Splash!

First of all, I’m not going to rate this one because I bought it expecting not to like it, and that’s just not fair. But I put my faith in DavidsTea, they have yet to make a blend I hate. It may not be my favorite cup ever, but I’ve never had a tea from them that wasn’t at least somewhat enjoyable.

At first sniff, I was sure this would be the tea to break that record. It is very, very strong. It does remind me of the ocean a bit, but I get none of the mint mentioned. Frankly, the smell of the dry leaf turns my stomach.

The steeped tea is much weaker, thank goodness. But all I taste is the sea lettuce and the cardamom. I’m having a hard time finding the words to describe the sea lettuce other than, well, it tastes like it sounds like it would taste. Kind of like I imagine seaweed would taste. Hrm.

Luckily, it did not break the record for me. It’s a decent tea, and if vegetal greens are your thing, I’d recommend this. I’m glad I only got 10g, though. The sea lettuce is something I’d never tasted before, so I’m pleased to have tried something new…nori! That’s it, it tastes like nori to me. Which is seaweed. Hrm. Now I want sushi.

Tastes like the sea.
I’ve been obsessed with trying this tea to get me well, obsessed with my move to Halifax. And it’s working.

Honestly, the dry smell really intrigues me. Fresh, salty, seaweed and fresh cut MINT.

The taste is like a Nori snack. The tea itself is salty. Like a.. well.. splash. of ocean water. in your mouf.
But it’s not unpleasant! It’s strangely refreshing. But.. not light. It’s a heavy tea. Er, not heavy. In the midground. Something is weighing it down so it’s not as light as many minty or green teas can be. Truly a unique experience, and not something I could drink every day, but reminiscent of sittin’ on the dock of bay n_-

Dry leaf nose: Lemony green tea, with an oceanic note.

Liquor: Green with a golden tint.

Flavour: Citrusy and minty with a green tea base. Ocean and pine forest notes are present in the cup.

I’ve had this for a long time, and I’ve just started drinking it again. I drank it quite often when I first got it, but got sick of it quickly. I brought it to work with me in hopes of getting it finished quickly, but so far I’ve even been avoiding it there.

It’s…weird. Kind of interesting, and definitely not common, but decidedly weird. I like the ginger and the bit of mint, but I think the cardamom’s throwing me off. It tastes healthy, almost like a tonic. Which I’m sure would appeal to some people, but not a selling point for me.

Oddly enough though, I never have trouble finishing a cup. It’s pretty smooth, all things considered, and the ginger is what really makes it drinkable for me. It’s nice to have after lunch. Maybe if I start thinking of it as my after lunch tea I can convince myself to finish my 25g pouch.

This surprised me. I was anxious to try it, just from the description on the website. Then we got to David’s Tea and while my hubby started his search, I locked on Splash. There was a sample out, and I smelled it, and I started to lose my faith. Not that it smelled bad, but I realized this would be a leap of faith. I am new to tea, and this is the first tea I was going to be trying that wasn’t obvious. I have other tea’s, but I know what to expect. I brewed this for after dinner. We had mussels for dinner, and I figured that oceanic theme would match.
When I drink it, there is a nano second where I think I am eating sushi. Like a salty earthiness, but nor a fish taste – like the nori paper. The peppermint is there, but it is a savoury, not sweet peppermint. I gave it to my husband to try – I think he should drink mint teas for his stomach issues, but he doesn’t like them, but I think it because they are sweet/dessert like teas. What surprised me the most is that there is a peppery after taste.
So far all the teas I have bought are sweet, fun teas. This seems like a “get down to business tea”. I really liked it and intend to replenish when it’s done.

**Update – I am still really enjoying this tea. I think as I drink more and more tea, my tastebuds are getting sharper. I looked at the ingredients again, and now I am pretty sure that the peppery aftertaste that I am getting is the cardamom.

This tea freaked me out at first. The dry smell is pretty intense; salty, seaweed-y, and not very pleasing in general. However, as soon as I poured water on it, I smelled it, and to my surprise it smelled very minty! Complete 180. Now just waiting to taste it, will update once it is cooled.

Update: The taste—surprised me again! It tastes quite nice! Not as light as I’d like, and has a salty aftertaste on your lips. I think the salt weighs it down a bit. Minty though, very mild ginger, and seems to be relaxing. Just a bit disappointed in the aftertaste. Reminiscent of the ocean, yes. And I love the ocean.

Overall, a decent tea. Will possibly up rating after having a few cups. Smell is most deterring aspect. However, if you’re feeling adventurous, I’d give this a shot!

Given that this tea has peppermint in it, I wasn’t expecting to be a fan…. so no surprise when I tried it today as a TOTD and wasn’t a fan! Ginger was the predominant flavour I was getting, with a pepperminty background, which I hate. Drinkable, but yech. Not a tea for me. But now I can say I tried it!

I bought this at the end of January out of pure morbid curiosity. Each time I smell the dry leaves I hate it more, it even made me retch! So I was very scared to try this one. But I had heard that it tastes better than it smells.
And…. it does taste better than it smells! Once it’s brewed it actually smells very familiar. I don’t know, it smells like some kind of gingery herbal tea. The taste is not bad. Lots of ginger and the ocean taste is there in a small nice way. But there is a weird aftertaste that makes me think of the dry leaves. Bleh! Overall though I’d say I’m glad I took a chance with this. It’s interesting and actually pretty good. But I’m not sad to see this one go… I’ll be finishing my 25g and not looking back!

Is it in poor taste to start a review with the words “not as bad as I thought it would be”?

