15695 Tasting Notes
Cold Brew!
There was actually quite a lot of it present in this cold brew, underneath the more dominating bright citrus top notes, but I find I always want more sage from this tea. It’s just never enough at all. Still, the lemon was lovely and it was a refreshingly crisp and clean finishing brew.
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 was feeling cozy teas and classic teas at work this afternoon so I decided to steep up a nice bold mug of this breakfast blend, but with the addition of a little cream and a brand new oak honey I recently acquired! The tea itself is full bodied and malty but with a really distinct raisin note, and I thought the honey itself added a nice complimentary golden raisin note (so it was just an explosion of raisins in my cup) alongside a dark sweetness – like buckwheat honey – and hint of woodiness. Less woody than you’d expect an oak honey to be, but still there. It was a reaallllyyy stellar addition to this breakfast black.
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.
Cold Brew!
I found a little bag of this stranded at the office and, generous person that i am, I decided to provide it a home. Mostly because I gave the bag a sniff and the strong aroma of rhubarb just pulled me in. What can I say, sometimes my preferences are predictable to a fault.
I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this tea – it’s juicy sweet rhubarb with just a bit of tang to it balanced by strong cooling mint. Kind of gives me Rhubarb Mojito vibes, except for the fact there’s no lime. It’s super refreshing though! I think this was the fastest I’ve finished off a cold brew in a couple weeks.
Sadly, I think this is one of the many DT blends that will be lost in the sea of blends that have been released over the last few years. It just never seemed to find the right audience back when it was still in stock.
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.
Recently did a big rotation of my rooibos tins to make sure some blends I hadn’t had in a while were up at the front of the shelf, and that prompted me to steep this one up. It’s so tart and intensely cranberry flavoured; just really mouth puckering! However, every time I think it’s gonna be a bit too much the subtle notes of cinnamon and oat straw pull me back. I did, however, prefer it as my mug cooled down – this much hibiscus is generally always better cold to me.
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.
Found this new (to me) RTD company at my grocery store, and of course that meant I had to pick up a bottle of each of their teas. They seem to be very heavily Morrocan influenced which is pretty interesting to see, and the flavour combos are pretty unique for RTD!
I have to say, I didn’t love this one though. I know it’s supposed to be a tea with apple juice but it felt waayyyy more like apple juice with a bit of tea. Very sweet, and while the first four or so sips were refreshing I quickly found it to be too much. IDK when the last time I actually had a large bottle of apple juice was, but it’s been a long time and apple juice is pretttyyyy sickly sweet. The ginger helped balance the sweetness a bit, but since I don’t like ginger (and it was very much like cold pressed ginger juice) that still wasn’t a super pleasant addition.
All that said, it’s unique! And if you’re fine with ginger and you don’t mind the richness of apple juice then I think this is pretty distinct. None of the flavours themselves were bad, just either too intense for me or things I have a predisposition to not liking.
Gongfu!
Finally getting around to trying the last sample I received from Treehouse earlier this year. I have to say, this was probably my least favourite tea but all of these were very delicious and quite impressively good compared to other Hawaiian teas I’ve come across. Quite!
It’s surprisingly rich and smooth, with equal parts crisp cooling vegetal notes and almost fatty feeling cream – this first thing that came to mind was if someone had made a cucumber buttercream. The finish is also quite a bit different in taste; more autumnal feeling and cozy with some nuttiness and a note of lightly toasted brown bread.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClJhByzOmoZ/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCKnaxiZDRk
Gongfu!
Another early morning session. Finding a good Keemun always seems to be a total dice roll in quality, but I’m really enjoying this one a lot. It’s quite robust and full bodied with malty notes of rye bread, oak, leather, bitter chocolate, and a gentle smokiness with buckwheat honey dark sweetness in the finish and a syrupy floral quality in some of the late steeps. Pretty much all the hallmarks I’d want from a Keemun! Plus, the glossy black tea leaves are just a total beauty!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClL-sL8Ochm/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlIcfddQYK0
Gongfu!
This was my morning session a few days ago. Overall this was an enjoyable black tea with distinct notes of syrupy florals and fruits accenting a more full bodied and robust body. It was actually a bit of a tricky session to pin down specific tasting notes for as, aside from a clear pungent sweetness, the steeps lacked clarity of flavour. I don’t know if this makes sense, but I felt a bit like this cake was in its awkward teen phase?? Excited to revisit later down the line and see if this tea finds some solid footing to really come into its own; it seems like there’s a lot of promise here!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClOt665uYXX/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYnq1p7eZ0
Keeping warm and cozy with a mug of Hojicha Genmai this afternoon! Lots of notes of caramelized grains, roasted nuts, and freshly baked bread – all with a gentle roast. It’s honestly the perfect combination of toasty brown rice with golden hojicha to create a cup that feels like cold weather comfort from the first sip to the very last drop!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClRuhNHOnFD/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lormk75yN4
