasant cup of tea and quite interesting but not something that I would crave all the time.

Flavors: Stonefruit

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Virginia

Is it hibiscus? The tart taste?

mj

It’s not hibiscus. The smell is almost like these dried plum things (not prunes, they are so dried they’re hard) my mom used to eat when she was a kid in Hawaii. Those things are so sour, they’ll turn your head inside out. Luckily, this tea doesn’t taste like that lol

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank The Killer’s Vanilla by Butiki Teas
268 tasting notes

I tried this cold brewed, but only brewed a cup’s worth because I wasn’t sure I’d like it cold and I didn’t want to risk wasting too much of the prrreeeccciooouussss. I totally regret that decision now. This is excellent cold brewed! It’s completely refreshing. It does taste slightly different than when it’s hot. The mint comes through stronger, with the lavender close behind. You lose a bit of the vanilla. I’m still a huge fan though! I brewed this for 10-11 hours in the refrigerator. 2.25 tsp/12 oz filtered water.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
Cheri

I’m going to order some of this, so I’ll have to try it, and the blackberry lime as well.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

reviewed Kati loose tea system by Teaware
268 tasting notes

I liked my first Kati system thing….whatever it is….so much that I decided to buy another. See, the first one was supposed to live at work, but I liked it too much so I ended up carrying it back and forth every day. Anyway, I ordered the “poppy fields” one this time (the one with the red and orange flowers). I thought the background was going to be purple, but it was brown. A tiny bit of a bummer, but nbd. Unfortunately, it also arrived with a chip in the rim. I was extremely (pleasantly) surprised when I called customer service and they sent another one to me right away, no questions asked. I didn’t even have to send the damaged one back. Huge props to Tea Forte for that!

Suziqzer

That is great customer service! I have looked at some of their mugs, but looked at Davids Perfect Mugs too.. not sure what I want next. The poppy fields one was one that I had my eye on, red is a favorite color of mine :)

Suziqzer

I didn’t realize the background was brown. Don’t they have one with a white background? Oh, maybe that was cherry blossoms.

Terri HarpLady

I’ve been admiring Kati cups for awhile. They are so beautiful, & it’s awesome to hear that they have excellent customer service!

Cheri

I’ve been looking at this as well, but I worry the little infuser basket is too small. It seems small in the pictures I’ve seen, anyway. How’s the actual size?

mj

Yep, Suziqzer, the cherry blossoms one has a white background.

Cheri, the inner diameter of the basket is about 7cm or 2.75in and the depth at the center point (it’s rounded) is about 3.5cm or 1.38in. The measurements are approximate but should give you an idea of how big it is. If you’re worried that the infuser wouldn’t reach deep enough into the mug, there’s an inner rim aprroximately 1cm down from the top of the mug where the infuser basket sits.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

72

This tea is a bit weird. Maybe I just feel that way because it’s called “Just Naughty ’Nilla” and it really doesn’t taste like vanilla at all. To me, the dominant taste is the carob, which is kind of chocolatey and kind of woodsy tasting. Woodsy is not really a favorite flavor of mine. I do like the base tea though. It’s quite malty, which I enjoy. Thank you for the opportunity to try this, Just Organic Tea!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
drank SoHo Blend by Harney & Sons
268 tasting notes

I must be feeling hobbit-ish today because I totally just had second breakfast. I had another piece of toast with nutella, but had some SoHo blend with it this time. I honestly wanted more raspberry truffle, but it’s at work right now :-(. It’s hard to complain about SoHo blend though. Chocolate and coconut is one my favorite flavor combinations and this tea does it really well. Plus it’s so pretty! Lazy saturday mornings are the best:-)

Flavors: Chocolate, Coconut

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML
TheTeaFairy

“Hobbit-ish”, cute ;-)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

92
drank Raspberry Truffle by Butiki Teas
268 tasting notes

I had this for breakfast this morning along with some toast with nutella. That was a great decision on my part. The chocolate in this tea is really smooth. It’s more of a milk chocolate, but not too sweet like most milk chocolate. It lifts up the flavor of the raspberry and presents it to you. Thanks chocolate, I would like to taste that raspberry. Tart and sweet mmmm….I’m bumping the rating on this one a bit. I think I underrated this the first time.

Flavors: Chocolate, Raspberry

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Profile

Bio

Tea-obsessed, book worm scientist.

I love black tea, especially Chinese black tea- I’m looking at you Fujians and Yunnans! I also enjoy Indian teas, mostly first flush darjeelings (and a select few assams).
I think I’m recently starting to like oolongs better though- gasp! I’ve been cheating on my black teas with all these lovely, alluring green floral oolongs. Sorry I’m not sorry.
White tea gets a lot of love too! I am particularly fond of silver needle whites.
I can’t seem to appreciate green teas and rooibos is foul, IMO.

Other interests: Books! Board games! Nerdy entertainment like Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Sherlock, all the nature documentaries, etc etc. Also Disney!

I’m up for swaps!

Follow me on instagram if you like tea, food, and animal pics plus some other randomness:
http://instagram.com/mj1851

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Following These People

Moderator Tools

Mark as Spammer