15662 Tasting Notes
Iced Oat Milk Latte!
So I picked this up, along with the LLT version, while in BC last week. When I was putting together a list of where I wanted to shop I actually had to narrow it down because there’s just so many stores in Vancouver and we didn’t have nearly as many days there.
Because Paragon isn’t one of those big “infamous” stores in the area I nearly cut it out, but when I was “preshopping” on their website to narrow my list I saw this tea and it was the sole reason this one ended up included in our trip. Why? Well other than the fact I’m a huge hojicha fan, I just haven’t seen flavoured hojicha offered from places other than 3 Leaf Tea before so that was exciting to me!
I don’t know why I felt so compelled to have this as a latte. Specifically an iced latte too. Mango and milk don’t sound like they should get a long. However, there’s always stuff like Mango Lassi out there that break those rule so y’never know.
It was weird, though.
That said, the mango taste itself wasn’t unpleasant nor was the hojicha! I thought the grind on the hojicha was very smooth so there were no unpleasant textural issues and the roast was nice and golden with these deep, rich nutty notes and a pleasant caramel-like tinge to elements of coffee or roasted grains. The mango? Erring just a little bit on that more pine-y green mango type note but still with a ripeness to it. Actually, I found myself thinking a lot of the mango matcha from Chamberlain Coffee which (from my memory) was pretty similar. The contrast with the hojicha made it pop a lot more, and I thought almost made it feel sweet in a way that it might not have on a matcha base.
I’m excited to revisit this one, just minus the oat milk.
#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 11/???
So I pulled this one out of the TTB not because I thought a berry black tea would necessarily be the most stand out but more so because it’s only the second time I’ve ever seen a tea from this company and I was more curious about that.
That said, it actually did sort of stand out to me? Mostly because I had just naively assumed it would be either a wildberry/mixed berry or blueberry flavour but instead it was this pleasantly deep and jammy black currant flavour that really stood out among the more neutral blending style black tea and, honestly, maybe one of my favourite flavoured teas I drank this week?
Like, it’s simple and definitely nothing innovated but that straight forward, understated currant note just made a good impression. Basic ain’t bad.
#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 10/???
This one was interesting and I’m not yet sure where I’ve landed on it. I think my biggest hang up is that I found the flavour more light than I would have thought this profile would be, even for BrutaliTeas which often has a more understated blending/flavouring style. I kept comparing it to ButterBotch which is similar but, IMO, better executes those sweeter caramel-y “brown/maillard” type of flavours. That said, the sweetness level overall was nice and I thought the mix of black tea and rooibos achieved a smooth, medium body that was pleasant.
I just wanted a little more, y’know? Since there’s not much of this sample left in the TTB anyway, I think I’m holding on to this one to see if I can push it to be a little more flavourful…
Cold Brew!
One of the teas I picked up while on vacation. I’m always intrigued by an organic fruit infusion because, candidly, they’re so challenging to develop. Many reasons for that; not gonna get into all of them – but suffice to say this one was a mix of professional and personal curiosity.
The dry leaf visual is a little generic to me with it’s majority apple base – to me that says there’s probably going to be a decent amount of natural but generically fruity tasting sweetness and I think that assumption was pretty spot on. Does lean citrus in taste too though and because the balance of citrus notes is so nicely in the middle of sweet and more zesty/tart it conveys pink grapefruit pretty well. Certainly not the nicest pink grapefruit blend I’ve ever had, but knowing the restrictions they were probably working with I think it’s very solid! It’s mostly just that it’s not defined enough that I think most people could confidently identify it as grapefruit without the name filling in some of those gaps to better flesh out the taste in your head…
Refreshing, though! It will be an easy thing to sip through this summer.
Y’know some days you get home at 9PM and you’re just EXHAUSTED so you just settle for the first teabag you dig out of the big mixed box of them you have closest to the kettle. That was the mindset when I made this tea. Honestly fine, but nothing special. Fruity in a kind of lychee and kind of just generically “juicy” way with the faintest bit of ginger. No off tastes just, and a hot cup of something is better than a hot cup of nothing.
Iced!
One of the weirdest things about coming back to Montreal after a week in BC is that it’s actually hotter in Montreal – so more iced teas for me, I guess?
Of DT’s many past Watermelon herbal teas I do find this one has a lighter melon note. Less overtly sweet and juicy, and also not as tart or tangy as some of the melon blends tend to be. It works with the subtle cooling mint finish, though and makes it more of a refreshing summery drink. More of a cool down on the patio and just lounge sort of vibe. Sadly I only have enough leaf left for a single hot cup, so this is probably my last time drinking it cold for quite a while…
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.
From an evening earlier this week!
I was in one of those weird moods when I kind of wanted a bit of everything. Something a little sweet, something a little spiced, something cozy. After digging through my rooibos shelf and passing on a few options, I saw this one and it just fit perfectly. Who cares that it’s June, right?? It was rich and molasses-y with that perfect “cooked ginger” type of dense but not hot spice to it. As it’s been for many years, this is just one of my favourite gingerbread inspired teas – such a good recreation.
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.
Gongfu!
Continuing tasting through my recent BLT order with a session of their 2002 “Potion” Liu Bao! It’s weird to me to think that a heicha from 2002 already has twenty years of age on it; that number just doesn’t feel real. However, steeped up this tea definitely has the smooth, clean taste but deeply intense body to match its maturity. On top of the expected cooling sensation of camphor, this Liu Bao is delightfully medicinal with rich notes of cassia and clove, wet wood and forest undergrowth, and incense. I really found this to be a super grounding session, and definitely a stand out heicha which makes me even more excited to taste through the other two samples I picked up!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtRkoFau4YQ/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsBd8G2Dzgo
Grandpa Style!
This year’s Spring tea order arrived in record time, so now I have even more teas to add to the ever growing list of recently acquired cakes and samples that need tasting – not that I’m complaining, of course. More teas to try is NEVER a problem!
Though my Spring BLT order is usually very sheng heavy I was a bit more selective this year with which samples I grabbed. Of course I got my reliable haul of Yiwu and Jingmai productions though, and I’ve already dipped into my Year Of The Rabbit cake. It was soft yet flavourful with more of the sweet and fruity notes that I’ve always loved from yiwu productions. As BLT notes themselves, the last few year’s pressings have had a bit more bite to them due to weather conditions. All still delicious, of course. However, based on this first impression I do feel this sort of ‘return’ to some of the earlier teas in the YOT series and I liked the familiarity of the tea a lot!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtOzwTIOc_q/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvXStoXTU4Q
Brewed this up in one of the pieces of pottery I picked up while in Victoria this past week!! Though I’ve always loved houjicha, I’ve been especially interested in blended houjicha as of late and Rishi has a few more unique options that have been fun to explore. This one, which uses shiso leaf in addition to mint and bamboo ginger, had my eyebrows turned up from the moment I opened the bag of dry leaf to take a sniff because it smells so potently and precisely of snow peas at that exact moment you snap one in half and the essential oils are released in one crisp motion; sweet, earthy, fresh and vegetal with a slight resin note.
It tastes a bit like that when steeped too, but mostly it’s the tingly and cooling combination of shiso and mint that stand out the most against a warm backdrop of cozy, roasty hojicha with strong notes of toasted nuts and grains. Of the handful of Rishi’s houjicha blends I’ve gotten to try, this has definitely been my favourite!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtKgvuuOwtT/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvzctFHXfGs
