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I feel like I’ve had this one in my cupboard for a long time; and I feel bad that I just haven’t gotten around to trying it. In fact, I probably would have continued to take ages trying it were it not for the fact that I let my little sister pick my final tea out for the night.

This was obviously what she picked; I think it’s the first time ever she’s gone for a tea that wasn’t flavoured. I’m almost 100% positive the deciding factor was the smoking monkey on the packaging. Now, I probably would have preferred to try this one Gong Fu but it’s just too late at night now to get into a Gong Fu session/commit to that much tea consumption. Plus, like I said, I’ve put off trying this one for so long now that even if it IS Western style, at least I’m finally trying this one!

So, here are my jot notes from the cup:

- I did forget to do a rinse; I’m just not in the habit of doing one with Western teas…
- Lighter in flavour than expected and very fragrant
- Thick mouthfeel and medium bodied flavour
- Body notes: apricot, peach skins, raisins, fresh clipped grass, and peat/moss
- It’s surprisingly sweet and bright!
- Top notes: raisins or craisins? Something sort of in that vein…
- Finish reminds me of lemon peel/zest; just a HINT pithy
- Also a bit herbeceous, especially in the aftertaste: almost a thyme like flavour?
- And then overall there’s just a very mineral/wet rock kind of undertone

I don’t know that it would be fair to say that I really enjoyed this one; but it was a lot better than I’d kind of expected it to be. To be completely fair, Raw Pu’erh just generally isn’t my thing – I much prefer ripe. I’ve noticed though that Yiwu pu’erh is probably as close an exception to that rule as I’ve gotten though: they’re generally fruitier and I can handle that kind of profile much better than I can other sort of Shengs.

I will try this one Gong Fu – but it may take a while for that to happen. At least, in the mean time, I can say that I have at least tried it in general.

Made in the tea press, with some milk.

The other day I went to the fancy/artisan candy store here in town and I bought some bulk rhubarb and custard hard candies important from the UK; I have to say that this tea tastes exactly like those candies! Sweet, rich custard and tart, bright rhubarb notes! So much rhubarb, too! Just, like, bursting with rhubarb!!!

Plus, these have the added bonus of not leaving my tongue sore/cracked from all the citric acid like the hard candies do…

I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised at the authenticity of the flavour: I’ve always thought this tea does the rhubarb notes in it really well and it does actually come from UK as well, so…

I just wish I liked more teas from Bluebird Tea Co. so that I could justify reordering this one again when I inevitably run out of it. ‘Cause, you know, that’s gonna happen sooner or later. Probably sooner.

Would have been a sipdown, but I stocked up on this one at work today so I’m able to fill up my tin with some new, fresh yummy pear goodness!

The mug I’m sipping on right now is probably equal parts ginger and pear which creates this very autumnal/wintery sort of poached pear kind of profile! It’s sweet, and fruity but warm and spicy as well – the hints of cinnamon are a great touch too. Finally, the finish is just this waning creamy pear flavour that transitions into a soft, floral element.

I’ve always loved this one, and it’s nice to be replenished on it once again!

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.

So, I’ve been excitedly waiting to review this tea since it came out on Tuesday. The tea hasn’t been listed online yet though, so I’ve been waiting and waiting…

But I’m too excited; so I made an entry for this tea on Steepster with as much information as I currently know. When the official listing is posted on the DT site though someone will need to update this listing with a photo, and DT’s official description of the tea. I’ve got the ingredients, certifications, and caffeine amount covered though!

Anyway, for my first tasting of this one I tried it iced because I was splitting the cup with someone else – I just let them pick how they wanted to try it for the first time. I’ve had sticky rice scented oolongs before (specifically What- Cha’s) so I didn’t particularly care either way how we made it. Anyway, here are my thoughts/notes:

- Anyone who’s tried What-Cha’s Sticky Rice Oolong has essentially tried this one
- A little lighter/milder in rice flavour though than What-Cha’s but still really good!
- The lighter rice flavour lets some of the sharper grass notes poke through more so
- Also quite floral in taste; orchid notes!
- Also, DT’s includes the sticky rice leaves as part of the mix as well
- What-Cha’s version is definitely MUCH CHEAPER
- So it’s the one I’ll personally continue to stock out of the two
- There’s definitely something to be said for the fact that DT’s is so much more accessible
- At least for most people
- It’s only limited edition anyway though
- So even if price wasn’t so high it wouldn’t be a permanent solution anyway
- Will absolutely take advantage of having it accesible to me on shift, though!
- And I love that this introduces more people to sticky rice scented teas in general!

Hooray for awesome scented teas made more accessible for the casual tea drinker!

