17276 Tasting Notes
Oh Seahawk…
I’ve basically just been waiting for my next Adagio order to get a big bag of this, and so that’s exactly what I did. Also the first thing that I steeped up once I recieved and unboxed that order. I know I’m super predictable with my love of lapsang, but how can you possibly not love this smoky Thai influenced pineapple blend. It’s scrumptious.
Recently received a small(ish) order from Adagio with my advent in it and a couple other teas I wanted to restock. I took advantage of the fact I was ordering to toss in some samples I had been curious about for a while though, including all four of Adagio’s coffee leaf teas.
I really like the coffee leaf that is sourced by Wize. Wize was my intro to this ingredient and I feel like they’ve only continued to release incredible products that feature it. Not a lot of other places carry coffee leaves since they’re usually a discarded food byproduct, so it’s nice to see more places upcycling them.
Of the four coffee leaf teas Adagio carries, there are others that I think appeal to me more in concept. I think if this was just lemon I might have been more initially excited, but the turmeric is something I’m personally a little meh about. Steeped up it was pretty nice though; I really liked the overall flavour level and the lemon was deeply delicious. Not too sweet or tart and not really medicinal/pithy either. The turmeric was fine and pretty inoffensive to someone who, like me, isn’t a fan of that really raw drying earthiness.
A couple years ago DT carried a tea called Honey Lemon Drop which was a lemon turmeric green tea with a honey flavouring. This reminded me a lot of that blend, but less sweet overall. That was a tea that I enjoyed but only under specific circumstances, and I think I feel similarly here.
Cold Brew Sipdown (1885)!
Definitely not the best steep method for this tea. It wasn’t unpleasant, but just rather flat/bland tasting. Though, I will say that as the tea got closer to room temperature I felt like the creamy banana note in the finish because slightly stronger.
Not upset about this sipdown though. It’s a fine tea, but there are both better banana teas from Deb and better banana teas in general. I happen to own both.
I picked this one out for the evening a few days ago because I was uncharacteristically craving the combo of chocolate and orange a lot but it was very weird because both the dry leaf aroma and steeped tea taste were almost indistinguishable to me as anything other than a candy-style peach. No tartness/tang or anything – but just very peachy with the faintest finish of chocolate. So, so strange.
Midweek hot cuppa. I had this one while doing some data stuff that left me stuck at my desk for a while and the bold and almost aggressive smoke notes with that slight chili heat that built over the coarse of the mug was a cozy and comforting flavour. We’ve had nearly two weeks of straight rain here in Montreal and this was from an especially dark and grey afternoon so it fit the vibe.
Iced Tea!
Steeped this up from my in office stash to drink for my commute home. I added a small splash of milk which brought out the creaminess of the pear even more so than is usually present, though it was playfully offset by the bright cranberry notes. Sometimes you just gotta make time to enjoy your favourite.
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 is one of the limited edition teas that was recently released by DT as part of the Garden To Cup collection. It’s very malty with a really wonderful dark raisin-y sweetness balanced by robust molasses and buckwheat honey flavours. My excitement for the other new straight black tea was so great that I initially didn’t pay this one as much mind. However, it’s really grown on me and I love that it comes from an estate that believes so strongly in sustainable tea production. It make for an excellently elevated single origin take on traditional Breakfast Blends; so good without anything added to it but still has that bold brisk flavour and pleasant astringency I crave from an early morning tea!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjD_TyGOzrD/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d8rvk8ON1g
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.
I love the simple balance of fruity and floral flavours in this blend – there’s not too much or too little of any one thing. In my head, it’s hard not to think of this combo as more of a “Spring” flavour, but sipping on it today I was just struck by how classic and timeless it felt!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjGdvcfu8RE/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TylbsCVma6E
Grandpa Style!
This was one of the first teas I bought a full cake of when I was first really getting into pu’erh and it’s been really interesting revisiting it over the last five years. Today’s infusion was like a big, warm hug with very dark and smooth notes of molasses, oats, Medjool dates, brown sugar, and sweet earthiness. Overall super clean with a thick, round mouthfeel. There was a period where this shou had a bit of a funk to it still and was more assertively woody, but I love how it’s come into itself with time!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjJH1Xqusy6/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSlCUtNekA8
This was kind of a last minute addition to my recent Bird and Blend order. I had really only intended to get the new matchas but that part of my brain that likes new and weird things saw the name and was like “Oh, you have no idea what that is so you obviously need to try it” and, well, here we are…
Truthfully, I thought the dry leaf smelled unpleasant. There was almost like a sourness to it that I sometimes get from overly roasted chicory and it turned me off almost immediately. Eventually I steeped up a mug though and I was kind of shocked just how lovely it was. I sort of got the impression this is one of those “right mood” teas where it may not always speak to me, but in the moment I thought the delicate balance of nutmeg forward spices with the subtle addition of cake was very pleasant. It really made me think of North American fruit cake. I have zero idea what a Welsh Cake tastes like, so perhaps that’s a close comparison and perhaps it’s wildly off base. Doesn’t matter though because in the moment it was a tasty cuppa.
