New Tasting Notes

(Spring 2023 Harvest)

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – April 2024 Tea #5 – A tea with a special meaning to you 

I tend to only drink this one if I feel the need to alleviate extra, more than usual anxiety.  So I guess it’s a specially helpful tea?  Still one of my very favorites.  Still surprised it is so good, every time I have it, as one of my oldest teas.  Luckily, not a sipdown yet.  I am still searching for an Earl that can match it… don’t believe it’s possible.   

Had a nice note all written out and then chrome decided to delete it. Yay. Or maybe I should blame myself for not letting my eyes be able to be torn away from Iron Flame. Either way, once again here are notes from this most delectable oolong.

Dry aroma: dry white sesame seeds.
Dry appearance: dark green and tightly twisted balls

Flavor: Charcoal, sesame, floral undertones, minerality
Mouthfeel: incredibly smooth. With each infusion it becomes a bit silkier..

Wet leaf: charcoal and sesame

With each infusion, it gets better and better. I have no idea of what number I’m on. 10? I have no idea. But my kettle is empty so I’m thinking I’ll make the rest into an iced version for while I sit at my daughter’s swim team.

Edit: YUP! This makes an awesome tea on the go. Sesame, floral notes, minerality up the wazoo. So good.

Another steepdown thanks to my boba tea obsession. I brew this tea very strong in 200 mL boiling water and allow to steep for 15+ minutes. Cool in fridge or freezer for 10 minutes. Pour into a tall glass and fill remaining space in cup with vanilla soy milk and some cold water. Add some ice. I use the frozen ready-to-eat boba (O’s Bubble brand brown sugar or black tea flavour) and microwave for 50 seconds. Overall it makes a bubble tea latte that is better than any creamy ones I’ve had from a store. Something about the cocoa, toasted coconut, creamy soy milk, and brown sugar sweetness goes so well together.

I wish it had a bit more cocoa/chocolate but there is enough toasted coconut and desserty goodness that I enjoy it a lot.

Decaf vanilla black tea, I bought the tea sachet version a couple years ago. The tea smells a lot like boba milk tea but doesn’t taste like one. Being decaffeinated it sacrificed some of its flavors, it doesn’t have wood, floral, or honey notes like regular black teas. On its own it tastes like slightly astringent water with vanilla scent, this tea can make milk taste good and not really the other way around.

sold for $9.45/20 sachets

https://www.harney.com/products/vanilla-comoro

Backlog

I was preoccupied when having the session, but I was able to record notes.

Notes: alcohol, gentler than expected based on the ethanol vibes from the aroma. Not punchy or too heavy in the roast. A good tea for a tea newb.

Backlog

Another bag received from the tea swap a while ago. This was less enjoyable, but not terrible. Imagine Big Red chewing gum in a weak state—toward the end of the chew—and that’s what you get with this tea. Sweet and slightly cinnamon spice.

A few weeks (months?) ago, I was invited to go to a tea swap at a local town nearby. However, there were 4 people that showed up, and one of them being the host. I dropped a ton of loose leaf samples there and swapped them for some bags of tea I’ve not tried – this being one of those teas.

While I typically drink my tea loose leaf, I’m not too big of a snob to avoid bags. I was surprised by the strength of peach flavors this bag produced. I drank it hot, but thought how perfect this would be as an iced tea over the summer. It was quite refreshing and I finished the final dregs at room temperature.

Rarely do I say anything is too sweet for me and normally this one is a very nice almond cookie-esque dessert tea, but it’s a little much first thing in the a.m. But I woke up whimsical and went halvesies with some Mr. Shepherd’s Blend (English breakfast). It toned down the pastry aspect a little and was just right.

6.3/90/212 zzz teapot.

dry: bread, raisins, roast

1st (prob 30s or so… much too long for this tea): bitter, stewed leaf

2nd (5s): mineral in upper throat, bland otherwise

3, 4, 5 (all ~10s): stewed bitter taste

cold: something plastic-like, not particularly pleasant. bitterness, and then some chocolate hovering in background.

bought this a few years ago and didn’t get around to trying until today. I need to branch out with my drinking more since lately indecision paralysis of sorts has been hitting with too many teas to try on my backlog. overall quite disappointing. Have heard this one is better at higher ratio. Will also need to be more mindful of steep times, since even though it’s not as green as some of the OWT ones, still not roasted enough to handle overly long steeps.

