15678 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (1858)!
Finished off the dregs of my sample bag as a hot cuppa last night. I probably should have made this iced or cold brewed because it shines better when prepared that way, but I didn’t have a whole lot of leaf left. Tasted like raspberry with a more generic “red fruit” undertone and a bit of apple – not as juicy as it usually is, but I think that’s more to do with how little leaf I had left and less the tea itself.
I may get another bag of this from the office before we run out and I lose the ability to restock. It’s not particularly a favourite but it does make for such a nice and punchy cold brew, and it’s nice to have super juicy/fruity flavours that are still caffeinated.
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.
One of several new blends from Chroma tea.
I almost didn’t order this one (even though I ended up getting one of everything) because it’s got so much green tea in it and it didn’t seem like there’s be much other flavour going on. I’m glad I tossed it in my order anyway though because it was nice!
I don’t think the goji berries are doing much of anything here other than looking pretty, but the addition of the jasmine rice was really nice. You can lightly smell the jasmine on the dry leaf and even though it didn’t carry into the taste (at least for me) there’s definitely something nice and fragrant that it brings to the steeped aroma.
The green tea itself is very nutty and smooth, with a pleasant medium body and hint of chestnut and edamame that really compliments the toastiness of the rice. Is it totally my style of tea? Not really, it’s still a little too green in my books. However it feels like a more sophisticated and mature take on a Genmaicha and I really like the marriage of a naturally nutty leaning green tea – instead of more marine Sencha – with the rice.
Honestly, I’d totally forgotten I’d tried this before – so I guess that goes to show just how memorable it was. It’s apparently blackberry and blueberry, but to be honest I mostly just tasted the blueberry when I had this recently. Kind of gave me blueberry gingerale vibes, which isn’t really a “thing” but it was the best comparison my brain could make. I thought it was fine; very whelming. Not over not under.
Can’t help but wonder if they’ve change the recipe for this as it’s quite a bit different (and more unpleasant) than I remember it tasting. Like a funky ginger beer, but not in a good way. Tastes kind of muddy and too earthy. Sort of raw, like fresh pressed ginger. I’ll finish it, but… meh.
Cold Brew!
This is my current cold brew and it’s hitting the spot tonight. I’ve felt sore most of the day and my throat was a little raw feeling – I thought it was just a combination of the florescent lights at the office giving me a headache today and kind of choking a bit on a roughly textured granola bar this morning that was putting me in a foul/icky mood but as we get later into the evening I think it’s something else.
Whatever the case may be, this tea is cooling and pleasant on my throat (because it’s literally cold – not from something like mint which would be cooling sensation wise) and it’s not too much flavour or too little. Definitely creamy coconut but also sweet lemon and refreshingly green and melon-y rooibos. All clicks together nicely!
Cold Brew!
This tea tastes so intensely familiar and it reaalllyyyy bothered me that I couldn’t at all place why throughout my entire cold brew of it. Serious case of deja vu aside, though, it was really good. The flavour is very, very bright and lively with a sweet and slightly sour note of pink grapefruit crossed with an almond lemonade-style of lemon. Ultra refreshing and even thought it had a hint of sourness to it the flavour was still really fresh and light and didn’t have any astringency, pith, or anything that would make it feel “heavy” at all – and that works.
The elderflower is definitely lighter than the grapefruit, but it adds a hint of something floral and just enough nuance to keep this from feeling like a run of the mill citrus heavy fruit blend. With that said, if you’re sensitive to floral flavours I don’t think this is strong enough to be a turn off – it’s a very delicate wink to elderflower.
Overall? Colour me impressed! This was one of the best and more refreshing cold brews that I’ve had in a good, long while.
Gongfu Sipdown (1859)!
Thanks to the Montreal Tea Festival for gifting me this sample a little while back!
The dry leaf aroma was intensely buttery and smelled as if you were walking into the cinema and being blasted with movie theater popcorn. The taste, however is much more smooth and gentle by comparison. It’s still plenty buttery but the popcorn taste is more like stovetop popcorn with a slight toasty nuttiness to it that movie theater popcorn lacks. It’s also very creamy, with hints of coconut to the undertones. I’ve been drinking a lot of darker teas this past week, so this oolong session is a big change of pace this afternoon – but definitely a very welcome one!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CingfXbuaEM/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On1WHxo43Fg
Gongfu!
Steeped up for an early morning session over the weekend. It’s a little bit more coarse and astringent than expected, but the overall notes of soothing light to medium bodied Prairie hay mixed with chrysanthemum and cucumber skin are a gentle enough start to the day.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cippdr7ugkQ/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY4LuC5RU-Y
Paired this with a raspberry scone with home-made passionfruit orange marmalade. It’s delicious, and this duo of sweet citrus and tropical flavours is cheerful enough to chase away the fog from this dreary, drizzly rain filled day!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cis7r1Mu0cE/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMwM6PhsnAk
Iced Latte/Boba!
We have a bunch of instant brown sugar boba packets in the freezer at work that someone bought from Costco, so I decided I’d treat myself to a bit of a boba/iced latte this afternoon. Basically I just prepared this matcha as if I was making an iced latte but then dumped a boba packet in with the ice.
It’s very sweet since the boba packets contain a lot of brown sugar syrup, but the brown sugar is also VERY complimentary to this matcha. It really brings up the molasses-y quality that defines ginger bread and the sweetness and milk temper the strength of the ground up spices really nicely without burying them. It almost feels wrong to be drinking something so festive in September but it’s really good.
