Featured & New Tasting Notes

I was so excited to find this blend on Fava’s site! I recently tried a lemon basil oolong blend from The Cultured Cup in Dallas, which was delicious but pretty pricey. This one was about half the price and just as good! (Plus it’s from my local teashop, which I always want to support when I can.) The oolong is smooth and sweet, the lemon flavor is bright and natural, and the basil is mild and adds just a nice hint of depth to the blend. I’ve been enjoying it hot, but can’t wait to try it iced now that the weather is FINALLY warming up around here! I foresee this becoming one of my staple teas from Fava that I always keep on hand, along with their Coconut Souffle and Banana Walnut Bread.

I’m supposed to be making carnitas.

Right now, this sheng has me kicked back in my chair with my feet on the bed. I’m transported back to Akron, in the old house, winter. Living room, French doors closed, wood-burning stove roaring, tomato soup bubbling away on top, the sound of Skyward Sword in the background. Cocooned in a blanket. My ears are burning from the heat. So drowsy and comfortable, that feeling as you succumb to the fading in of sleep, reality slowly stipples away at your periphery, defocusing your gaze, the fire crackles, eyelids lower, dreamtime seamlessly folds over the diminishing edges of this moment. I think about the wrapping of a puer cake, everything points to the beenghole. A nice package.

It’s difficult to describe the actual tea when the qi is so distinctive. This is very close in profile to the 2016 Bang Wai Gu Cha I tried last night. Much less sweet, which I prefer, more balanced, spicier, brighter. Good returning sweetness and longer lasting, more distinctive fruity peach-mango-apricot aftertaste. The oiliness isn’t as pronounced but it’s felt later lining my tongue. Not yet sure about longevity. Very nice for a young one and arguably worth the tenths of a cent more per gram :P Might cake. Can’t go wrong at $0.14/g. Edit: Will cake this weekend. Please don’t buy them out.

I’m having deja vu. I’ve typed this note before.

Additional notes: This one might be improving with time? Or my parameters? So I just want to make a note of parameters that I should use. It really did taste like Red Velvet today… or at least Red Velvet Pop Tarts which is my only knowledge of the flavor of Red Velvet. Raising the rating from 83.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5+ minutes (maybe doesn’t need to be that long)
2020 Sipdowns: 35 (52Teas – Frank’s Caramel Monkey Bread Rooibos – not sad about it because Anne’s reblend is EXACT.)

And here is a song I particularly like, and fitting for me wondering about the craziness of opening things back up for the virus to spread right now. Certain people will be living in denial or just pretending it’s gone… or even being less careful if they think they’ve already had it… sigh: Jim James cover of Beach Boys ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBWe7ntARxY

Every year or so, I exhume the desecrated husk of my sole remaining Butiki tea and mourn anew. It’s a grizzly and macabre affair. It involves a lot of pining.

The ginger is now very bright, somewhat eclipsing the strawberry, which in turn has mostly drowned out the withered remains of the green tea base (why did I hoard a green tea? I should have gone with a black tea or something. I have so many regrets).

There is still beauty in the residue. Stacy made the best blends.

Heh. Today morning tea. I don’t remember anything. Probably very boring stuff.

Okay. I remember something. It was somehow fruity. Some blueberries and peaches. Yep, it was there.

But blueberries were nice. And some peaches were there too. It wasn’t something super present, but they kinda were there.

The generic fruit base is not helping much though. Maybe bit tart. Maybe some other base would make it better.

And sorry guys if you were expecting some tasting notes from me… yesterday I failed that exam, and overall I felt somehow tired and drained. I drank some teas, but I did not wanted to write a tasting note even it was SIPDOWN of Duvet Day.

I switched to this after realising my mam had, once again, thrown out the tea leaves I was planning to resteep. Sigh. It was a Butiki tea, too, so I feel cheated.

The base here can be quite astringent, and it was today as I forgot to set my timer while steeping. I added milk to counteract the astringency, and it does help but also muted the fruity flavours. I’ll have to remember to cold steep this some time, I think it would be an excellent candidate! The strawberry is more dominant than the bergamot, which creeps up behind it, and the papaya lingers last after the strawberry fades, and is the softest. I’d like it to be brought out more, even though I do enjoy the strawberry EG I’m getting for the most part, so I’ll have to play with the steeping parameters and see if I can get it to come out more. Maybe a little sugar would help.

