A couple new teas today – in fact three in total and one returning tea. I’m not going to write a separate review for Happy Valley Darjeeling since it’s the same tea (but obviously a different year’s harvest) but I’ll get reviews for the others up sometime this week – if not later tonight.
Let’s start with this one though – there’s a fair bit to unpack.
For starters, this is NOT the first time DT has carried a decaf tea before; but it is the first time in at least six or seven years – so it’s a pretty big step out of the regular for the company. The other decaf tea we carried was an Earl Grey, which is a pretty standard decaf option for companies but this is definitely a little bit more fun/unique, for sure. I find it interesting we’re now carrying a decaf tea since we’ve tried to stay away from them the last few years and have instead focused more heavily on the fact we carry such a large range of naturally caffeine free herbal and rooibos blends. If my understanding is correct though, this was actually something that we chose to bring in to our line up based on customer feedback from the surveys we recently put out!? But I could totally be wrong about that – so take it with a grain of salt.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that this is ONLY coming to US stores, but will be available online both in the US and in Canada…
I was curious about this though; I don’t love green tea and decaf teas are generally pretty flat/dull tasting because the decaffeination process strips flavour at the same time it strips caffeine – but maybe that would be a win for me? This could be a green tea that tastes less like a green tea…
So, all in all, I think of the three new teas and returning teas this is actually my least favourite – but I don’t dislike it/like it better than I expected to like a green tea. It’s definitely pretty peachy, with a hint of lychee that comes off quite floral to me. I think the best way that I can think to describe it would be like comparing it to a mix of Peachy Lychee from a few summers ago (the black tea) and the Southern Peach cold brew tea. Also, of course, because it’s decaf it IS a pretty delicate flavour – so don’t expect this to punch with with bright, juicy peach notes. It’s more subdued.
I’m interested to see how this does – whether or not people are actually interested in picking up decaf teas. I think the success or failure of this blend could really inform future decisions about decaf teas…
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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
EDIT #2: A second edit to point out that this is my 7700th tasting note – time to start thinking about something for lucky tasting note 7777! If anyone has any ideas, definitely hit me up with them!
The Vegas tea for jackpot reasons.
W2T Lucky Puppy.
Bitterleaf Gold Rush.
Glitter & Gold
Lipton Yellow label