15678 Tasting Notes
I’m gonna blame and thank the Hibiscus & Fennel kombucha from Gutsy that I’ve been drinking for leading me to pull out this blend because the balance between that darkly sweet anise/black licorice note (or fennel, for the kombucha) and a more tart berry flavour is REALLY similar. In fact, this almost feels like a loose leaf version of the kombucha except for the fact it also has a lot of really aromatic, fresh cardamom notes too.
This was a fine tasting cup, but the strawberry flavouring was very intense in both a floral and creamy sort of way. It felt a bit like the blend didn’t know what kind of strawberry tea it wanted to be and I think I’d have appreciated the simplicity of it more if it was all in with floral or all in with decadent or, even, tart and juicy strawberry. Didn’t love the mix as much…
Iced Tea!
Another sweeter blend with really, really juicy mango and lychee notes – even with a couple years of age on the tea leaf! The earthy and mildly spicy ginger and vegetal matcha do a pretty good job of balancing the intense fruit flavours though. Not enough to necessarily create a perfect balance, but they’re present to the point where this is saved from being a cloying experience. More than anything it’s a reminded to me of how much I love the combo of mango and lychee. So fresh!
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!
This is a very nostalgic blend to me, though certainly quite sweet and sugary too. I feel like it’s almost a mix of the big three melons: cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew. Leans honeydew the most, though! Maybe hints of kiwi and apple too. DT has had a lot of melon teas over the years, but this was my first and so, for better or worse, it’s the one I often benchmark others again even if it’s not my favourite.
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.
Haven’t had this tea in ages but I found a tin of it the other day that I’d LONG forgotten about so it was a prime contender for my week of revisiting older DT blends…
The strawberry notes here were nicer than I’d remembered and I liked how the natural florals of the oolong base blended with them. However, the body was surprisingly quite thin in mouthfeel, and I felt like there wasn’t quite enough cream to really be a “strawberry and cream” blend. Mostly, I think, I just wished this was closer in blend style to the Peaches & Cream Oolong from this past year. That’s probably some bias coming through though, as I didn’t work on this blend but I did work on Peaches & Cream Oolong…
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!
This was a very late night brew that I ended up steeping because I wanted something really quick and flavourful but super cold. I think my apartment building must have cranked the heat setting because even with my air conditioning going it was about 26C this evening which is kind of absurd for February. Especially when I usually try to keep my apartment hovering around 20C…
Anyway, this was good! More passionfruit than peach, in a very fun and Snapple-y kind of way. I love the sweet tang of this blend.
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.
Decided this week to revisit some older DT blends that I’ve not had in quite some time, and this was the tea that kind of kicked off that idea! Definitely still has that bordering on cherry nibs flavour (not in a bad way) but there was just a bit more upfront acidity than I remembered this blend having before it slid into that deeper, juicy sweet berry and cherry flavour.
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!
As I noted last time I had a session of this tea, the aroma coming off the cake is very unassuming but the moment the water hits the leaf it really comes to life!! This smooth ripe pu’erh is definitely on the decadent side, with notes of highly aromatic Bourbon Vanilla alongside a more earthy, grounding foundation and a current of caramel-like richness that runs through each steep, weaving them together with a dark, heavy sweetness. It was a pleasure to revisit this tea! As I said last time, the concept of a pu’erh pressed in this way would be easy to write off as a gimmick, but once you’ve had a taste it’s easy to see that the reality of this pu’erh is that it’s anything but!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3duXvIuTa0/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX5NIs8bV54
Gongfu!
This is a very soft and gentle tasting tea with a lot of the more delicate and finer characteristics that I love so much about Yiwu productions alongside such a rich, thick and creamy mouthfeel. It isn’t until a few steeps in that the tasting notes begin to paint a clearer picture: dried apricots, apple blossoms, and the smell of simmering brown sugars. It warming, cozy and very peaceful – I definitely felt, as I sipped on the latter infusions, like I’d slipped back into memories of late summer evenings back home in the Prairies. Almost like a merger of summer breaks spent at my Grandparent’s house and the night markets I used to frequent before moving to Montreal. Just a simplicity and easiness saturated in a glowy feeling sense of nostalgia.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3fyO3PuKqS/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viBbRfstO84
Pot of tea!
I love the combination of rich black tea and cozy manoomin, aka wild rice. It’s toasty and comforting, but with enough body to not feel out of place as a breakfast tea. The maple seamlessly interlocks with the more aromatic notes of true-vanilla to create an overall profile that is decadent without being excessive or cloying. It’s really something special!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3iZp5luyi0/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnylB5ylyw4
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.