5/90/212. late night spin with the zhaozhuang zhuni teapot from TWL since it came in last weekend but I didn’t have a chance to use it then. smelled great, basically some candy, maybe peachy in a way. Taste is the candied peach and bitter edged minty note. Aftertaste/mouth coat is very fleeting. lasted maybe 2 flash steeps and another 2 brief steeps max before turning into stew water. Enough to scratch an itch, but not interesting. At .13c/g, it’s fine, not particularly interesting.

This is one of those things I’m very glad I didn’t buy large amounts of several years down the line (though I paid more than my fair share of tuition because I’m stupid). Looking at old notes, I have no idea why I was thermosing everything 2 years ago, no wonder my stomach rotted for a good year or so before I was able to come back…

Spaghetti of the leftover variety is sitting to the left of me. I honestly do not like the smell of leftover spaghetti. Made me nauseated when I was pregnant with my second. Why am I telling you this? Because aroma can change everything about your tea experience. I’ve made the offender go sit elsewhere.

Dry aroma: Petichor. Gardenia. Mineral
Dry appearance: Light green and dark green. Tightly balled.

Flavor: Peas. Mineral. Wet rocks.
Mouthfeel: Smooth.

Wet aroma: Buttered popcorn. A moment of apple crisp.

I have to be honest… I need to revisit this one. My ears are ringing… not sure why and I can’t seem to concentrate. This is a delectable tea though.

5.5/90/212

wet: berries, smoke, sweet

2 flash rinses, since the small chunks were very compressed.

1st: barnyard and musk in aroma. minty bitter taste upfront, but something floral about it. Quite smoky and strong, and a BBQ note, as well as a sour note. Calming, but not overwhelming… yet.

2nd: BBQ, sour in taste, floral aftertaste

3rd: similar

4th: smoky, woody, meaty

mugged after since I was distracted. Overall not super comfortable to drink yet, imo. energy is activating rather than downing, and some age will help smoothen out the edges. bought a sample from Hou De since I wasn’t sure I wanted to cake blind at $550 a pop (450g). The 2001 8653 at TWL is $385 for a 357g cake, and the 2001 iron Zhongcha (not official XG, 310g) is $290. I’ve heard good things about the iron zhongcha, and at ~30% premium for this cake compared to that I couldn’t really spring.

If you are a berries-and-cream-loving little lad, this is the tea for you.

This smooth blend tastes and smells just like sugared strawberries – the tartness of the fruit is subdued in the manner of a fruity syrup without being artificial, and the coconut isn’t prominent but works to emphasize a sweet cream element that makes this cup truly dessert-like.

I’ve made this tea a couple of ways, once following the directions, and then again in an infuser stuffed with fresh cilantro. This is probably a product of lunacy on my part, but I swear it works and would probably feel the same with a sprig of mint or some basil leaves – the citrusy, herby note is the perfect garnish to balance an otherwise quite indulgent sip.

Its a gloriously warm day- those precious few weeks where the weather is beautiful, before it gets just too hot.
So a light, fruity tea is just the thing to sip on this morning, while I enjoy the pleasures of the perfect temperature.

I’ve been disappointed lately with the cinnamon teas, I’ve had in my cabinet. Most seem to be light in the cinnamon and needing a boost of “something” to add to the flavor. This one was a contender this morning and while the scent of cinnamon was strong while steeping, sadly, it is not a strong cinnamon while sipping. It’s sweet and also missing the spice flavors that I equate to chai. I am unsure how long this tea bag has been in my cabinet. Perhaps long enough that it lost is spicey edge. Through those disappointments, I will say, I did enjoy this mug. It was great for a rainy spring day and gave a cozy feel. There was an appley taste to it with the sweetness and cinnamon. I didn’t bother to add any milk or honey but did think about it.

