15695 Tasting Notes
Iced.
This tea was really weird, and I’m still not sure if I hated it or loved it because there were aspects that I felt super strongly about in both regards. I mean, it was WICKED TART in the initial sip leading into the body flavour – just this blast of tart apple, hibiscus, and berry and I really wasn’t crazy about it. However, the undertones? Really beautiful, creamy and sweet coconut notes that led into a finish that actually DID taste like rice pudding. So I think ultimately it REALLY STRONGLY captures its namesake. The problem for me is that the super intense tartness at the forefront and then the delicious coconut and rice pudding notes don’t mesh even a little bit for me. So accurate as it may be, it feels really disconnected and I don’t like how they work with each other.
Such a perplexing blend…
This one wasn’t bad for a chocolate tea – definitely had that really rich, velvety, and dense chocolate flavour that I associate with a really good truffle. Dark chocolate all the way, as well. I think it would likely make a killer latte. I didn’t really get ‘whisky’ from it though, which was a pinch disappointing. It also had enough overlap with the other chocolate teas I’ve had from AQ2T that I didn’t view it as wildly original either – in fact, it reminded me a lot of Chocolate Hazelnut Crepes, minus the nuts. Just SUPER similar.
I enjoyed both teas though, so it’s not a bad comparison. Still a good offering.
Just a simple sachet tossed into a travel mug of hot water over the weekend. We were giving away free TOTD for Canada Day weekend, and I knew that among all the free drinks and rush I probably wouldn’t have time to make myself a cup of anything loose or that required attentiveness – so I brought in a couple sachets so that I could drink something.
I’m really thankful that I did because this was so relaxing and I needed that little bit of calm and peacefulness in the day. The strawberry was really bright and sweet – I think this MIGHT be my favourite strawberry tea of all the many variations that DT has carried before. The star is the rosemary though, and let me tell you – this cup had LOTS of rosemary in it. I was so smitten.
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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Tea press.
Definitely astringent, and with a mild berry and mango sort of taste. Not exactly fruit punch but also not exactly not fruit punch. I think this one just really doesn’t hold up to travel mug preparation very well – but not really sure why? Some teas just don’t…
Pot of tea!
This was a really nice pot; it tasted so heavily of banana and walnuts but in the most natural, realistic way. I literally felt like I was drinking the liquid form of banana nut bread – and like the good shit that was made completely from scratch by someone’s Grandma. Not mine, because my grandma only made Angel Food Cake growing up, but someones. Just a tiny, tiny touch of astringency and then also notes of baking bread and malt, and a tiny little whisp of cocoa.
It really is such a huge testament that these flavoured Butiki blends still hold up so well after so much time; and it’s the perfect example of skillful blending and taking a STRONG straight tea and giving it flavour in a natural way that pairs with the already existing flavour of the tea. Stacy really was an artist – and while I’ve found tea companies that can get close to this level of genius no one will ever be her.
Saw this one at the grocery store and couldn’t remember if it was one of the flavours that I’ve tried from this brand before – but as soon as I opened it up and took a sip I immediately recognized it as something I’ve tried before. Sure enough Steepster confirms that…
Weirdly, unlike last time, I thought that the pineapple notes were much stronger this time around that the peach – and I found it to be very flavourful and sweet for a kombucha. In fact, on the whole, I’d say it’s something I enjoyed A LOT more this time than last. Huh; weird.
I think this company just had generic enough packaging/branding that the flavours don’t really jump out visually on the shelf and so it’s not as memorable on packaging alone if you’ve tried a flavour or not.
Sipdown (650)!
Finished this one off as an iced tea, in my tea press.
I was very curious about this blend; it’s a green tea which isn’t usually my jam but the pineapple mint pairings sounded really intriguing to me. I like the idea of smashing really contrasting flavours together – and sweet, tangy pineapple and cooling mint are a pretty big juxtaposition. I was hoping for some sort of “mojito” like effect though! That’s also basically what I got in practice – though neither pineapple nor mint were especially bold or flavourful. In fact, the overall profile of the tea was somewhat mellow and medium bodied. Still, juicy sweetness at the top of the sip and more of a crispness/cooling effect in the finish. Also some hibby notes, and a bit of an apple quality.
Couldn’t taste the green tea at all – which is a big win. Thanks for the share VariaTEA!
This would be a sipdown, but VariaTEA really thoughtfully sent me more of this. Bless her; she’s such a sweetheart! I was quite excited to get more of this one because I enjoy it a lot.
This cup was made with milk and a little bit of vanilla agave; it was so creamy and rich and just made for a very comforting profile that reminded me of everything I enjoy around Autumn. The strongest flavour was actually the pumpkin, which was really awesome, but it also had some tasty notes of caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla, wood, honey, and graham crackers. So, basically like some sort of decadent autumnal dessert – which I suppose is kind of the intention anyway?
Anyway – YUM.
Milkshake!
Some semi experimentation with this one; used less than my normal amount of matcha when making this one – I want to figure out exactly how much matcha I need to be incorporating into the shakes to still get a distinct flavour without over using the matcha and wasting it. So, I used 1/2 the amount.
Obviously there will be more playing around, but this might be the perfect amount right off the get go because it had the sweet and almost danish-like flavour of the blueberry matcha that I enjoy so much but it ALSO had distinct vanilla ice cream notes that weren’t drowned out the way they usually are when I make these matcha shakes. Really tasty; good balance between icecream and matcha and not too rich or sweet.
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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Iced, but with a shorter than normal steep time because I didn’t want it to be too rich.
This was ok, but ultimately I don’t think it was what I was actually craving. Primary notes of raspberry and licorice root; I hated how the licorice root creeped and lingered LONG after the sip, overshadowing the deliciousness of the red fruits in the blend. Also some black currant vibes; but they were lesser than what else was going on in the blend.
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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