This smells so rich and chocolatey that I had to grab a sample from the tea box. The flavor is so malty and thick. I’m really enjoying it. This is my kind of black tea. I added some milk, but it’s also good without. It’s like dessert in a cup.

I haven’t been drinking any flavored teas lately. I just haven’t been in the mood. Because of that, I’ve been going through a lot of my single origin tea sample fairly quickly, which I consider a good thing! I have a few orders that I’m waiting on, but aside from those, I’m waiting until my cupboard falls below 250 to purchase any new teas. Hopefully I can keep to my self-imposed tea band this time.

As for this tea, it’s interesting. Brewing at 200degrees creates an incredible jasmine aroma, a floral flavor, and slight acidity. Lower temperatures yield quite a strong sweet potato flavor, but still with that acidity. Because of the slight sourness, this just isn’t my favorite.

This tea cold steeps very successfully! I’ve drank it hot many times, and never found it anything to write home about, but cold brewed this is making me want to order another tin! It’s mostly vanilla and coconut, and the malty Assam base comes through enough to add to the blend but not enough to make it bitter or overpower the more delicate flavours. The apple comes through more hot than it does cold, but there is still a hint of apple pie in the cold brew. Eleven might not be my favourite doctor, but he’s a winner in cold-brewed tea form.

If anyone is wondering, my favourite of the new doctors is Nine. Yes I am aware I’m the only one. I also love Ten, but who doesn’t?

Prepared it in the afternoon; as it is from today received subscription envelope (May 2020).

Honestly, I am somehow puzzled about this tea.
2 1/2 tsp, 80°C water.

Dry it is really floral, awesome peach aroma, looks pretty to brew.

But brewed… it is dismal. I was very cautious about the temperature; leaves were nice and pretty. So, added water to cup, steeping bag in and… started to turn green. Pretty green, as fresh green tea can make, no brown notes or anything.

First sip: hm, nothing phenomenal, it’s not bad, but expected more

Second sip: it is having nice grassy note, but sage making it earthy maybe way too much

Third sip: indeed it is earthy, but I notice green tea notes. Not a big deal, but I miss peaches.

Fourth sip: finally some peachy notes, as it cools down, more of them present.

I mean, okay – it’s herbal-green tea, but… it should be more fruity, especially if it is called like that. I expected earthy taste with refreshing peaches, but this is not it. I am sad, as I used to like B&B teas quite a lot, especially for unique flavours and/or combinations, but recently, it’s something missing. Or is extra :( .

This smells sooooo good while it’s steeping! Malt, honey and cocoa mmmm. I might have to tweak my parameters next time I drink this, though, because mostly what I get in the sip is rye bread or sourdough, with a hint of cocoa which is dark and powdery, almost savoury. It’s nice, but I want it to taste how it smells! Experimentation to come, I think. Thank you Sil for sending this my way!

I have had this for a while but hadn’t written about it. It is their 2019 Da Hong Pao. I really like Whispering Pines teas overall.

I prepared it Gongfu 200 F, quick rinse, then 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s. 30s, 1m. Nice aromatics of dried fruit, minerals. A delicious roasty cuppa with pleasant light spice notes, like anise, pepper, and perhaps cardamom. Lots of nice dried fruit, mainly plums, and raisins, some citrus notes. Also, lots of mineral notes.

Solid Da Hong Pao.

I know why is this tea my favorite.
It is so easydrinking, mouth-watering and nice.

Cinnamon, carrot, bit woody flavour. Sweet notes of caramlized hazelnuts. All of them are present.

I would like to see some creaminess, but maybe I will try adding cream to it.

Song pairing
♫♫
And you’ll ask yourself
Where is my mind
Where is my mind
Where is my mind
Placebo – Where Is My Mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6oQS_h1s0
♫♫
Why this? Because my mind is flying. Need to stuck with Uni stuff to do, but I am thinking about almost everything else.

