17258 Tasting Notes
I had a hot mug of this when I got home from work on Thursday night, and it was very nice! I still sort of think this tea is at its most “boba” when you’re drinking it cold and with some type of milk/cream situation but I quite enjoyed the bold, briskness of the malty black tea and the sweetness of the raisin and brown sugar notes that seemed to find their way into the mix. Less a “boba tea” profile and more just a really, really nice and flavoured breakfast-style of black tea. But, well, at 6PM…
I had to hop back and forth between our two offices a few times this week, and this was one of the teas I sipped on the short walk on one of those days. Let me tell you, I was so thankful for a hot cup of tea because even though it’s only maybe 15 minutes between the two locations it was soooo windy and cold. And no one is salting their sidewalks this year, so you have to walk so much more slowly and more careful to not slide around…
The tea was fresh and minty with strong notes of fennel, fresh apple, and just a hint of mango wrapped up in the sweet and cooling embrace of the peppermint. When I left one office my travel mug was piping hot and by the time I reached my destination it was already cold. Winter is wild like that sometimes!
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.
Gongfu!
I’ve really enjoyed the fireweed I’ve tried from Thés du Nord in past years at the Toronto and Montreal tea festivals (the black tea style is my fave), so when I saw this three year aged version of their original oolong-style my curiosity was piqued – ESPECIALLY when I smelled it because, wow, let me tell you it smelled funnnnkkkyyyy, and y’all know I love a funky tea. Also, just have to acknowledge just how much the twisted dry leaf of this special boreal herb really does look like camellia sinensis at a glance. The steeped look gives it away a bit, but the processing/shaping technique is impressive regardless.
Steeped up, this is just as funky and fun as I wanted it to be! So, so fruity on the nose with notes of apple cider vinegar and red dates. The taste immediately made me think of another weird and fermented tea that I love, which is goisicha. It has that same sort of pickled plum, apple cider vinegar, and yeasted bread sort of tang to it but super doubled down on with notes of honey mustard, mustard greens, and even kimchi. Really, REALLY mustard-y though. I got about three flavour-packed steeps, which was such a bold way to start off the day, even with this being a caffeine-free tea/tisane. I do highly this this would be a really polarizing tea, but there’s simply no denying what a distinct experience it is, and personally, it’s something I would definitely recommend everyone try at least once.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFtIIuEyvL6/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGfFmAkNxig&ab_channel=EasyHoney-Topic
Gongfu!
This is one of the teas that I picked up from Toronto Tea Festival this past weekend, and I’m so glad I did because it’s one of the better milk oolongs that I’ve tried in quite a while. Very soft, silky mouthfeel with rich but not heavy or too aggressive notes of fresh cream, butter, coconut oil, and a really fragrant bouquet of florals like orchid, lily, and lilac. It brewed for quite some time before finally tapping out, with a very consistent profile across infusions. Definitely a warm and cozy way to start the day!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFwAAIiyi_G/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MNfKh9EXlQ&ab_channel=PeterMcPoland
Grandpa Style!
I can’t help but get caught up in the beautiful soft caramel colour of the fuzzy leaves that make up this uniquely pressed tea that sits somewhere in the no man’s land between white and black teas. Today, I’m struggling to describe the flavour as anything more than just comforting. Almost like a liquid version of the maillard effect where the soup is “brown” tasting in an almost equally sweet and savory way, with a more medium-ish bodied liquor was a touch of upfront astringency before finishing smooth and coating on the throat. Butterscotch and broth. Caramelized olive brine. So weird. So good.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DFyWPedSB3v/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4m3xmFKxwo&ab_channel=CardinalBloom-Topic
Cold Brew!
Currently sipping on this one tonight while I crack out these tasting notes. I obviously had to stop my Momo’s booth at the festival because I’m always so, so impressed with her flavoured green tea blends. In fact, her sencha is the only sencha I actively go out of my way to try because the quality is just soooooo good that I can’t turn my nose up at it even as an incredibly picky person when it comes to green tea.
I realized though that I owned every flavoured except for this one, which is her signature. So obviously I rectified that. I knew it was peach flavoured because momo means peach in Japanese, but I didn’t realize until I was setting up my cold brew this morning that it also has rhubarb in it. Kind of a game changer for me personally as a bit of a self professed rhubarb slut.
Sipping on it now it’s exactly what I want it to be. Very, very smooth and silky with buttery, unctuous notes of sencha couple with fragrant, floral and sweet Japanese-style white peach and just a little bit of fleeting tartness from the rhubarb. I’m finding it really well balanced and refreshing. There are certainly other teas from Momo that I’d reach for over this one like the melon sencha or budo sencha (ie. the grape one), but they’re just all soooo, so good!
Had this at work today and it was not bad! I didn’t really remember it as something that I’d enjoyed before, so my expectations were lower and maybe that factored in slightly. Quite hojicha forward but I enjoyed that toasty roasted cereal/grains goodness a lot, and even didn’t mind the subtle brassy/mineral twang that accompanied it. The coffee notes are present but very cream-laced and somewhat alcoholic in a fake-y kind of way. I get where the tiramisu direction comes in though, but it could be a little richer and/or more authentic.
Sipdown (2791)!
Finished this one off at work today and really, really enjoyed how smooth and jammy the mug was. Full bodied from the black tea, and with a surprising punch of cinnamon. I think there was A LOT at the bottom of my bag, though. But the star of the show continued to be that wonderfully thick, cranberry jelly type of note. Probably best not to keep hoarding this one, but I will miss it. Maybe we’ll meet again in a future year’s countdown box or something like that!
Sipdown (2792)!
I was excited to see Nepal Tea Collective at the Toronto Tea Festival this year – they were really kind to speak to, and so generous with their sampling as well. I ended up getting their 14 tea sampler box as well as a box of one of their reserve teas.
It’s going to take me a while to get through the box, but I wanted to start with this one because the inclusion of Szechuan peppers was really fascinating to me. I’ve had two or three teas now with them included and it’s always a really distinct taste and mouthfeel that I adore. Westholme Tea’s “Boom” lapsang blend that includes them is maybe my favourite example of this.
Opening up the tea packet, the dry leaf smelled incredible. So fresh and aromatic with really distinct, lively notes of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and citrus. It made me nose tickle/burn, but in the good kind of way! Steeped up, those three spices definitely still come out the strongest initially without a whole lot of the turmeric. It’s also more of a hot ginger than an earthy one, which in this context I enjoyed alongside the very aromatic, soothing and slightly cooling notes of the cinnamon and cardamom.
Immediately I felt the numbing sensation of the szechuan peppers with my first sip, though it started light before getting quite tingly and intense near the end of the cup. If you’ve never felt it before, it really does feel like the food/liquid version of static electricity. There’s a citrusy note to it as well, which was doubled down on by the sort of grassier citronella-type taste of the lemongrass. I did kind of feel like the aftertaste was a little soapy though.
You definitely lose the notes of the white tea pretty completely, though I think it probably is adding mouthfeel. Without the white tea I think the liquor would be very thin feeling. Still, I wish I got a little more tea and maybe just a bit less spice? It’s such a unique blend though and that mouth sensation for the szechuan is something I feel like everyone should try in a tea at least once.
Sipdown (2793)!
Finishing off the other sachet of this tea I was gifted because after bringing in so many new teas this weekend I kind of needed the easy sipdown win. Honestly, this felt great on my incredibly raw throat if nothing else. The flavour was tart but with a soothing cinnamon spice undertone and some very lively citrus notes too. It’s a nice tea, but nothing I’ll particularly miss.
