15695 Tasting Notes
Curses to whoever named this “Hazelnut Chocolate” and not “Chocolate Hazelnut” because clearly the latter it the more natural/organic sounding order of those two words. Sorry, that’s just the rules – I don’t write them, I just live by them.
(But seriously – I cannot be the only one who CONSTANTLY reverses the order!)
I don’t remember if it was a tasting note here on Steepster or if it was from an IG post, but I saw something on Sunday morning that made me crave this tea – that was the whole reason I pulled it out. I’m glad I did though – I have plenty of chocolate teas in my stash that I feel alright about and this is in the same ballpark for me: good chocolate but just not my favourite flavour. The hazelnut though! I mean, c’mon, the hazelnut though! It’s just such a clear and well defined hazelnut flavour while still being both sweet and creamy. It is the star of this tea, easily.
Minor side note – I forgot how super oily the liquor is though! Makes sense because you have the fat in the chocolate and the nuts; but those oil droplets on the surface of the steeped tea were definitely a lot more present than I had remembered.
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 was talking to a coworker today about jasmine tea and, while it didn’t get me craving jasmine specifically, it did put me in the mood for some floral teas – so I had to go into my stash and dig out my tin of this tea so I could enjoy a mug of delicious, classic rose oolong. Floral, thick and heady rose with the slightly woody and honeyed notes of the oolong as well as its own bouquet of fresh floral flavours. Really smooth and a relaxing cuppa that I greatly enjoyed this afternoon.
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.
Sipdown (1384)!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one but my God it was good! I think it’s my favourite thing I’ve tried from Bloom yet – what an impact!
It’s got the toastiness of a Genmaicha, but none of the oceanic/grassy notes – add to that the naturally honeyed nutty notes of the rooibos base, a creamy/custardy note, and a very thick and sweet overripe banana note and there is something here that does taste like a Banana Rice Pudding but more than that tastes like a rich and indulgent slice of Banana Cream Pie!!
I finished this one off and then I immediately wanted another cup. So far, I have to say, if you could only try one tea from Bloom and you even slightly like banana teas then this is handily the one I would recommend.
Gongfu!
Dry leaf aroma of this smoked black tea is so enticing with its notes of pipe tobacco, syrupy golden raisins, and ash! Clouds are rolling in and it’s looking like it might rain; hopefully part of this session overlaps with some heavy rain so I can really capitalize on that super cozy feeling of a robust and cozy smoked tea during a storm – it’s the tea equivalent of sipping a Scotch under a giant flannel blanket in a log cabin the the middle of the woods!!
Steeped, it’s very similar to the dry aroma but vastly more fruity – brandied stonefruits, overripe red fruit, and the same raisin notes. Very, very syrupy in terms of mouthfeel as well – each sip was viscous and coating, leaving a lovely lingering smoke and overripe fruit note on the palate to enjoy between steeps. Sadly died off pretty quickly – five steeps total.
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/COtVI3TAi86/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGdPoBcxqs&ab_channel=JelaniAryeh
Cold Brew Sipdown (1385)!
Three berry flavoured black tea cold brews in a row is definitely not a coincidence. It’s a craving. This was only part of the overall craving though, which was for more of a classic berries and cream flavour interpretation. Lots of berries to be found here, but no cream. I still enjoyed the brew regardless though – it’s so crisp and well defined with a very malty and deep black tea base and a clean finishing red berry note that felt really round on the palate. Everything in this infusion was just well defined, and I felt like I understood the direction and purpose of the whole blend.
Cold Brew!
Doesn’t have quite the same flavour impact as when brewed hot, but this is still a nice cold brew with some smooth and approachable fruit flavours! Strawberry on the forefront, but without any acidity/juice – more strawberry candy or strawberry creme, especially as it bleeds on the palate into a muted but full bodied black tea base (with some floral undertones) and a more vanilla finish.
I went on a bit of a mini “berries and cream” style tea binge this last week and this was one of the teas that fell into that assortment. More cream, less berry though.
Sipped on this one on a… Sunday Morning. I just couldn’t resist the pun.
It’s actually very nice for such a simple and delicately flavoured blend. There are no flavourings in this, so the taste is very subtle and unrefined – in the best way. Soft and gentle grassy green tea, a light hint of citrusy lemongrass, a whisper of strawberry. I worried the addition of stevia leaf would be a bit much for me, but I think it helps carry some of those fruit notes just a bit further than they would reach otherwise. If I had to describe this in one sentence I think I’d have to pick something poetic like…
This tastes like the first signs of fresh green Spring grass after a long and cruel winter.
Sipdown (1386)!
This is a cute name but it doesn’t really taste like cookie dough to me – I’m not sure what I would change to help that flavour come across better, though. It’s sweet but not sugary though and I do like that quality! It’s got a pretty substantial amount of present black tea base, some vanilla, and then the taste of chocolate liqueur that I’m pretty sure if just from a chocolate flavouring. I can also feel the flavouring on my palate as I sip.
As a cookie dough tea it’s a bit disappointing, but as a stand alone cuppa I didn’t mind it! Thank you VariaTEA for sharing this one.
Sipdown (1387)!
Had this one today around lunchtime and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked the cup. It was thick and nutty overall, with notes of sweet almond/amaretto as well and complimentary notes of chocolate and maple. Not overly complex, but just a nice full bodied and sweeter black that still had some nice astringency and a clear and present black tea base.
Gongfu!
Steeped this in my hojicha yixing pot, and I’m just obsessed with how rich & sweet this session was!! While this started off with some darker roasted notes, which gradually grew more golden, the real star of this session is the sweet and coating notes of hazelnut, anise, and cocoa that are so strong with each steep! Combined together, this is practically like drinking Nutella in the form of Hojicha and there’s something so magical and delicious about that!!
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/COqeCXxAxEC/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOGrVGzKGLI&ab_channel=PhilGood