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.

It’s back!

Man, I sure to do love these straight tea launches; and this one is especially awesome because it’s bringing Ruby Oolong back! This was a really nice tea the first time around, and personally I’m excited we’ve got it back!

(Though I still have some of last year’s at home still…)

This was a TOTD , so I just poured myself a glass out of brewer. It’s a little less smooth and nuanced when you’re drinking it from the giant brewer like that – but it’s still quite tasty. It’s got a nice, light roast to and pleasant of toasted nut and grain notes. The body is a little sweeter with stone and orchard fruit notes; but cooked orchard fruits like Bartlett pears, and apple. Stonefruit notes are more like stewed plums. Personally, I don’t think it’s quite floral enough to remind me of quince though, like described by DT. Maybe that’s just ’cause any straight tea out of the brewed loses like 10% of its nuance. The finish is a bit more mineral/woody.

I’m quite excited to have this one back! I can’t wait to brew it on my own.

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.

First tea of the morning!

Wasn’t totally sure what to expect from this one; it sounds so simple just based on the ingredients and yet the smell of the dry leaf is so… unlike any oolong I’ve ever smelled?

- Very sweet and floral
- Lily/peony/elderflower notes
- Sweetgrass body notes; reminds me of late Spring!!
- Crisp finish; mix of rain/mineral notes
- Balanced overall; medium bodied profile

I enjoyed this one!

Midday cuppa from yesterday, with a spot of milk.

Very rich, comforting caramel and earthy notes with a thick, velvety mouthfeel. All of this was pretty normal for this tea; and what I was craving/expecting when I picked it out in the first place. The element that was a little more different/out of the ordinary was the roasty top notes! I’m not entirely sure where they came from, but that sort of soft roast/char was really interesting alongside the rest of the profile!

Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/Ecx66NV93RA

I think the overall smooth, rich velvet sweetness of the tea works perfectly with the tone of his voice…

Tried something a little more different with this tea.

From what I could recall, this is a really toasty/nutty tasting oolong so I thought those element might be a really nice compliment to the pumpkin agave that DT released for the fall. I didn’t want a hot tea though because I was working in our back stockroom unpacking boxes so I iced this tea and then added the agave.

I think it actually worked really splendidly! I didn’t add much agave, so the flavour of the oolong was definitely still the strongest element of the brew. It was very roasty and nutty tasting like I remembered: definitely that sort of “grilled nut” flavour that CS uses in their official description of the tea. Apart from that, I thought there was also a nice mix of wood/oak notes, mineral, shea butter, and cinnamon notes as well. Deep in the undertones was a hint of something vegetal but not overly descript. All in all, the amalgamation of all those different flavour notes really came together to create something very nice and natural to compliment the sweet pumpkin/squash notes from the agave. The cinnamon, nuts, wood, and roasty elements kind of played in to make this feel more autumnal and ‘Harvest’-y and that deep vegetal undertone almost seemed to exaggerate the squashiness/vegetal aspects of the pumpkin.

Really, it was a great match up and a perfect example of added flavours in tea that don’t mask the taste of the tea itself, and which play off one another to elevate the profile to another, more nuanced and elegant level.

Smooth, calming evening cuppa from yesterday – this time just straight up: no milk, honey or booze! I know that’s borderline strange given my history with this particular tea, but what can I say? I just wanted the unaltered flavour.

- Astringent, woody top notes with cinnamon tones
- Nutty marzipan, cacao, and cinnamon body notes
- Piercingly sweet finish and aftertaste!
- Really long lasting/lingering and hits like right in the back of the throat!

It was gone so soon after it was done steeping though; I almost feel like I practically chugged this one even though it was more just a continuous sipping/slurping.

So, I picked this one up because I was intrigued by the fact is has butterfly pea flower in it which means that it should brew up blue! The flavour didn’t sound super appealing to me though, so I only got the smallest size option – which was five premeasured sachets as opposed to a tin of it.

I tried the first the other day and… it wasn’t blue.

I can see the butterfly pea flower IN the leaf but I guess it’s just not enough of the pretty flower to have that big of an impact colour wise – even with letting it steep indefinitely while I was drinking it. It kind of eventually settled on a really translucent sort of pastel green kind of colour. I mean, to be fair, it was a colour that wasn’t exactly a “natural”/normal tea colour but it’s not blue.

Flavour wise I was right about this one not being the tea for me though – all I could taste was lemongrass. Just straight up, pure lemongrass. Maybe that does it for some, but certainly not for me. I think I’ll probably just use the rest of the sachets for when I’m feeling sick and want something hot and lemony…