Delicious!

The pineapple note is bright, sweet and juicy and reminds me a lot of Pineapple flavoured Jarritos soda, but offset but a subtle, smooth smokey note from the lapsang and more tannin and malt from the black tea in general. It’s well balanced, and deeply enjoyable!

June 2019 harvest, January 2020 grind

I am inexperienced with matcha. No sieve, no scoop, no bowl. My only tool is a bamboo whisk. It’s like when I started gongfu brewing and was using a mason jar to brew in and a fork to strain the leaves as I poured the tea into another mason jar. I got good results that way. In the same manner, I feel like I’m getting good results with matcha using only the whisk and a glass condiment bowl. Frothy and smooth, silky, always in suspension.

I preferred using water off the boil instead of water temperature as low as 150?F. Off the boil produced a more deeply aromatic cup and more bitterness. The taste seemed earthy, almost like cacao, with a deep and dark grassy umami. The sip was semi-sweet moving to a fast, spreading bitterness on the swallow.

The experience of drinking matcha is a big adjustment to my palate. I couldn’t pick up any nuances in flavor. I still so greatly enjoyed the 25g over only a week that I ordered another 100g. This matcha was really a perfect morning drink. The taste was bracing enough to wake up my senses and it was surprisingly kind on my stomach. I barely noticed the caffeine buzz because it was so dang smooth and long-lasting. That’s what really drew me into consuming the entirety of the bag so quickly.

gross. so sickly sweet and cinnamony. Appreciate the share variaTEA but omg as a tea this is just too stupidly sweet to consider drinking.

I’m not a fan of Victoria Sponge, but the tea is soooo much better than the cake! I saw Martin’s review earlier and have been thinking about this ever since, so I made one great big mug with the last of my leaf to give it a great British send-off until I’ve finished a minimum of 207 more teas… yeah, it might be a while. Even though it’s overleafed there’s no astringency, but there is plenty of tart raspberriness (sure, that’s a word) and some vanilla cakiness (also a word). This was the first tea that ever blew me away with a ‘cake’ note, and I still think it’s one of the best out there for recreating the flavour of an actual dessert. I added sugar, and the raspberry note is brighter than ever now, while the vanilla cream cake takes a back seat. Perfect cup for this afternoon.

It’s not ‘goodbye’, Vicky, it’s only ‘see you later’. Sipdown 190/397.

Jasmine tea has always been my mother’s favorite, so I got a bag of this with the intention of splitting it with her. She indiscriminately drinks Twinings jasmine green, Stash jasmine green, and whatever nice jasmine dragon pearls she has on hand with the water at a full rolling boil and the steeping time usually around 30 minutes to an hour. Then it gets heated back to temperature in the microwave. It’s almost physically painful to watch her make good tea that way, but that’s the way she likes it, so I try not to mind.

Well, she ended up liking this about as much as she likes her Stash 1 pound bags of hastily made and very crumbly jasmine green, so I’ve taken this back for myself. It’s a beautiful tea all-around, with dried jasmine blossoms nestled in big velvety tips, a delicately pungent aroma—the intensity rivals a jasmine perfume—and a sweet, pale liquor that balances the fragile silver needle flavor with the heavy floral taste. One of those teas that makes you stop and enjoy the moment whenever you take a sip.

I’ve tried it both hot and cold, but cold brewing has been my favorite so far. Hot jasmine teas tend to coax out that bubblegum note a bit more than cold ones. You know what I mean? It’s a lovely flavor, but too much of it becomes soapy and artificial-tasting.

I’ve had a big, chilled glass thermos of this nearly every day for the past week and I’m still not tired of it. Absolutely lovely if you want a fine jasmine tea but don’t want to mess with the current shipping delays on packages coming from abroad. Probably won’t see my Yunnan Sourcing Spring 2020 teas until late July or August, but that’s alright, because Tea Trekker has been scratching my itch in the mean time.

