17059 Tasting Notes
A coworker recently placed an order with this company and was kind enough to share a cup of the oolong with me.
The dry leaf aroma of this tea was so striking to me. It was sort of funky and fermented smelling in a way that made me think of over ripe nectarines, apple cider vinegar, with a bit of a barnyard hay kind of element. It reminded me a lot, actually, of the more experimental sheng pu’erh from Ketlee Tea that (like this tea) comes from India.
Steeped up it was definitely a little less funky but it still had some of that sort of “twangy” edge to it. More tropical with mango-like notes alongside a pretty strong toasty mineral note with some stoney flavours to it as well. Still a bit barnyard, but not in a way that I found to be unpleasant.
So, so thick. However, I can’t deny that this tea really delivered on the rare occasion where I found myself really craving a more pure chocolate blend. It’s very decadent with a truffle-like dark chocolate flavour backed by so much maltiness from the barley and a slight nuttiness of the rooibos. Just a little bitter, but not so much to be unpleasant. If I have any “con” it’s mostly that you can kind of feel the powderiness of the liquor from just how heavy and muddy it is.
I brewed this upon Monday during the afternoon at work, but truthfully I don’t really remember the cup. I guess it was smooth, and satisfyingly relaxing but it really just faded into the backdrop of the work I was doing without leaving much of an impression flavour wise…
Cold Brew Sipdown (2779)!
I wasn’t sure if this tea would work out cold brewed but it was so zesty and refreshing with both an incredibly well balanced citrus and spice profile (namely fresh lemongrass and aromatic cardamom) but also a uniquely light and tingly sort of mouthfeel to it. Just a bit of subtle, natural sweetness to go alongside the rather evocative composition of flavours with a really clean, crisp finish. I actually loved it sooo much more than I expected to!
Sipdown (2780)!
I don’t really remember liking this tea and, sure enough, when I opened the tea bag I could smell that awful fake honey aroma. However, steeped up it was actually surprisingly so much nicer than I’d remembered or expected. Very, very rich and fudgey with such a bold cocoa flavour. I almost missed the honey notes entirely, but after sipping through a wave of chocolate they would sneak into the finish/aftertaste and linger on the palate with just a bit of sweetness. Definitely not as artificial tasting as they’d smelled to me before brewing this up.
A bit of a gift from a coworker who saw this tea while out shopping and thought I’d enjoy it since they knew I adore smoked teas. I’ve had a few Earl Grey and Lapsang blends in the past (the Fortnum one springs to mind) and just rather unimpressed since I find the aromatic, heady bergamot and smoke notes of the lapsang often clash. However, I actually thought this was REALLY well balanced/integrated. Not too perfumey but also not abrasively smoky either. Something about the combo really made me feel like I was in some British parlour/smoke room. Like, a sort of “Sherlock Holmes” vibe. Definitely smooth and easy to relax into flavour wise while still being plenty full-bodied and punchy.
Iced Latte!
This is reaalllllyyyy fucking old matcha so I’m not going to hold the washed out colour and fairly flat taste against it. At this point lattes and maybe baking are really the only thing that it’s good for. However, I don’t think age totally excuses how artificial tasting the honey flavour in this came off. I see that in the past I rated this tea pretty highly (81) so I wonder if it’s more a case of my palate evolving over the years to be more sensitive to that flavour? I just know I’ve had MUCH smoother and more natural tasting honey teas in the years since first discovering this one…
Cold Brew!
I feel like I ignored Le Digestif as a tea for so long, but now it’s kind of slowly creeping up and becoming a favourite of mine!? I just really, really love how intensely cooling and crisp the mint notes are and how the contrast with the fruit notes in the blend really make the sweetness of those flavours pop without coming off as cloying or unnatural. In this case, the cold brew was just deeply refreshing but with such an incredibly crisp, fresh note of apple that I couldn’t get over. I would remake this cold brew in an instant.
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.
Iced Latte!
I brewed this one up today with a little splash of sweet cream in addition to the milk for just a touch of extra richness. It was so smooth with an almost marshmallow-y French vanilla flavour alongside bold, malty black tea. Just simple/classic but delicious. I honestly truly am SO HYPED to have this tea available outside of the holidays now. It’s one of my all time favourite vanilla black teas.
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.
Iced Sipdown (2781)!
A temporary sipdown as I’ve already decided that when Blume’s new mango flavour comes out I’m going to order that one and restock this one. So, with that determined I didn’t feel as bad finally drinking my last stick pack. It’s such a good late night open when I was something quick to make, cold, and caffeine free. Juicy and tart with a deep, dark sorta sweetness. This might be my all time favourite Blume product…
