15575 Tasting Notes

86
drank Caramel Corn by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Damnit.

Turns out I like this one a lot more than I wanted to. Ugh.

I made it for my breakfast tea today because I actually, for once, woke up in time to make tea for breakfast and not be rushed drinking it. It’s sorta weird when that happens, not going to lie; I’m so used to waking up just minutes before I need to start getting ready for work.

It’s really, really good! It’s pretty much smooth toffee/caramel with hints of coconut and a kind of pineapple juice sweetness to it and the whole thing comes together in a way that perfectly emulates sticky, “smack your lips chewing” caramel popcorn to a tee. And, now I want to go pick up more of it because it’s really good. Downside? It’s sorta like Spiced Fig in that it’s a very heavy blend with huge pieces of stuff in it…

So, not really cost effective overall. Blah. Now I have to decide whether I really want this one. Boo to that.

Flavors: Caramel, Coconut, Nutty, Pineapple, Popcorn, Toffee

VariaTEA

So I own 250g of this :P

Roswell Strange

And it’s so damn heavy that you’ll be out before you know it ;)

VariaTEA

I will just have to keep stocking it. I am a fan.

OMGsrsly

I have to try this now. :) I guess I should just get it iced to go? Or is it worth picking up 20g and making it at home?

VariaTEA

I liked it iced but it is not bad hot. If you grab 20g, that will be like 2-3 cups

Sil

hahahaha

OMGsrsly

Don’t laugh at me, Sil. If I have to go out into the West Coast style gross heat, I might as well treat myself. TREAT YO SELF!

VariaTEA

Haha TREAT. YO. SELF. I just showed my brother that episode the other day :)

OMGsrsly

I haven’t actually watched much of the show, but that bit is just SO funny!

Sil

i will laugh. it’s what i do

Bear With Me

I think I’m too dopey. I read “treat yo self” as “TEAT yo self”. god damn.

VariaTEA

That may be some people’s definition of treating themselves. Not sure who but some.

OMGsrsly

LOL, Bear. That is definitely a different thing than what I did. :)

Bear With Me

I blame lack of sleep (and besides, even if I wasn’t overtired, BEWBS!)

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69
drank Swedish Cocktail by RiverTea
15575 tasting notes

So the first time I had this I thought it was pretty much just kind of decent; there was some creamy coconut to it, and some fun apple notes but overall a lot of hibiscus tartness. I pondered all the ways I could improve it; shorter steep times, milk, and cold brewing. Well, last night I went for some milk!

I have to say; if nothing else this was a stunningly beautiful colour after the milk was added. It was a super aesthetically pleasing kind of mauve/lilac colour. I was kind of sad I hadn’t made it in a clear glass because I would have just loved to look at it. So pretty…

And taste wise, there was great improvement too! It was significantly smoother and creamier with less choppy apple and hibiscus notes. Mostly it was like a smooth, creamy coconut with an almost tropical fruitiness coming from the apple which was sweet but didn’t challenge the creamy coconut – and then some very faint hibby tartness that, with the milk greatly exaggerating the cream factor, really just made the whole cup feel more vibrant. It made the coconut/liqueur aspects “pop”.

I still want to try this one cold brewed, but if that goes poorly then hot with milk is definitely a strong option for how to finish this one off!

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80
drank Sweet Toffee by Tea Desire
15575 tasting notes

Pretty much just straight up, make your mouth water, liquefied creamy, gooey toffee goodness. There’s a bit of a rooibos aftertaste buried under the toffee, and some sweet hazelnut notes pop up now and then too. As far as decadent dessert rooibos goes, this one is definitely a winner.

I’m actually almost done my tin of it and I’m trying to decide whether I want to restock – Tea Desire’s Caramel Pu’Erh has a nearly identical taste just with a different base, which I suppose makes sense given they’re the same company. It almost seems redundant to keep ‘em both on hand. And, I wouldn’t mind devoting the tin space to something else; maybe The Woman which has gone tinless since getting it, or to Cuppa’T’s Apple Strudel Pistachio blend if Tre picks me up more?

Ugh; decisions. I hate decision making.

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68
drank Love Tea #7 by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Oversteeped this one last night so, even with added milk, it was a little bit bitter and that through the cup off some. Regardless, it still had strong milk chocolate notes and some lighter strawberry ones – although last night they tasted a touch more on the artificial side that usual.

Oh well; still nice to curl up with late at night even if it was a sorta bad cup.

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87

Made four very late night teas yesterday (this morning?) because I was really feeling those four teas in particular, and this was one of the ones I steeped up.

Are you ever in the mood for a string of blends that have like nothing in common, and only those blends will do? And then, on top of that, you need something to “tie them together”; that was me, and the thing I added to all four cups was milk. Mmm, creamy late night tea with milk!

