17466 Tasting Notes
Iced Latte!
Made this with some milk using the “water bottle” method where you just shake the ever loving fuck out of it until the matcha is smooth and frothy. I still am really enjoying the balance of flavours of this one. It’s got a touch of chocolate and a more smooth and creamy mint note that really emulates the icecream vibe well. Not herbaceous at all. And it’s been refreshing as a fruity flavoured matcha alternative this summer.
A very, very glittery and sparkling cuppa that I made earlier this week. It’s light, refreshing and fruity-leaning with some brighter lemony top notes and then a little more of a strawberry note in the midsip. Sort of gives off Strawberry Lemonade energy, but in a more delicate and less sugary sorta way.
I have so many Vahdam teas to drink through, but I never feel inspired to brew them up…
I made this one a few nights ago though because I was craving something more chocolate-y. It’s definitely smooth, and one of the more pleasant and unique Vahdam teas IMO if you’re not super big on all the spice heavy blends. Which is me. But of course it does have some spice because Vahdam really can’t help themselves. Cinnamon, mostly. Almost gives this tea a bit of a Mexican Hot Chocolate kind of vibe that I find pretty pleasant.
If more Vahdam teas were like this I probably wouldn’t struggle to drink through them so much…
Made this as a hot cuppa with a splash of cream in it. The cream definitely added a thick, rich quality and amped up the more buttery caramel notes of the blend. However, I also felt like maybe I was getting more of a fruity undertone as well – particularly in the finish and aftertaste. I couldn’t quite pin down where it was coming from, but it did kind of distract from the caramel popcorn direction. In the end, I might have preferred to just drink this one plain.
I think some of the lychee has unfortunately faded with time, but overall this was a pretty pleasant tropical leaning green tea with more noticeable notes of mango and coconut. Definitely oily mouthfeel from all that steeped out coconut fat, but I didn’t really mind it.
An evening cuppa from a few nights ago. Sweet and comforting, with silky notes of creme anglais balanced by a bit more of an earthy-leaning lavender. I probably should have gone with something caffeine free, but I didn’t want the more intensely sweet flavour of something like Lavender Buttercream even though I was feeling that sorta vanilla-ish direction.
Cold Brew!
I was really craving this tea, but then I left it cold brewing in my fridge for a couple days because that immediate need for a juicier citrusy blend gradually passed after I started my brew. It’s quite hard to make a cold brew taste bitter because the cool temperate doesn’t extract as much tannin, but I guess the grapefruit in the blend cancelled that out because whoaaaaaa this was pithy tasting!
Still had the sweet pink grapefruit notes at the top of the sip, but just then finished a lot more zesty and bitter on the backend. If I actually regularly kept different alcohol/spirits around, I feel like it would have actually been an amazing inclusion into an Aperol Spritz. Very similar vibes.
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.
Koridashi!
Though I do feel the notes of yuzu come through a little less boldly with this brewing method, the resulting “iced tea” is so incredibly crisp and sweet with the perfect harmony of fresh, vegetal and umami notes and a citrusy edge. I need to find a way to scale up my koridashi brewing this summer because I find the cup or so I’m able to make at a time is never enough to reaaalllyyyy satisfy me. Has anyone ever tried doing a pitcher-worth at a time? Definitely looking for some tips and tricks, here!!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL3B6uNSH1t/?img_index=1
Also, shout out to this gorgeous wood-fired and shino glazed mug from Eileen Sackman that’s my current obsession! The attention to detail is amazing, and I just love the sturdy weight to it. Hard to see in photo, but there’s a gorgeous olive green sheen to parts of the mug that I find especially appealing!
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp6SqvnF5CQ&ab_channel=FrancMoody-Topic
Gongfu!
It’s been a hot moment since I revisited this raw pu’erh. Perhaps because it’s maocha, but I feel like this tea has changed A LOT since I last brewed it up. A bit more on the full-bodied side with a pleasant astringency and strong woodiness to it. The Menghai characteristics of it seem to be really springing to life. I enjoyed it paired with these blackberries, too. They added a lush, juicy sweetness that balanced out a little bit of the tannic bite, and without drowning out the flavour of the tea. Nice little start to the day!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL5n6RUy2pq/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnDdo7Pjbx0&ab_channel=CaydenWemple-Topic
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!
Though I didn’t start this tea session with the intent of drinking it in the rain, it started heavily pouring quite soon after my first steep and I decided to just roll with it. The cool temperature and fresh, clean earthy smell of the droplets soaking the surrounding area only added to the atmosphere of the session – playing right into the rich, earthiness of the tea. I stacked a few infusions together at a time, and the overall result was a thick, brothy tea with strong notes of walnut, molasses, bouillon, coffee grounds, and figs. Hard to go wrong, and worth getting soaked over.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL8QWEqhbMS/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THI4go9jmPg&ab_channel=ANTI-Records
