Wayne

I really love this as a morning/breakfast tea, better than their Orange Pekoe actually – sorry aisling (and aisling’s cat)! ;)

I kept going through different straight black teas and blends trying to find the “perfect” breakfast blend for me .. not thinking that it might just be the cheapest one that they sell, lol! I will definitely stay stocked up on this blend and enjoy it on a very regular basis. To me it just has the right blend of floral and sweet/malty notes, without being smoky or bitter. But anyway, to each his/her own!

This was one of the Teas of the Day in the store and when I tried it.. well, let’s just say I wasn’t at all planning on getting this before I walked in the store.

Not sure I made it just like they did in store (not steeped as long probably) so I will try steeping it longer next time to make it more flavourful (I dare say, sweet). Usually not a big flavoured tea guy, but I’m starting to think that’s what David’s does best, or at least it’s definitely what they’re known for, eh?

I definitely picked up the walnuts AND bananas in the aroma. I think the tea gives a great base and overall I get a slightly nutty, caramelly flavour, really pleasant but not sickeningly sweet. Very nice!

I am thoroughly enjoying this tea.

I went to the store to buy some Orange Pekoe (which is quite nice itself, btw) and was offered this one. I got the OP but then after giving it some thought I went back a couple weeks later for a tin of this one.

The first thing you notice is that this is obviously hand-rolled – the leaves are very long and twisty.

The aroma of the leaves is very pleasant, a bit malty and floral like a really nice breakfast tea.

The colour of the infusion is a deep orange but not too dark.

The flavour is reminiscent of Black Needles (Yunnan red/black) in its honey/sweetness but then also like a really nice breakfast blend (Ceylon/Assam).

Very, very accessible and hard to say anything not nice about it. :)

This tea even cost less than I expected because it’s so light that the tin could only hold about 86g – the girl at the store even had trouble shutting the lid (I cringed at the sound of her crushing the tea leaves, not to mention the fact that she spilled a bunch when she was filling the tin.. tsk tsk tsk.. :P )

Notes on preparation: I’ve been doing all of my black tea lately in kind of a “modified gong fu” style – I use extra leaves, and first do a quick infusion off the boil (up to two minutes), then later a second infusion at boiling, leaving the leaves in indefinitely (or at least 5 minutes).

Bravo DAVIDsTEA!! I’ve been longing to try a Darjeeling first flush since I got a taste of my first (tea) love Margaret’s Hope second flush and discovered the many estates and varieties that exist. And just the other week I was reading the DarjeelingTeaXpress blog and store website where they have some of this very tea for sale (about the same price) along with some lovely pictures of the estate. (found here: http://www.darjeelingteaxpress.com/products/2011-Darjeeling-First-Flush-Jungpana-Black-Tea.html)

And now for the tea! A rich sweet aroma followed by an equally sweet and delicious liquor – hardly a touch of astringency but with that characteristic darjeeling flavour – yum!!

It was so funny, because I really just walked into the store to buy some Buttered Rum (currently the top rated tea on Steepster!!), and one of the workers recognized me and said “Hey, I have something for you! Darjeeling first flush!” Nearly knocked me off my feet! Haha..

No notes yet.

I’m starting to think I’m not actually that crazy about this one. It’s good, but I don’t find myself craving it in the morning. The quest for a better breakfast tea continues…

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Picked up a tin last week. This was actually the first tea that I bought from David’s Tea, last year some time, but my knowledge and appreciation for the stuff has come a long long way since then. For example, I definitely couldn’t have told you back then that the strongest flavour by far that comes out of this blend is Keemun and that I detect a bit of Yunnan especially at later steepings.

I love this newfound knowledge and I love the community and vibe here at Steepster. However, I’ve been trying to take it to the extreme, I think, and log every cup of tea I drink.. which is a lot, these days! My daughter was two months old yesterday and I’m finding myself more and more having to shift my focus towards family matters and less on personal pursuits. I still want to log on and record something new or look for reviews and recommendations from time to time, but I don’t think I’ll be going quite so hardcore with this for the next little while.

Like I said, I really love this site and the opportunities it has for new knowledge, opinions, connections, but I love it so much I’m going to have to cut down a little (“Hi my name is Wayne Steepsterstoomuch” “Well you’d better cut down a little” “I’m sorry? Ah, I get it ‘Steepsters too much’, so I’d better cut down a little..” – anybody get the reference? Lol.)