This was phenomenal; creamy, sweet and almost shockingly bold lemons with a softer vanilla/almond end sip that made this so good to curl up with and relax to while softly sipping. Mmm!

Flavors: Cream, Honey, Lemon, Vanilla

Mandy

I somehow forgot to order some of this with my order from over the weekend. Must remember it for next time!

Cheri

I have not tried this one with milk. Sounds delicious that way!

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78
drank Cotton Candy by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

And this is the last of the backlog! Man, that feels really good to say.

So I picked some of this up today at DT to play with, and I decided to make it this afternoon to drink with Tyrell over. I just had to try one of the carnival blends immediately, and this seemed like the better option in the moment. I think it was the one I was just most curious about overall.

Smell wise this is divinely sweet and gooey smelling; pretty much just like cotton candy. If this was a perfume, I’d wear the shit out of the smell. As it steeped up, the liquor was very cloudy but surprisingly it wasn’t gooey or oily like I expected it to be from the sprinkles.

Taste wise I kinda feel a touch “meh” about it. I liked the mostly green rooibos base; and there was a super light fruitiness to it that I suppose could be mango. I actually enjoyed that it wasn’t distinctly mango, though. That’s one thing that I was concerned about. As for the cotton candy part? Some sips nailed it; it was sugary and sweet and had that sort of “fairy floss” airiness to it. Other sips were too strong on the base or just not sweet enough in general.

I’m definitely going to try this cold brewed, and I want to do it hot with milk too! It’ll be fun to play with but overall I just think I wanted it to be even sweeter and regardless of that I think this is definitely something that I might enjoy playing with a few times but will have no need to possibly restock.

I think it captures what it’s supposed to be (basically sweet gooey sugar goodness) well though. Gotta give it props for that.

Cameron B.

I had the same problem with the taste of this one being inconsistent. Some sips were cotton candy and some were just somewhat sweet rooibos water. :(

Spencer

I cannot determine if this makes me want to try it more or less, now!

Spencer

All the same, thanks for your thoughts!

Bear With Me

I need this ASAP. 1) because cotton candy is godly. and 2) green rooibos > red rooibos and there just aren’t enough green rooibos blends out there. Yep, 250g of this and 250g of root beer float are needed. Better make a note to ask the family for a DAVIDs gift card for my upcoming birthday.

VariaTEA

You will get the giant tins!

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87

I bought this beauty today at DT! I think I’d have gotten it even if it didn’t glow in the dark; that’s just an added bonus that makes it even cooler! And of course when I got home today I had to christen it.

I was so excited to make something in it that I even missed the fact there was a sticker in the mug, so I drank most of my tea with the little sticker half stuck to the bottom of the mug. Welp.

Here’s what it says though: “Hand wash only with mild detergent – no abrasive sponges. Do not soak. Do not microwave.” I feel like it’s important to post that info here for anyone considering buying this one. Personally, no big deal for me. I typically hand wash my mugs anyway because I do a better more thorough job that the dishwasher does. And obviously the extra precautions are needed because of the glow in the dark stuff on the mug. I bet if you didn’t care about it glowing it wouldn’t matter, though.

And speaking of the glow in the dark aspect; it actually legitimately does glow in the dark. Tyrell didn’t believe me, and I was curious to actually see it glow, so we shut off all the lights to check it out. It glows bright. Like, not subtle glowing but “for realsies” glow in the dark. Definitely very cool.

Other things to note: my only other perfect mug is the glass one with frosted octopus tentacle on the side, and compared to that one this one seems much more structurally sound and has thicker sides and a thicker handle. And the red is beautiful and vibrant; as an added bonus it also matches the colour scheme of my other dishes and the plain set of mugs I’ve had since moving in.

I feel like this mug and I will be very happy together.

mj

LOL @ that last line

Frolic

I don’t know if I like that design but I hope they continue to make cool cups like the heat sensitive ones and glow in the dark. One day there will finally be one that catches my fancy.

ashmanra

At least it didn’t say, “Do not lick sticker, extremely toxic.” Sounds like a really cool mug. :)

OMGsrsly

I thought that mug was SO CUTE! Tempting, but I have 2 octopuses I’m very happy with. Ahem.

Roswell Strange

I have an Octopus too (but I was drawn in by the frosty glass one…) as well as the Pineapple bubble mugs! And then non DT stuff like Peekaboo Giraffe, All My Friends are Dead Dinosaur, and my Poppy Adeline infuser mug (such a beauty!)… Slowly but surely I’ll replace all my boring mugs with an array of fancy ones!

TheTeaFairy

I do that also Roswell, every time I buy a new fun mug, I get rid of a boring one…you seem to have an awesome collection :-)

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82

As a cold brew; I really enjoyed sipping on this one during the afternoon while Tyrell was over. I didn’t really want to spend time making a huge batch (four cups) like last time so I just did the mason jar worth of this one, and something in my new glow in the dark mug. This was very juicy, maybe a little more lemon-y than kiwi today?

