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Gongfu!

I rarely ever brew up this varietal of oolong, but this session honestly has me questioning why that is. The whole session was more light to medium bodied and very aromatic. It starts off soft and buttery with a silky and slightly sweet note of fresh coconut milk, with a gentle green and grassy undertone. In some of the later steeps I started noticing notes of mildly toasted sesame – and I’m definitely a sucker for that kind of rich and nutty flavour. But what I enjoyed the most was the backend of the sip, which had a beautifully tropical fruit note that made me think of fresh mango; juicy but still with the tiniest touch of green, pine-like flavour to it’s undertones. When the creamy coconut and summery mango combination meet in the mid sip of each infusion they just sing, and the aftertaste is a gentle lingering sweetness that makes you immediately want the next steep.

Is this the most amazing tasting Four Seasons I’ve ever tasted!? No, definitely not. However, that’s certainly not to say it’s bad. Far from it. Instead it’s that perfect sweet spot of being approachable and easy to brew, with solid tasting notes and a really great mouthfeel – the kind of tea that’s so easy going and tasty that could easily become a daily drinker without you ever really making a conscious decision to treat it as such. It’s a sneaky, sneaky oolong in that regard…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Ruh3qOGuT/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY-KRH6I1vc

EDIT Oh wow, based on the rating I gave this I apparently was very nonplussed the last time I reviewed this. Gonna have to go back and read that review now!

Gongfu Sipdown (2614)!

Unfortunately, this sample somehow made it to the bottom of a sample drawer and forgotten about, so I’m deciding to generously call it “unintentionally aged.” Honestly, though, it’s still pretty freaking delicious. The dry leaf smelled of dark chocolate and peanut butter, though steeped it’s much more roasty and mineral heavy liked one would expect from a yancha. Still very nutty, though more like darkly roasted peanuts than sweet and creamy peanut butter. After the first couple steeps, once the leaves have really opened up, it starts to really taste like heavily toasted cinnamon raisin bread with a floral orchid undertone and finish that evokes beautiful imagery of pitch black charcoal and rich, glossy petrified woods.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6UAl1GOTgx/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf-yFvAnZac

Gongfu!

All the weird and wonderful experimental tisanes coming out of Georgia are so fascinating and worth a try, but the Blueberry Leaves may be my favourite – plus you can’t tell me that you didn’t scroll through these photos and not think this was black tea leaves. They really, really nail the visual. Steeped, there are definitely differences, but the thicker and more syrupy liquor they produce is really quite flavourful. Fruity, but in a more subdued way with woody undertones. Tastes of blueberry, unsurprisingly, but not particularly sweet. Maybe a little bit tangy and fermented in an almost more apple-y tasting way. It’s very, very round on the palate without a trace of tannin or astringency, which is perhaps what differentiates it the most strikingly from a black tea. That’s okay though – this tisane is it’s own thing, and that thing is delicious.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6WfkjEuIqV/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWR9BoVuxck

Gongfu!

This was the bottom of a sample bag, so there was a lot of more finely broken up tea leaves. As such, this was a very strong session – especially since it took me a steep or two to course correct appropriately. Very bold notes of bittersweet dark cocoa defined the session, with supporting flavours of black cherry and funky red fruit top notes that were almost chutney-like. Quite complimentary with the tart and tangy pops of fresh raspberries noshed on in between the steeps.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ZHRARuwWo/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDmzrM0qUCs

Last but not least from the recent 90s/2000s summer collection is Pink Lemon!

I think, flavourwise, this is probably the most straight forward of the blends other than perhaps the matchas!? Just a really punchy and lively tasting pink-lemonade inspired blend. We’ve carried a tea called Pink Lemonade before that was a rooibos base, but this is definitely different. I remember the rooibos blend was pretty polarizing because it had so much hibiscus and stevia in it and it really tasted more like a hibiscus lemonade. So, when working on this tea, we took those elements into consideration and ultimately created this tisane that doesn’t contain any stevia or hibiscus. Instead this tea gets its beautiful pink colour from light inclusions of beetroot and dragonfruit, which impact the flavour a lot less substantially to allow for a brighter and more true lemonade-like flavour.

It’s super iceable and definitely the most crowd-pleasing of the collection IMO. Very good as a tea pop, also, or spiked with some vodka or gin.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=8 (8th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEsv9wpm6m0

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.

Next up in the new summer collection is a matcha that, honestly, is a pretty strong contender for being my favourite DT matcha of all time. Top three for sure, easily.

Like the other matcha that launched in this collection, this one is a bit more expensive than other organic flavoured matchas and that’s because this matcha is more like a “semi sweetened” version. It actually contains 40% less sugar than our usual flavoured matchas, which is why the cost is higher but also why the taste is a little less sweet and more matcha forward.

