Forbidden Fruit

Well this is a polarizing tea! I got a sample of this one in my swap with brandy3392, and I’m excited to try it because I love figs. Also the dry tea smells really nice… definitely figgy and a little floral and sweet. I better not like it too much, though, because it’s apparently discontinued.

The steeped tea smells less darkly figgy to me and more other fruits, probably melons. The flavor is somewhere in between, a fruity blend that is pretty good but kind of odd. Fig, melon and carrot is not a combo I would have thought of! The oolong underneath is kind of generally formosa oolongy but not too notable… it’s neither very roasty or very green. Overall it’s a pretty tasty tea, but I’m not too broken up that it’s not available anymore.

Well I am finally logging a note on this one. I have had it for ages and am not entirely positive that I ever tried it. It seems to be a roasted oolong which is a good start but a lot of the flavours are diminished, probably because I have had it for so long. I do get a note that I could call melon but I am not picking up on fig or any of the other ingredients. Not bad but I’ll be okay when it’s gone.

This is my first DavidsTea hate. I hate it. Somehow the melon flavors are tasting like roses to me. There is nothing that I hate more than rose petals in my tea. I know they aren’t there, but that is what I am getting. It’s almost like a pot-pourri. Bleah. Also, I cannot tell that this is an oolong. I cannot taste the base at all (which is incidentally what I love about the flavored black teas, but somehow with an oolong I want to taste it).

A big thumbs down… Thippppph!

I enjoy DAVIDs Oolongs, but this one was a bust! BIG TIME! To the point that I am happy I only asked for 10g. It’s very vegital, though I don’t mind a veggy taste it really does not mix well with the intense fig smell or the melon taste…

I’ll be happy when this is done.

Trying this today as I realized it has been discontinued, but it appears that my store still has some left (so since I bought it, I had better try it now so that I can buy more if I like it!)

The steeped tea has a dark, fruity fragrance which is probably the figs. The first flavour I taste is melon, perhaps honeydew, which is followed by the rich sweetness of the figs, and I think it’s the oolong tea that leaves a bit of a creamy aftertaste. I almost taste a bit of chocolate in this tea, which is odd. The more I drink it, the more I’m liking the late-sip creaminess (definitely thinking it’s oolong now), and I’m liking the melon less (even though ever since I tried Goji Pop I’ve been super excited to try any tea with melon in it!)

ETA: Not too enchanted by the second steep. Yes, it accidently sat overnight, and I thought it tasted so-so before reheating it, but now that it’s heated all I can taste is weak cardboard?? Strange.

Not too disappointed to know that this one’s gone forever, but I won’t have any trouble finishing my little bag of it.

Another interesting tea, courtesy of my good friend QuiltGuppy,

A fruit oolong, something out of the ordinary for me. This is very good. I can taste melon, both honeydew and water varieties. There is a bit of floral flavor and a hint of pear, although the description does not mention it. It is a darker oolong, almost amber and slightly roasted. This tea has a depth to it, not just taste on the surface, it seems to go down a few layers. Thanks QG, this is very interesting and delightful.

I also refused the bait and spared you all comments about forbidden things…fruit or otherwise. :)

This is an interesting tea. The bright fruits against the black tea leaves are really pretty. I’m loving the fruity scent, even if it is a bit bizarre.. just something I haven’t tried before. The oolong is definitely earthy and most of the fruit flavor is at the end of the sip. It sort of reminds me of a natural fruit and veggie smoothie. Strange and interesting, but not my favorite DAVIDsTEA. Thank you to laney for a sample of this!

Here’s another beautiful looking tea. The chunky fruits among the black leaves are stunning. The scent is a bit dark. I’m imagining that it must be a dark, heavy tea. So, in preparation, I’m adjusting my steep. 185/3.5 minutes. I also added 1.5 times the amount of tea.

I can pick up a fruitiness in the tea, with a deeper syrupy scent that I’m attributing to the fig. The tea is not all that dark, but I’m still glad I adjusted the temperature. There seems to be a nice balance of the fruits to the tea. As expected from the scent, there is a syrupy sweetness to the tea, not quite on par with a fig flavor, but slightly deeper, more like dark corn syrup that has been toasted. The oolong is present and does balance well with the fruits. I like the idea of pairing fig with oolong, but it feels as if the other added fruits didn’t quite connect and blend as well.