Basically, we just sorta played Pokemon for a few hours (both times we battled I totally kicked his ass, and I helped him evolve some Pokemon that only evolve by trade), and then I somehow convinced him to watch an episode of Big Brother with me, and an episode of Supernatural in return for watching an episode of Code Geass (which I kinda wanted to watch anyway). I win!

I always win.

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76
drank Magic Dragon by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

First review! And in my excitement to add this to the database I forgot to attach a picture, so if someone could do that for me (I don’t have the option to edit right now?) that’d be awesome!

So this is DT’s new blend for the month of July and I have to admit that I was SUPER excited to see it, despite all the hibby in it, because I LOVE Dragonfruit and have had success with most Dragonfruit teas I’ve had, if not all of them.

Given it was released today, it was also one of the samples of the day and since I was at DT I could not resist trying it! I mean, I was pretty convinced I was going to buy it anyway – but trying it couldn’t hurt. I wont rate because I wasn’t the one who prepared the sample and I have no idea how DT prepared it – but I thought it was good and very promising!

It was a little weak for my tastes (but I think it was sitting in a pitcher with melting ice too, so that’s definitely something to take into consideration) but overall I thought it was distinctly Dragon Fruit flavoured with very light hibby notes to it. I didn’t pick up the rosehips at all. I enjoyed it.

I ended up walking away with a conservation 24g to play with. Likely I’ll cold brew it first; but I think it’ll be good hot too? Honestly, I probably would have got more because I’m sure I’ll love this one – but Tre’s supposed to be picking me up 100g of Cuppa T’s Dragon Fruit Cranberry blend. I didn’t anticipate the July tea being Dragon Fruit…

Roswell Strange

Thank you Cavo for adding a picture! You’re the best! :)

TeaLady441

You’re welcome! :) I know how important that is!

Christina / BooksandTea

My mind boggles at how many new blends David’s comes up with on a regular basis. How do they have room for it all?

TeaLady441

They phase them out – the seasonal blends are only available for a few months! Sometimes they’ll bring them back later on, or make them permanent but you never know which ones!

Bear With Me

SO glad to hear it’s actually dragon fruity! I LOVE dragon fruit (and am nomming one with a spoon right now), so dragon fruit tea REALLY appeals to me. Yep, definitely need to ask for a DAVIDs gift card for my birthday. there’s too much I need!

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79
drank Oh Canada! by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Success!

It’s 11:45 (and I started logging at like nine) and I’m finally on the teas that I had today! That’s maybe a little sad? Although I did take a break at some point to make supper, and watch a couple short youtube videos. But still.

Today is Canada Day; technically, for 15 more minutes… I went to DT this morning to finally pick up the carnival blends I wanted to try, get the new tea of the month, restock some things, and get the new glow in the dark perfect mug because teaware! I also picked this one up as a latte To Go because it’s fucking Canada Day and I’m gonna celebrate in my own way!

It was decent; rooibos pretty much didn’t come through at all so no complaints there. I got notes of maple and marshmallow and I enjoyed sipping on it which walking to the bus terminals downtown. From the terminals things got fucked though; recently Saskatoon (like, two days ago recently) changed all their bus routes and I haven’t learned the new ones yet because I don’t bus places often.

I was able to take my normal route to the mall, but apparently my route home is different now and I didn’t think to look it up before leaving. Thankfully I had plans to see Tyrell when I got home anyway, so he just (super sweetly) came and picked me up from downtown. Fuck the new routes though; I mean, yeah I’ll have to learn them eventually but damn. I hate change. And I don’t want to be that person who relies on their boyfriend to chauffeur them around. Nope.

But this was my haul today:

- Oh Canada! Latte “To Go”
- 70g Refill of Movie Night in tin
- 70g Refill of Root Beer Float in tin
- 24g Cherry Snowcone
- 24g Caramel Corn
- 24g Cotton Candy
- 24g Magic Dragon (A new dragonfruit tea!!!)
- The new Soda Shop Glow in the Dark Perfect Mug!!!

So yeah, good tea day!

Flavors: Maple Syrup, Marshmallow, Marzipan

VariaTEA

Ooooh I love the Soda Shop mug

Roswell Strange

Next thing I’m writing is my review on it :)

TeaLady441

Wait? There’s a glow in the dark mug? :O
Also that’s a great haul!!!

VariaTEA

Cavo, the red mug with all the drinks on it is glow in the dark.

TeaLady441

Hahah. So ridiculous and awesome.

Spencer

Hmm, might have to give this one another try. The local shop had some made in a tea pop, and I was far less than impressed. When I commented that it tasted like maple, the salesperson (one of my least favorite people at this location) immediately shot back a “No, it has toffee in it.” Ummm…’kay?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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Profile

Bio

Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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