18182 Tasting Notes
I’m not at all a big energy drink person, though I’m also not anti-energy drinks either. However, I have to admit that I’ve been curious about Monster’s “Rehab” sub-line since all of the drinks are supposedly tea based. I finally saw them when grocery shopping a few weeks ago, so I picked up all three…
Of the three this was my favourite, as expected. It’s essentially like an Arnold Palmer with a mix of sweet black tea and lemonade. Unsurprisingly it is very sweet. I would put it in the same camp as drinks like Brisk/Nestea. However, I will say I do find this preferable to both the Half & Half Brisk flavour and the classic Nestea (which is lemon-y). I thought I could actually taste a distinct black tea flavour more in this drink than in either aforementioned RTDs. And the lemonade was both bright and slightly sour, in addition to the sweetness.
Now, would I get it again!? Maybe. I’m not going to seek it out the way I do some other RTD flavours but, as long as your expectations are in check, it’s also perfectly fine in a pinch. I will say that there’s like 180mg of caffeine per can (the max you can have in an RTD here in Canada) and I didn’t feel like I felt it AT ALL. I don’t know if that’s good or not. Like, I don’t exactly want a caffeine spike and then crash but I haven’t had an energy drink in a long time and I just expected to have a more noticeable reaction to drinking one…
Sipdown (2626)!
Definitely a sipdown a long time coming. I love the smooth, nutty and toasty flavours of the genmaicha that makes the foundation of this tea. It melds perfectly with the thicker notes of vanilla and condensed milk, and the sweet and warm cinnamon undertones. Definitely channels horchata very, very well and were it not for the fact I have other horchata teas in my stash I think I would be really quite sad to see this one go.
Also worth pointing out that it’s still very fabulous when chilled, too! I drank half this mug hot and the other half cold and they were equally delicious.
I absolutely adore when someone makes a pot of tea in the office to share, and dang this is a good teapot kinda tea. I had a few small teacups worth earlier in the week and it was just smooth, full bodied liquid honey. Dark, malty and just a bit of a burnt sugar quality to go with the buckwheat honey and baked yam notes that mostly came through taste wise.
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.
Tea Pop!
A few nights ago I stopped at the DT store in Laval since I was already at the mall. Of course I had to grab a tea to go, so I went with a Jungle Crush tea pop lemonade. So juicy and refreshing. It’s interesting, I thought the lemonade might bring out more of the mango in the blend but it was actually the guava I tasted most of all. Absolutely adored it though! This blend is definitely quickly becoming a summer favourite of mine.
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.
This was a conflicting cup for me. The sachet overwrap simply lists “oolong tea” as an ingredient, so I was expecting a plain oolong – probably something a little less oxidized with more of a floral profile base on the imagery used on the overwrap.
From the moment I opened the sachet it was VERY clear that this was a flavoured milk oolong. No unflavoured milk oolong has that kind of intensity to the aroma, and sure enough when I started steeping the tea and paying veeerrrryyy close attention to the leaves expanding I could see the faint “ripple” of flavouring infusing into the cup. Taste wise, it was also unmistakable. Very, very buttery and creamy in a way that’s just not achievable without flavouring.
Now, mind you, it did taste pretty dang good. I am not at all anti flavoured milk oolongs. It’s just that incomplete ingredient lists is a MAJOR frustration of mine – especially when it comes to flavouring. It’s just really misleading to the average tea drinker – especially an uneducated or fledgling one who would not know any better.
Gongfu!
A brisk morning session. With the intense body and heavier astringency, this tea made was exactly the push I needed to start my day. Brothy and vegetal, with camphorous notes of juniper and pine sap alongside undertones of dried mangoes and stonefruit. A little bit of a sour edge, and the most insane huigan following the bitter bite of the finish. Not one of those raw pu’erhs that I reach for frequently, but when it hits it HITS. Glad I jumped outside of my sheng comfort zone with trying this one!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8IPLyxOIGX/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4RyPaR1mDg
Gongfu Sipdown (2627)!
This tea has really settled into something very smooth, with the hallmark soft and sweet fruitiness of Yiwu sheng pu’erh productions. Very “orchard fruit” right off the bat with the dewy and ever-so-slightly floral notes of ripe red apples and melt in your mouth pears before sliding into something a little more herbaceous in the backend/finish. Sage, perhaps – though less so than I’ve observed in past sessions with this tea. Pushing the infusion times really boosts the apple to the point where it almost evokes the glossy red candied apples you might get at a carnival, though balanced by more of a green and vegetal undertone. Never astringent though; the liquor stays slick and just a bit syrupy with an overall rounnd (to the point of feeling polished) medium body. Very nice farewell session!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Pfxr2Oed3/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xia0ZoPItS8
This was a bad cup of tea.
It’s not the tea’s fault though. I made this at work today using one of the pre-set heated water taps in our kitchen (perk of working for a tea company). It’s supposed to be 95c but I guess the water heater was malfunctioning or something because it basically poured just over lukewarm water into my mug and I didn’t notice until the tea had been “steeping” for three or four minutes already. Soooo very thin, watery tasting cuppa. Just the slightest hint of lemon/yuzu. I drank it to not be wasteful, but what a disappointment…
Made this at work today and I liked it quite a lot! My water temperature was unintentionally much lower than what I thought I was using, and I think it actually made for a big improvement because this cup of tea was smoother with a more “plump” and round feeling fruity flavour than I’ve experienced before – very much a ripe red plum kind of taste, with less of the sourness of the schisandra or roast of the oolong to compete with it.
Cold Brew!
I just finished straining this cold brew, so this is my current tea as I crack out these tasting notes tonight. It’s very tart and acidic with really lively notes of hibiscus and cranberry. It would almost be just a bit too much for me were it not for the finishing notes of cinnamon and oatstraw than almost close this tea out with an oatmeal or even borderline pastry kind of taste. It’s subtle. This is still like 90% a really intense cranberry flavour. But I like that there’s that little something something to break the flavour up just a bit.
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.
My son tried this and gave it an “OK.”