15662 Tasting Notes
It was probably unfair to this tea to brew it immediately after having such an amazing apple flavoured tea from Momo earlier in the day…
The tea itself tasted fine enough, it’s just that it’s an incredibly simple blend. Green rooibos and flavouring. That’s it. The apple flavouring used is nice enough; it’s sweet but not cloying and it’s got a hint of something that could be interpreted as “boozier” to give off the cider element. However, I found its simplicity a little boring and I didn’t feel like there was enough going on flavour wise to justify a name like Spiked Apple Cider when it just tastes like a run of the mill apple blend. It could have been punchier or boozier or just… something more impactful.
I’ll finish it off easily though; there’s nothing off about the taste in any way. It’s just a touch unfinished feeling to me…
Flavors: Apple
Cold Brew…
Ooohh boooyyy I have a lot of feelings about this tea. As some of you know, Sencha is notoriously one of my all time least favourite kinds of tea. So, when I was at the Toronto Tea Festival and saw Momo’s booth I was very tempted to just totally skip over it. All they were sampling was their sencha line and I just was so confident that I wouldn’t like it. However, that felt so strongly against the spirit of what the festival is supposed to be so I tried a couple samples and they were damn good. So good, in fact, that I bought a bag of two out of the three teas I sampled – including this one, which is apple flavoured.
Knowing how refreshing a good green tea can be when cold brewed, that how I decided to take this tea for a spin with my first at home tasting. I’ve been sipping on it throughout the whole day today and I think I’ve said under my breath “Damn, that’s good!” immediately after having a sip about five or six times now. I don’t know who I’m talking to; I guess my hamster!? It’s just so refreshing and nostalgic that I can’t help but vocalize it.
I think the best way to describe the taste is somewhere between a really good glass of apple juice and the more distinct and sweet taste of a Japanese apple candy. I say Japanese very specifically too, as they use a different flavouring than what’s commercially used here in North America – it’s harder to call it specifically red or green apple because it rides the line of sweet and tart so well, while also having a floral characteristic to it that isn’t prevalent in North American candy. So I guess the TLDR of that is that it’s simultaneously very natural and more candy like, and also not overly sweet or tart – with some floral elements.
The green tea base is also just so crisp and clean finishing – a little grassy and a bit umami but not the kind of ocean bomb or awful lawn clipping notes that I negatively associate with Sencha. It’s medium bodied and just a perfect back drop to the apple notes. On a sweltering hot summer day this would be a killer drink.
Followed up my cup of Vahdam’s Earl Grey Spiced with this new EG from DAVIDsTEA that quietly launched alongside Lemon Ginger Reset earlier in the week, as part of a wellness/adaptogen focused collection.
Honestly, it’s kind of crazy to me that DT hasn’t carried a Lavender Earl Grey before this because it’s not a super uncommon twist on the classic EG profile. I think, because it’s not unexplored within the industry, that’s why I wanted to do something with this profile that I hadn’t seen before – so we added ashwagandha to the blend! Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic root that been using in traditional medicine for ages but it recently becoming very trendy for its purported ability to help the body relax and adapt to stress.
For those reasons, it just seemed like such an incredibly natural combination with lavender, which is also used a lot in aromatherapy and traditional medicines for its relaxing properties. So, I guess you could think of this as a sort of “super relaxing” Earl Grey but without sacrificing the caffeine. Perfect for starting the morning or as a midafternoon cuppa when you don’t want to carry tension with you for the rest of the day, but might not exactly want to feel “sleepy”…
What does it taste like, though? Well, lavender. Also bergamot. It’s honestly pretty straight forward but that doesn’t mean it isn’t plenty flavourful. I find the bergamot pretty bold in this blend, and the lavender is also really distinct in both aroma and taste. It’s probably not a blend for someone intimidated or turned off by florals. Though, if you find it strong a bit of milk or cream really helps soften things up and make for a beautiful but still full bodied cup. Very “British tea time” vibes – you could for serve this at an afternoon tea time with your grandparents. Personally, I like to add a bit of honey because the combo of lavender and honey is just superb.
I’ll also say that it’s definitely not a sweet Earl Grey and it’s also not creamy either. Closer to DT’s classic Earl Grey than Cream of Earl Grey, and by quite a bit. Plenty of room to add whatever sweetener you prefer in whatever quantity works best for you, or to just not sweeten it at all. I don’t know that I’ll be adding this one to my own stash, as I do prefer a sweeter or more highly flavoured twist on an EG, but I’m happy this exists! It’s something we’ve been asked for so much, and it was really cool to challenge myself to find a way to take the classic Lavender Earl Grey and honor that style of EG while still kind of giving it something distinct.
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.
Sipped yesterday morning in the lab while setting up for a tasting.
It was my first tea of the day, and there’s something about having an Earl Grey as your first cuppa in the morning that always feels just a little bit “more right” than other teas. However, it was a busy morning so the extra bit of spice that made this an even bolder and more intense cup gave it a bit more of a flavour push that amped me up a bit – in a good way.