This was my first tea this morning. I usually don’t choose to begin my day with something caffeine free, but I just woke up with such a particular craving for this tea. It wasn’t just that I wanted a jammy, tart strawberry note (which this tea delivers on), but that I wanted that flavoured tinged with the herbaceous, pine-y and savory note of rosemary that’s in this blend. It was very satisfying, and I only realized after finishing the mug that I drank several teas this week with a prominent rosemary note. Very weird and particular as far as subconscious ingredient cravings go.

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

I don’t like this quite as much as Parlour Room Blend, but it’s still really delicious and very up my alley. Smokey with a little bit of a brisk bite to it, but also sweet and lush with silky notes of vanilla and a hint of citrusy fruit from the bergamot oil inclusion. I’ve had smoked Earl Grey blends before (though I wouldn’t call this an EG) and not loved them – it’s just a little too much going on all at once and the notes get competitive. However, the bergamot inclusion works here to add complexity and brighten the top notes. Maybe because it’s a lighter touch.

Really enjoyed this cup of tea that I made earlier in the week – the vanilla note is very authentic and aromatic but still has a bit of an indulgence to it. With the other spices and flavourings in the blend I feel like I get the best of both worlds with the mix of “true vanilla” (which is less sweet/creamy and more floral and fruity) and a more custard-like vanilla cream flavour. Sometimes it was a little like eggnog, because of the way the spices would interact with it. Very complex for a tea with a name like “Cake Batter Breakfast” that you’d expect to be just pure, unhinged dessert.

Sipdown (2583)!

I’m not exactly sure how “energized” I felt after drinking this tea but I did really enjoy the taste. It was more medium bodied, but the pure note of sweet, freshly juiced orange was so delicious and full of life. One of the best orange flavours I’ve ever tasted in a tea bag – mostly because it was sweet but still had a slight tang and acidity to its top notes too. Very dynamic for just a mono-flavoured tea.

Sipdown (2584)!

Based on the copy printed on the overwrap of this tea bag I was expecting more of a spiced citrus flavour that could potentially be a little more “mulled” in vibes, but to my surprise the citrus was relatively subtle as were the spices. Mostly I just tasted a smooth and sweet anise flavour tinged with the other aforementioned ingredients. I actually enjoyed it a lot, but mostly just because I like star anise. I feel like it could have been better with either the depth/heat from more spices (like clove) or a brighter orange, though…

So a little weird because it was an enjoyable mug of tea, but not the mug I thought I was going to have so I was still partially let down in some ways!?

Iced with a splash of milk!

This was the tea that I drank at this week’s board game meet up. I don’t think I’ve tried this cold before, so I felt like I was taking a bit of a risk making such a large iced tea of it as my sole drink during the three hour meet up – but it was pretty good. Didn’t taste caramel, but the notes of sweet milk chocolate (emphasized through the addition of milk) and rosemary both came through really clearly. More rosemary than expected, but not enough to push this into super savory territory. Ironically, early in the day, I’d had a brown sugar and sage flavoured chocolate bar and this actually loosely reminded me of that, but with rosemary instead obviously. Still pretty smooth despite the herbal edge.

We played two games at the meet up. The first, Istanbul, was one that I really liked and am considering buying for myself. The second was called Time Masters and I felt like it was something I could get into, but the version we played was printed in French so I struggled to play optimally since I was relying heavily on my other players to translate the cards for me.

Drank this earlier in the week and I think I appreciated it just a hair more this time around. The tangy kombucha vinergar note is pretty pronounced, but it’s also well balanced with the strength of the Indian black tea used as the foundation for this tea. The Nilgirir Conoor is very malty but also a smidge floral and laced with honey and citrus notes too. It’s all very complimentary, and shockingly complex for a kombucha too. But also classic feeling.

Tea Pop!

Loved this as a tea pop. It was rich and jammy still with those deeper blue/purple-y berry notes. Blueberry. Acai. Currant. However, the carbonation brought it new life that seemed to elevate the otherwise complex and enjoyable berry flavours. Also hella refreshing. It’s still hard to beat tea pop I made using B&B’s Apple Mint matcha flavour, but this gives it a run for its money.