16815 Tasting Notes
I had a cup of this today and it was really nice! Osmanthus is a floral flavour that I’ve maybe turned my nose up at a bit in the past and just sort of felt like it wasn’t for me, but last year I had a little bit of a change of heart and this tea was an element of that. It’s full bodied with a briskness and slight astringency from the black tea I really enjoy with woody and cocoa like notes, but also bright and lush feeling with fruiter peach, persimmon, or honey-like notes from the osmanthus. It’s one of the first osmanthus teas I’ve had where I felt like I finally got what other people had been describing when it comes to this flower…
Had this one yesterday and it was a really nice sort of rediscovery moment? I think this is probably my favourite tea I own from Thesaurus. It’s woodsy and herbaceous with the tulsi coming off probably the strongest of the ingredient. Basil-y to be expected, but with a milder sort of spiced undertone to it that’s clove-ish. I don’t know what type of tulsi this uses, but I’ve found purple tulsi has the most distinct spices notes to it in my opinion and this loosely reminds me of that.
But I think what makes the cup, for me at least, is that really soft and natural touch of maple. It’s not there to be strong and in your face, and the blend isn’t trying to hide from it’s more herbal and earthy notes but that inclusion just gives a little balance while also making this tea feel different from the many other more herby blends out there. It’s very nice.
Made this over the weekend and it was just sort of weird. Very roasty and earthy notes of coffee but with an almost syrupy and soda-like sweet pineapple. There was a DT blend year and years ago called Grilled Pineapple that had a similar weird juxtaposition of a more candied pineapple note with a savory/roasted element that didn’t feel connected. That blend was honestly pretty bad, this one at least it more just strange. I keep hoping I’ll get used to it, and I really just never seem to.
Iced!
I was helping with a photo shoot today, and the studio just gets so hot so I was drinking tons of iced water and tea. This was one of the things I slurped back earlier in the afternoon and it was super refreshing. I’d have loved to savor the ripe strawberry notes a little more, but it was starting to feel like a sauna so I finished this off quite quickly before moving onto my next tea…
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.
A late night cuppa from this weekend!
I wanted something sweeter but not chocolate and this was just calling me name. I sort of wish we’d gone with a name more like “Maple Walnut” because then maybe there’d be a shot of having it all year long. It’s just such a beautiful rich walnut flavour with that warm, buttery hint of maple. Almost pancake-like in some ways but maybe not quite there since it doesn’t have the cake-y element. It’s so smooth, though!
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.
Made a mug of this last night and it was so good albeit very sweet. The syrupy notes of lychee and strawberry candy reminded me a little bit of canned fruit cocktails. But, also, there’s a food trend right now of “candying fruit” where people will melt down hard candies like jolly ranchers and create hard candy shells around things like grapes or strawberries. I haven’t actually had this before, but this tea sort of tasted how I imagine they would based on visual alone.
This kind of thing: https://www.tiktok.com/@candiedbybeck/video/7277151880961084680
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.
Somehow I forgot to write a tasting note for this tea when it came out a few weeks ago, so I’m making up for that now. It’s one of this year’s new Spring Wellness blends, though I also think it’s very much the kind of tea that someone might drink without ever knowing it was developed to be functional since it’s still very flavour forward!
Aside from the green tea base, the main ingredients in this blend are prickly pear, dragonfruit, aloe vera, and rose. The name “Cactus Rose” is actually a reference specifically to the the prickly pear since that’s one of the other names that fruit goes by, but I’ve seen a few people who maybe don’t know that’s an alternative name of the fruit who assume it’s referencing the aloe vera (which is a succulent like a cactus) and the rose. I guess in a round-a-bout way it’s all of the above?
In terms of function, this is meant to be a bit more of a hydrating/skin nourishing blend. So, prickly pear because of the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory elements, aloe because of how hydrating and replenishing it is, and then rose for similar reasons a well. Lots of inspiration from the cosmetics industry when it comes to facial products.
In terms of flavour I’d call this light and tropical with a bit of a floral sort of rosy undertone to it. Kind of lush and dewy is maybe how I’d describe it? Prickly pear and dragonfruit are both somewhat harder tropical fruit flavours to describe, but think maybe like a delicate pear and kiwi cross? Maybe just a little bit melony? Not super tart or sugary or anything like that. Just very fresh. I think it’s very nice iced or as a teapop because of that.
If you’re not typically a fan of rose I wouldn’t let that scare you off this blend. Unless you’re steeping it for a very long time, it’s more fruit forward than floral. Think teas like Green Passionfruit or maybe Buddha’s Blend if you want other DT blends to reference vibe-wise. That combination of rose and dragonfruit gives a soft pinkish colour to the blend when steeped which is also very pretty.
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 one of my favourite 52Teas blends and I actually have a fairly large tin of it because I bought up a lot of the extra stock of it in a previous year’s countdown box. So, I was thrilled to see it come up again so I could give that tin a little bit of a top up. I mean, it just tastes exactly like the name. Sometimes soda inspired blends can come off at flat/thin because we’re so used to not just the carbonation of soda but the sweetness and syrupy mouthfeel. But I never feel like I’m missing out on anything when I drink this one!
Another from this past winter’s countdown that I was very excited to try!
Personally I love a good POG juice or smoothie, though when I realized this wasn’t the more traditional combination of fruits (pineapple or passionfruit, orange, and guava) I actually got more excited because I think this is so dang clever and creative! Plus, the trio of flavours are so complimentary. Spiced orange is a classic, pomegranate and orange is just really juicy and fresh, and I think spiced pomegranate is a slept on sort of iteration of a mulled wine type profile.
I think the flavours totally deliver and though the ginger could maybe be stronger I think you can clearly taste all three flavours. It’s bright but has depth and warmth from that spice inclusion, and I love the natural sweetness level of those fruits. I think it does everything Anne wanted it to!
Though I totally expected a banana tea to be included in this past winter’s countdown, I was kind of surprised to see that this was the one that got the most votes. Personally there are other banana blends I’d have liked to see over this one but mostly because I wish the one oolong slot in the box had gone to something else since I think 52Tea’s oolong blends are typically quite exceptional but few and far between…
That said, I made a mug of this on Monday and it was quite delicious. Very custardy with a fresh and creamy banana note. I particularly love the flavour floral elements of the green tea base that come out even though I personally feel like they don’t quite work with the eggnog inspiration on a more conceptual level.
I was surprised to see it again so soon! I really enjoyed it last time, but I might prefer if teas required two years or something before they could be reblended.
I was absolutely shocked that it won the vote. I was surprised that it was even suggested, since it was a brand new blend of 2023, but people wanted it, so I gave them what they wanted. :)