Dark oolong tea, with odd fruit flavours!

I like the fig in this tea, its rather refreshing and peculiar at the same time. From smelling, the scent is really quite strong and perfumed, it looked like a good jumble of things together and i like oolong teas so i gave this a go. This oolong is dark, one of the darker ones I’ve had. I normally like the lighter oolong teas but this was an interesting experiment for me i guess. Leaves were dark and rather hard (even after steeping), never had this type of oolong before. It resembled more of a black tea but it just didn’t taste like one.

The taste was all there, though watermelon, honeydew and fig made a rather weird hot melon taste with fig. I was hoping to taste the fig more. Too bad i never tried to make this one iced before i finished the whole bag, not sure if i will go and get more of it. The main thing that killed this tea, is the carrot flakes. I mean c’mon carrot? what? Is it an attempt to create something exotic or rather used as a weight filler? I didn’t like the carrot taste and wished it was left out.

1st steeping was best, second was drinkable just alot less taste and more of the carrot flavour coming through.

Interesting! The fig flavour is just so different and unexpected. I find this to be a lighter oolong. Like I said, the flavour is so surprising in a tea, and it really makes me feel like I’ve just bitten into a fig. The melon notes are floating around, too, making this feel very juicy. I like it.

I also love that DT will be featuring a tea of the month. I need constant stimulation so it suits me well.

When I purchased this back in February the sales associate assured me that the taste would grow on me… 7 months later and I’m still waiting.

First steep: Very strong flavours and scents, it almost bowls me over everytime, is it the figs or the oolong? I sip it slowly, but the flavours just do not jive in my mouth… there’s no smoothness or creaminess. It’s just strong and brash.

Second steep: A little better than the first, mostly due to the fig flavour weakening. Still having a hard time getting “lost” in the cup. Kabusecha, Milk Oolong, Rooibos, all eventually grew on me, but this… this one just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth everytime. Sigh.

Maybe because I’m sick…. darn flu! but something about this tea is a touch off. I think I oversteeped it a minute or two, and I had to add a whole lotta sugar. What’s in it tastes artificial?? I know figs can taste that way for me at times, so that could be it.
Otherwise, I’m enjoying the oolong part of it, and there is something refreshing in there as well. Could it be the watermelon and honeydew? If that were the case, you would think it would lend some sweetness to the brew. Hmmmm.
Well, I may change this rating later on, but for now it gets a humble 83

So far, the first oolong I’ve liked! I think the fruit really works with it nicely. Not much to say but hom nom nom.

I love me my fruity teas. :P

I would never have thought fig and watermelon would pair so well with an oolong, but they do. thank you david for proving me wrong :)
the combination of the fig and the melon pack a magical punch that leaves you speechless upon first tasting it
the oolong is perfect. it’s light yet rich, and really enhances the fruity notes
i also love the addition of the carrot, it complements the oolong rather nicely
and finally the safflower petals serve in making the tea all the more beautiful

This is probably my very favourite tea of theirs right now – I ended up buying a whole tin of it when I found out it was gone at the end of the month! It’s great hot or iced, with just a little bit of sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth. The melon flavours are probably strongest but you can definitely taste the fig as well. This is one of the first oolongs I’ve had and I really like it.

Sooooo nummy. We got a little bag of this at the beginning of the month and as soon as we were near a store again, we bought a tin. So very yummy. Still one of my favourites. Tomorrow my co-blogger and I are having a tea-cooking day and I am so looking forward to playing with this tea’s flavours. This was definitely a good choice for my tea of the day today.

It makes a good iced tea in the summer!

I can really taste the fig and honeydew in this one. Tastes rich and exotic. Full of flavour. Really love this one, wish I could get some more.

Simply the best.

If you like fruit than this tea is delicious! There are whole fruit chunks in the tea which give it an extremely exotic taste. ’m not usually a fan of fruity teas, but this one was surprisingly good.