Well poor taste be damned then. This truly wasn’t as bad as I was expecting! The other reviewers’ notes about nori and sushi made me want to cover my head and run for a pot of Genmaicha instead. But, since I was at Davids today anyway, and because I’m a sucker for a gimmick, I figured I’d get a small amount and try it.

And yeah, it’s pretty good! Lots of ginger, not so much mint, and only a slight oceanic note that I find quite intriguing. The green tea is delicate, and I totally agree that this blend would be delicious with sushi. It’s quite palate cleansing, and I think it would be nice with food.

I don’t know that I would find myself craving this regularly, but for an afternoon cuppa, it wasn’t so bad.

How’s that for non-committal?

I’m not quite sure how to describe this tea. It’s … different.

The dry smell is a bit gingery, but the sea lettuce or burdock (I’m not sure which) overwhelms the senses. It’s a strange smell. I love cardamom, ginger, and peppermint, which are all in this mix, but I have a feeling they are secondary notes.

Once steeped, the smell is milder, but still smells of sea lettuce with a hint of ginger. Tasting it, well, hmm. It’s kind of blah. Not bad, just meh. I don’t taste the cardamom or peppermint at all. It tastes kind of like gingery lettuce water, if that makes sense. I like the idea of the burdock and the red clover, as I know of their health benefits, but I’m not sure what sea lettuce is supposed to be good for. I’ll have to look that up.

I’ll likely finish off my small packet of this at some time, but unless sea lettuce turns out to be a miracle plant of some sort, I doubt I’ll be getting more of this.

ETA: O.k., I just found out that sea lettuce is the name of a number of species of green algae. Algae can have quite a few health benefits, but I already consume it in a powdered form, so I’ll probably skip the tea in the future.

I think this tea is all a matter of taste. Many others don’t seem to enjoy it, but I can’t get enough! It’s my go-to morning tea as it refreshes, soothes, energizes, and detoxes me.

It makes me feel good, and I love sipping on the freshness of it. The ginger, peppermint, and sea lettuce really make it light and fresh, which I am thoroughly enjoying this summer.

I think one of the best things to tell people new to this tea is that it tastes nothing like what it smells. The smell can be very offputting, I think (and the little sample at the store when I first bought some smelt nothing like what the tea did in the bag), and the seaweed might make some heads turn, but the final product is worth it. I understand some not liking this because it doesn’t have the full package (a good scent and taste), but it had me really hoping it’d make it beyond a tea of the month.

I was hugely surprised by this one.
My expectation on this one was really low.

My GF bought it so i’ve just said:
Well, no problem! Try it.

That taste is impressive, nothing out of what i’ve think it would be.
It’s so refreshing, so minty and gingery. All in a pleasant way.
The taste is nothing else of what you could actually think about a tea.
Okay, the green tea doesn’t come through the blend, but it helps.
It helps what? It gave the blend a full body, another spectrum of flavors.

Not the best, but not so bad though.
Try it if you want something new!

To me it taste just too bad, i do not care if itll make me grow 2 feet and make me fly i cant take it, the smell is undescribable, makes me want to throw up.

This smells and tastes like a spa. I love cardamom in perfume, and it turns out I love it in tea, too! Everything goes so well together in this blend. It’s very relaxing. I just wish I could taste the seaweed a little more!

The first time I tasted this tea, I didn’t like it (was something my boss brought in). After that, I told myself never to try it again.
My boss got tired of it and one afternoon a few months later, I gave it another try. The next day, I gave it another. …etc.
Fast forward to today; I have my own bag stashed in my drawer at work and have been addictively drinking a cup every afternoon since.
…almost time to restock!

To be more specific: this tea has a very acquired taste. Most people are turned off by the dry smell itself. For me, the tea is refreshing, thirst-quenching, and tea-craving-satisfying all at once. One perfect mid-afternoon work day green tea pick-me-up.
:)

Dry, this tea smells a bit terrifying – it has a strange chemical, plastic smell to it. I bought a small sample when the salesperson assured me it steeped out better, and she was right. When steeped, the ginger, cardamom, and peppermint shine through some more. There’s a strange bitterness in the back of my mouth after a sip, though, which is weirdly medicinal to me.

Overall, better than I thought it would be, but not something I’ll drink again.

Day 55 of my 101 days of DAVIDsTEA challenge.

It was good, but it was meh. The main taste I got from this was the ginger, and while it was pleasant, it didn’t really awe me in any way, shape, or form. Good, but not exciting.

Bah! Cardamom you strike again! I dislike you. It’s not my fav and i like the detox tea more than this one but it’s not terrible. When you are drinking a tea for health purposes like detox and cleansing, it’s not going to be a chocolate tea :P I do really think this would have been better with out the middle eastern spice. But what do I know.

I think the person who created this tea is a sushi addict. It is pretty much the perfect tea to sip while munching on rolls and sushi.

Dry, I have a love/hate relationship with this one. I want to love it, and definitely love notes of it, but every time I sniff the leaves I keep changing my mind about how much. I think I’d prefer it as a deodorant scent than a tea (as unappetizing as that is!) It’s fresh and clean smelling, but there’s just something about it that keeps me from falling in love.

Brewed, it lost some of that weird something and mellowed out scentwise. I definitely can see myself boiling a pot of this to scent my house. Tastewise I find it weaker than I expected, but not in a bad way. I find the mildness actually helped me enjoy the flavour a bit more, keeping the notes from being overpowering.

Splash! isn’t one I think I’ll be reaching for to sip, or that I will ever crave, but if I have fish meals I think this is going to be the one I serve with it. Am a wee bit afraid to try it iced though!