17059 Tasting Notes
Gongfu!
All my steeps have been long and drawn out, really stretching out the most I get get from these beautiful little nuggets of ripe pu’erh. It’s deeply smooth with both a creamy mouthfeel and flavour that reminds me a lot of oat milk, though with a bit of a more brothy and savory undertone and earthiness. There’s also a few sweeter notes like vanilla and date sugar. Very nice and easy going! Probably going to try and squeeze out another steep or two, and then I’m very much looking forward to simmering the “spent” leaf on the stovetop for a while to make some milk tea to enjoy later. Gotta love a tea with utility!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHzCwYsSfUZ/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW0fGH-Ueu8&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart
Gongfu!
Enjoying a session of this milk oolong while stuck inside on this cold, rainy afternoon. At least I have a good book, though!! I have to admit that at first I wasn’t going to read Sunrise On The Reaping, but Bookstagram and BookTok eventually wore me down and convinced me otherwise. The last time I read a Hunger Games book was in high school, so there’s some serious nostalgia going on here alongside this very, very emotional Rollercoaster of a read-through. No spoilers, please, as I’ve only JUST finished part one!
This milk oolong has turned out to be an unexpectedly great pairing, too. It’s so incredibly smooth, silky, and comforting – and comfort has turned out to be key because this first part of the book was BRUTAL, and I hear it only continues to get more intense from here. Very floral, with notes of coconut milk, fresh churned butter, and brioche bread, plus a medium-bodied liquor that feels right at home within the fictional world of Panem and District 12 in particular.
Also, I’m not going to lie that my jaw dropped at how perfect this tea selection was when a particular chapter in part one came up with Snow and a pitcher of milk…
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DH1pmUdSf-0/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kWf7V4ULDU&ab_channel=DeathbyDenim-Topic
Gongfu!
An early morning session from yesterday. Obviously, a very warm and cozy tasting tea with such a smooth and creamy flavour. However, the black tea itself is also incredibly rich and full bodied with a very deep, darkly sweet chocolate note to it. Even though they’re usually made with coconut, something about the combination of chocolate and sticky rice is making me think of the haystack cookies that we sometimes made growing up – especially during summers with my grandparents. Definitely a nostalgic and comforting tea on several levels.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DH4S6kIydJU/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi9j9ogqr4E&ab_channel=Yaeji
Though I’ve had agarwood scented teas before and some of The Paisley Hippo’s flavoured agarwood leaf blends, this is my first time trying to leaves on their own. I was surprised by just how familiar the smooth and subtly sweet flavour was. Gently earthy and woody with a slight smokiness and notes of sweet grass, petrichor, and grilled nuts. It reminded me a lot of greener yerba mate and coffee leaf, both of which I am also a fan, and also some Chinese/pan fired green teas too. I definitely see where the inspiration of “rainforest” in the tea name comes from!
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DH6zl-0ysuH/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWWoZuLSwmM&ab_channel=essencemartinsVEVO
Cold Brew!
Always a familiar favourite whenever I get a chance to brew it up. This time around it was very rhubarb in that’s delightfully bright and jammy sort of way with just a kiss of cream to round out the sip. In about a week’s time I’ll be travelling to Germany for work for nearly a week, but I do have one day in London before we actually make it to Germany. It’s going to be awfully packed, but I do have several tea shops I’m hoping to visit and B*B is among that list. Will probably try to bring a few teas back for myself – and depending on just how packed my luggage ends up getting I think a 50g top up of this blend might be on my list too…
Iced Matcha Latte!
A very pretty teal blue colour, but that wasn’t really why I pulled this flavour out to whisk up. I was going for more of a vanilla matcha latte vibe and this essentially delivers on that, though it’s also got a strong buttery and “pasty” flavour to it that really conveys both fondant and buttercream frosting too, and not solely vanilla. Very cake-y.
I was sick earlier this week so my tea drinking was a little bit lighter, and part of that sickness was just a whole lot of nausea. This ended up being a good tea to sip on as I was coming out of that because of the smooth, relaxing lavender that was really grounding and then the cool, crisp peppermint which was kind to the uneasy feeling I had. Sorta gut-friendly. Plus, this blend just tastes great too.
Well I am trying to parse out the name of this tea to understand it… in one of your other 8 notes on it you mentioned some grim reaper imagery in the package, and that tracks with necro (meaning death), but the nomi and cane parts baffle me, unless referring to either an author, or a type of artwork. What say you?
It’s a pun on “necrinomicon” – aka the book of the dead, the grimoire from HP Lovecraft. The tea was originally released as a holiday blend so “cane” is candy cane and is presumably from the peppermint in the blend. The packaging art is a grim reaper holding a candy cane scythe.
Well that all makes sense! Thanks for the explanation, Ros!
Iced!
It always makes me sad how under the radar this tea was when it launched. I had this iced a few days ago while at work and it was just so, sooo good. Fresh strawberries, creamy banana, and silky coconut that combine to really sell this rich and bright but also sweet and mellow smoothie sort of flavour. Plus, you still taste the undertones of oolong. A little more mineral and nutty. A delicious way to cool down.
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.
Usually I have this tea iced or cold brewed, but I made a hot cup a couple nights ago and it was pretty good. The tartness of the hibiscus and a little more of their “elderberry funk” gets brought out when steeped hot, but it’s still a lovely balance of deep, purple jammy berries with a floral backbone and I thought it made a pleasant late night cuppa.
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.
An evening cuppa from earlier in the week. It’s nothing incredibly special, but it’s solid and predictable which is maybe more important to me when it comes to a genmaicha. I just want something warm and toasy with that smooth brown rice flavour that feels like a comforting hug. This was that.
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.