It’s certainly not a favourite tea and I find that there’s an almost brassy metallic undertone to the bergamot used here (but I get that in a lot of EG), but situationally… it was a good cup!
Is there anything better than watching the sun rise while drinking a good cup of tea? I mean, probably – but sipping on this fresh and buttery cup of tea yesterday morning felt pretty damn perfect in the moment! Delicately floral and richly creamy with notes of fresh churned butter and coconut that practically melted in my mouth with each sip. Yet another great grab from Toronto Tea Festival this past weekend!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoLOTLIOZ-o/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMkETUcDdmg
Grandpa Style!
The loose leaf tea version of this black tea was my favourite tea from Sierra’s advent this past winter so when I saw she was re-releasing it in coin form I was on board. It’s got such a lovely, rich body with almost equal parts more savory notes and darker fruits. Leather, exotic woods, red wine, and pomegranate molasses all overlaid with roasted and caramelized sweet potatoes. I think, because of the mini cake shape, I maaayyy even like it better. It’s so hard to argue with the convenience of coins; so much easier to travel with and way easier to store!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoIjXKuO_rW/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJKOOFpCOWU
I hope she adds these to the website, I want to try them!
I think they will be eventually; the tea festival kind of wiped out a lot of her inventory.
I also checked the website for these coins and hope they make an appearance.
I’m glad it was so successful for her! ❤
Gongfu Sipdown (2111)!
Initial steeps were potently mineral with heavy notes of charred peanuts and herbs, though quickly this oolong softened up into something that, while still plenty mineral and roasty, was a little sweeter and more round and coating on the palate. Nuttier notes were joined by body notes of plum syrup and wild blueberry jam, and a floral undertone and finish with a pleasant lingering astringency. Those midtones, while far from cloying and sickly, are almost made more lush and enjoyable by how they seem to playfully bounce against the more contrasting oaky tree bark and spice notes that come alongside the roast. Definitely made for a very long and pleasant session; these leaves packed a lot of flavour!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoNeeUFOcGW/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taVaSQYgFqE
Quickie tasting note (and last one for the night) because it’s 10:30PM for me and I’m tired.
Definitely enjoyed this one! It’s got a rich flavour and an equally rich and creamy mouthfeel to go along with it. The cinnamon is the star in terms of spices (as it should be) but the additions of ginger and ashwagandha really make this feel more Chai like and bring an interesting spicy addition to the thicker sweet coconut and rice elements. It feels like a boosted horchata and I can totally see it being delicious as a latte – especially with coconut or rice milk!
I’m so happy I don’t have to add that one! Did you get any of the rice in the taste? I kinda got it later with the monkfruit in mouthfeel, but I mostly got cinnamon, chai, and coconut.
I felt like I tasted the rice about as much as the coconut; the two were pretty “blurred together” for me in a way I found pleasant.
Picked this one up at the Tea Festival as a bottled drink, but I didn’t remember to save a photo of it so I can’t remember who the vendor was…
I got it because, obviously, I was excited about the black sesame and matcha pairing – something I’ve dreamed of for what feels like ages now. It was honestly pretty gross though. Not because of the combo of the tea flavours, but because there just wasn’t enough of either the black sesame or the matcha. What is tasted of the most was a watered down/weak match latte with a lot of unnecessary honey.
Maybe the most disappointing thing I sampled at the festival so, for that reason, perhaps good I don’t remember who the vendor was.
So… I think this was maybe the reverse situation of the Brown Butter Bourbon Blitz.
The name was pretty accurate to the flavour, but the flavour was bad. I think the main thing that killed it for me was the raspberry. The sachet overwrap has this mouthwatering slice of fudge on it with a huge glob of raspberry jam and it really makes you want that thick and rich raspberry flavour, but this is pretty heavily on the chemical side and even though it does have sweetness to it and an almost dense quality the fake raspberry taste just doesn’t read like jam to me in the way I want.
Honestly, the chocolate isn’t too bad. Definitely more of the chocolate liqueur/boozy side of things which I don’t inheritance find off putting, but it doesn’t help with the weird raspberry situation either. In the end it sort of just makes for a cloying cup that feels a bit wonky in terms of balance. I think milk would probably help here, but we didn’t have any in office the day I tried this to test the theory out.
There’s just, like, a lot of better raspberry chocolate blends out there.
Curious what your favorite raspberry chocolate blends are?
In general I really only tend to like Raspberry Chocolate blends that don’t include hibiscus, but there isn’t one that stands out in my mind as “the best”. I guess the ones I’ve drank more recently that I enjoyed were the Chocolate Raspberry from Teeccino, the Chocolate Rocket matcha from Bird & Blend, and DT’s Chocolate Rocket (though I tend to go a bit back and forth on it).
Chiming in to recommend Framboise Chocolat from Lupicia! ;)
Thanks to you both! I’d also add for the record Simpson & Vail’s Valentine’s blend (if I use two teaspoons) but I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of great raspberry/chocolate blends.
