Buddha's Blend

I received another sample of this and am reviewing it a second time as I think I was overly harsh with it the first time around. I think I let it steep too long and cool too much when I wrote the bulk of the review last time. Accounting for both elements this time around have cause me to rethink the 15/100 I gave it previously in favour of the new 45/100 rating. Sure I still wouldn’t purchase or recommend this one, but I’ve softened the outrage of my initial review. I didn’t dump it down the sink this time around but decided not to chance a second steep. I prefer less temperamental teas – in minutes as it cooled, I went from feeling this tea had a delicate balance to being plain awful. Still, the fleeting moment of delicate balance was enough for me to rethink my review. Maybe there’s a lesson about mindfulness somewhere in there?

I burned my sample of this by following DT’s steeping instructions :( It says to use a water at 90’c which is (now that I think of it) odd since it’s a blend of green tea (usually requires water at 85’c) and white tea (usually requires water around 75’c). So, yeah, my first cup was undrinkable. The dry leaves smelled nice though (although maybe too fruity for me) and the leaves were beautiful too. I resteeped it with proper settings and, well, I have less to say about it. Nothing special, not my kind!

And another more gentle steep.

All juicy peach and delicate jasmine. The key here is low and swift steeping.

I really like this tea. I once oversteeped it, however, and it became quite bitter, so now I only let it steep for 5 minutes. The smeel alone is wonderfull and, though there is no peach in the ingredients, I can distinguish it in the smell/taste. I like the hibiscus blossoms in the blend.

Day 13/24

I’ve had this tea before iced and it didn’t thrill me, so I decided to give it a go hot.

I like the undertones of this—pretty heavy on the peach and slightly floral. Before, I didn’t really get the peach out of this, which was kind of disappointing, but it’s here in full force tonight. Unfortunately, this tea is very astringent. It’s not too bad but I steeped it at 80 degrees for 2 minutes (which is pretty conservative for how I would normally steep whites and pretty standard for greens) and it’s still has a pretty intense astringency; this tea would likely turn very bitter if you weren’t careful with it.

I’m definitely liking it more than my memories can recall, so I’ll boost it a few points. It certainly not my favourite and I think I would get tired of it very quickly.

This was a sample from my last David’s Tea order. I was surprised at how peachy the dry leaf smelled! I was not expecting the large blossoms in this tea either. A nice touch.

Upon brewing this tea I got a lovely bouquet in addition to the peach and pear notes. I didn’t think I would like the jasmine in this, but I stand corrected! I wonder if this would be just as good iced?

College Graduation Party Tea #1
Dear David’s Tea… are you kidding me? The label for this tea says 90c/194f for 4-5 minutes. Anyone who tries these recommendations, just like me, will hate the drink and toss it out. I may be an avid tea drinker, but I try to follow directions… I appologize to all those who tasted such a nasty mess, who suggest 194f for a white/green tea blend with jasmine in it anyways.
I am willing to bet the rights to timetravel that Buddha himself would not approve of this tea.

I didn’t like this tea. The first couple of times I made it, I got distracted and let it oversteep, and it was so awful I couldn’t stomach it. Usually really strong tea doesn’t bother me, as I grew up drinking green tea left in boiling water for hours on end.

Finally, I got the courage to make it again, and I’ve found it drinkable, but nothing special. I don’t know if it’s the hibiscus or what, but there’s slightly medicine-y undertones to it. I guess if you like reeeeeally floral brews you might like it, but it’s not my cup of tea.

so I got this as a free sample from ordering from the David’s Tea site, as soon as I opened it I was amazed by how great it smells, I was hesitant to take this to work with me this morning so I’m having it with dinner, I usually go with something lower on the caffeine scale for after work wind-down but I figured what the heck, normally with something that smells this great I make my husband take a whiff (he kind of hates it), but he just got 2 of his wisdom teeth removed yesterday so I figured I’d take pity on him and leave him be.. anyways, back to the tea.. nice, floral taste to it, got much stronger as it sat/got to the bottom of the cup.. like really strong, almost like chewing on a flower, if I got it as a sample again I wouldn’t hesitate to make it again but I’m not sure this is one I’ll be keeping on hand at all times.

I find pit fruit flavours go well with white teas. Some find they either love it or hate it, my palate LOVES it. Peaches n Cream by Sloane is another good one, but it’s harder to find I think because it’s an Indigo/Chapters exclusive.
This one is a bit more floral than the Sloane one and you can’t over steep it or it gets bitter, so keep an eye on it when brewing!! ;)