SO anyway.. without subjecting you to any more hot air.. see you around, now and then. :)

Oversteeped.. oops! Still ok though, with that Green Tea kind of astringency (or whatever you call it) and strong cherry/subtle rose notes.

Yum yum yum yum.. I don’t know how any flavoured tea can compete with this. I mean, seriously? Ok, to be fair, this type of tea apparently uses lychee, rose and longan (Wikipedia: Dian hong tea) in the “fermentation” (oxidation) process, so it could be vaguely classified as a flavoured tea, but its creation is so masterful and the way it stands up to so many infusions gets me rambling on and on about its wondrous ways………

I sometimes have a hard time throwing out these leaves, they’re so beautiful. Do you ever play with tea leaves?

I’m not a fan of fruit/herbal teas, but a colleague at work offered some to try so of course I said yes (it’s DAVIDsTEA, hello!!?).

I can say that it is pleasant. I was looking forward to the melon taste and I think that helps sweeten it up a little, but I find the lemon a little overpowering. Overall, I’d say, thanks for the cup, but I think I’ll go buy some David’s Organic Breakfast and/or drink some Black Needles. ;)

EDIT: The one thing I DO love about fruit teas is that you can eat them after you’re done! NOMNOMNOMNOM

This was a pretty enjoyable cup, forgotten and steeped a little longer than intended (about 9 minutes), but maybe that’s what made it probably the best cup of this I’ve had so far. I still don’t think I’ll be buying anymore, though.

It tastes somewhat like coffee, but like a flavoured, almost sweetened coffee but of course with a bit of the earthy pu-erh characteristics.

No notes yet.

Resteeped this at the end of the day, and added pieces of fresh strawberry and mango (!) – Yum!!

Hm, now that I’ve tried something a little closer to the real thing (the Dilmah Ceylon Silver Tips), this is definitely sub sub par. Reminds me of the super cheap Fujian bagged oolong that I’ve got, after it sits in my cupboard for a year or two, exposed to the air.

Could be worse, I guess.

I really need to get some decent green tea.. was looking for something in my cupboard that wasn’t two years past the best before date.. and this was only one year..

I used to be really into these traditional medicinals infusions, but now I find it lacking.. could be that it’s not too fresh. Anyway, I definitely taste the herbal characteristics of this and it does have a bit of a tingle on the tongue, but tea is long gone.

My daily cuppa..

I really wanted to enjoy the first (quick) steeping without milk, but alas, I gave into the seductive power of the creamer sitting on the desk next to me. Second steeping, straight, was fine.

Now I think my quest will be to find a really nice orange pekoe/breakfast blend that I can use as my every day tea without adding anything, something economical but of the loose tea variety for sure. Any suggestions??

Forgot that I drank this late last night..

And, the verdict? Wonderful, as usual.

Hmm, this time was just “meh”, I guess since I’m starting to notice the difference between this and say the Assam from DAVIDsTEA and to prefer the latter. Ah, the pursuit of good tea – it’s why we’re here! :)

Jasmine Black Tea. If I had to describe it in three words or less. :)

But that doesn’t really do it justice. The underlying black tea blend is crisp and refreshing but not without some body. Basically a really good English Breakfast with added Jasmine – still can’t put it down!

Half awake this morning I grabbed this to have with my breakfast – went over the steeping time a little but added milk and it turns out it wasn’t too strong. The flavour was not too bad this time, though again I was just waking up so can’t comment too much. ;P

(This is from last night, so I actually had kind of a Stash day yesterday!)

This tea is a hit in my household! I really love how the flavours complement each other in this one. When we made it for supper this time, though, with one bag in a large pot, the chocolate and mint flavours came out but the oolong was a bit subdued. There’s more balance when you steep as instructed. Overall, though, another winner from Stash!

For once I was craving Earl Grey, so I popped this out of the cupboard and BAM – I mean, yum. I’d really like to try a loose leaf Earl Grey again (had one a long time ago before I was as into tea as I am now..), almost picked up the one from Taylors of Harrogate yesterday.. oh well, next time.