Almost done with this for good now, since Matcha Outlet don’t stock the fun flavours any more ): drinking this hot this morning… with a spoon of coffee in it. Don’t judge me! I need the caffeine hit. My mam was pretty concerned that my coffee was green, but the resulting concoction was actually pretty great. Kind of like a caramel latte, only with a matcha aftertaste! This is too sweet for my tastes now hot, but mixed with the coffee it’s tempered a little bit though still very sweet. I’ll probably finish it off iced, which is how I prefer to drink this.

noms. i was thinking about pickking up more of this but looks like it’s not on the website anymore. at least i can enjoy what variaTEA was kind enough to send me!

This is another old favourite I’ve been hoarding the last of for way longer than I should, but luckily it still tastes great, though the marshmallow sweetness has faded a little. This was the tea that first got me interested in creamy EGs, so it gets bonus points for that. Though the base is a little astringent, it’s not so noticeable I have to add milk (but I distinctly remember this also being delicious with milk). The sweet, creamy marshmallow is actually more noticeable in the scent and in the initial sip than the bergamot, which can be overpowering in some blends, but here it’s a nice background which cuts through the sweetness towards the end of the sip and rounds the whole thing out beautifully. It’s a shame this is only offered seasonally, but since Herbal Infusions ships to the UK I might be tempted to place an order to try their EG creme and see how it compares… I have a job interview in a couple of days (telephone, because of Covid), so let’s all hope I get it because the list of companies I want to place orders with is getting longer than I can keep track of!

Thanks for sharing go again to the ever-generous VariaTEA. Sipdown 186/397.

The flavor here is rather malty and deep. It tastes good both with and without milk. I was quite surprised to find such a satisfying bagged breakfast blend.

This is a new tea – it’s not really part of any sort of collection; just something that we felt like was missing on the tea wall in terms of flavour representation – more of that rich and creamy vanilla profile.

Personally I have mixed feelings on this blend. I find the name a little bit misleading because, while this is a very creamy and custardy type of flavour with real vanilla bean in the ingredients, the flavour is a lot more coconut forward than vanilla in my opinion. Now, I still think there’s a bit of a void on the tea wall right now in terms of simple/straight coconut flavours but since this is really being positioned more as a vanilla tea (especially with the name) I worry that people will order the tea expecting vanilla and be disappointed that they’re getting a rich, sweet and creamy coconut instead…

With that aside, I think it’s an excellent coconut blend/flavour. It’s amazing with a little splash of milk or as a latte, and really creamy. I know some people were worried about hibiscus in the ingredients list and whether that meant that this would curdle but this tea only uses white hibiscus which is not acidic like the pink hibiscus that you see more commonly used in tea blends. A good example of this is Buddha’s Blend, which has whole white hibiscus blossoms mixed into it…

Honestly I think the white hibiscus is basically just meant to add a more white contrast to the visual (along with the coconut) because there’s this idea of “vanilla” flavoured things being white, even though actual vanilla is black.

Side note, since this is actual vanilla in the blend, if you happen to find a piece of it in your scooped leaf – steep the tea like usual, but then pick out the piece of vanilla and split it open. It should be filled with delicious vanilla caviar (the little black ‘specks’) and the caviar tastes DELICIOUS!! Highly recommend trying it.

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.

Thanks so much again for the swap, AJRimmer!  This is how I’ve never run out of new teas to write tasting notes for… there has always been teas that are new-to-me because of so many swaps over the years. :D  This is actually tastier than I expected.  The rooibos is okay – but it does have that woody flavor that reminds me of a barbecue sauce for some reason.  But then there are fruit cubes in the blend that add a nice sweetness to the rooibos.  The fruits: papaya and mango, for a fun twist on the name PAPANGO.  (You can even get these papaya and mango cubes separately from S&V for pretty cheap if you want to try them that way. I have tried both the mango and papaya before and they are delicious.)  So a few cubes in a teaspoon along with the rooibos lends plenty of sweetness to a refreshing cup.  You can even add more of the fruit cubes to the blend if you wanted.  The second steep is full of flavor too.  I really appreciate that S&V blends their own teas (and SO MANY blends) because I am guaranteed to find unique teas from S&V, more than any other tea shop.  I hope everyone at S&V is doing okay during these tough times.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 20 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // just boiled //  5 min
2020 Sipdowns: 32 – TeBella – Almond Shortbread