Even with the sugar reduction, though, I find the taste fairly rich. Well, the coconut element in particular. It’s pretty creamy and definitely has a bit of a “thickness” to it that I don’t think any of DT’s previous coconut matchas (coconut water/unsweetened coconut) have had. That makes sense though because pina coladas are very creamy, rich cocktails. The pineapple is fresh and tropical tasting and compliments the fresh, vegetal taste of the matcha really well. It’s no secret that I have a personal fondness for pineapple, so maybe that biases me a little bit but I really do think the balance of flavours here is really well done and the lower cane sugar amount makes for an almost more “mature” feeling take on a flavoured matcha that, at least for me, has been something I reach for more consistently than the full sweetened flavours.

To that point, I actually have a kilo bag of this on my desk that I’ve nearly gone through because it very regularly ends up being the tea I reach for in the afternoons as, like, a post lunch latte and little caffeinated pick me up. And, y’all, it’s so good as a latte. Hot or iced. But, also, very good plain and as a tea pop too. Really, I have yet to find a preperation method that I don’t like with this matcha!!

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=7 (7th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA7XIru89U4

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.

Wow, I am really getting in a lot of writing today with these new teas!

This is one of the new teas from this summer’s 90s/2000s inspired collection. Though I know Cherry Limeade as a beverage has been around for decades it’s something that I personally really associate with the late 2000s as well as, specially, the fast-food chain Sonic’s very iconic Cherry Limeade slushies. That said, this is 100% a flavour I’m starting to see pop up pretty much everywhere and it really good me interesting in exploring it in tea form.

I love that it’s on an oolong base since that’s a tea type we rarely release new blends on, and I think that despite having pretty bold flavours you actually can taste the oolong in the blend just a bit. It adds a nice soft floral undertone that offsets the tartness of the cherry and citrus, and rounds out the cup a little more than it would be otherwise.

DT has definitely had A LOT of cherry teas so I think it’s a fair question to ask how this compares to others. I find the cherry notes in this blend are brighter and a little less sweet than the dark/heavy flavours of Cherry Berry Punch or Cherry Lucuma, and also less sour than Very Cherry. The tartness is comparable to Sweet Tart, in my opinion, but the overall flavour is less candy-like.

And then, of course, you have the limeade aspect. Technically, there is no lime in this tea and I think that it’s a fair criticism to point that out – I can totally understand expecting lime and then being disappointed when you don’t see it in the ingredients list. Really the only thing I can say to that is that we did try versions that included lime and in all our blind tastings we also felt like the versions without the lime actually tasted more like a limeade. It’s still bright and a little tart, with a distinct zesty citrusy flavour. Flavours are weird like like that sometimes – when you’re not staring at visual cues your brain often does a scarily good job at filling in the gaps. We still wanted to have something in the blend as an homage/nod to the lime though, and that’s where those gorgeous pomelo cubes come in. In the dry leaf they have a really lime-like appearance and provide a contrast of bright green against the red that winks at the inspiration.

Really, I think this tea is best iced. That’s pretty much exclusively how I’ve been drinking it the last year-ish, but of course there’s nothing to say it’s not good hot either if that’s more your jam. I think there’s a lot of fun cocktail things you can do with this blend too. I mean, it would be a great addition to a tea-based Cherry Lime Rickey, and if you wanna get really wild you could infuse it straight in vodka for a punchy cherry flavour you can add to other drinks.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=6 (6th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZwmciiLFPA

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.

From the new 90s/2000s inspired summer collection! I really love this whole collection and it’s so hard to pick favourites, but this is definitely one of my top picks.

As is probably obvious from the name, it’s inspired by the red/white/blue Rocket Popsicles that many of us grew up with as kids. I learned during the development that there are actually a bunch of regional names for them like Firecrackers and Bomb Pops. To me, though, Rocket is the most iconic.

This is definitely a flavour that is having a moment right now – especially in the RTD world. This past year I’ve seen so many Rocket Popsicle inspired energy drinks, sodas, sports drinks, and even craft beers. The blend has red sprinkles and this blue-ish cotton candy bits as a visual homage to the popsicle inspiration, and I think on the black tea base they really pop visually and add a fun element to this tea.

The original popsicle is blue raspberry, cherry, and lemon lime flavoured and I think this tea hits all of those notes pretty dang well – maybe a little less on the lime? We also added some blueberry to ours, though it’s not as distinct tasting as you might think. Sure, if you really focus in while tasting you can pick apart this very juicy layering of fruits but as a tea just casually sipped on I really think it just creates a very authentic flavour of a melted ice pop with all of those notes kind of bleeding together into one sweet, fruity, and nostalgic taste. And yes, it is a sweet tea – but popsicles are sweet! I don’t think this would taste like the inspiration otherwise. This is also one of the blends in the collection that (at least in my opinion) is pretty equally good both hot and iced.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=5 (5th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5_ZbP1vug

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.

Of the new summer collection this is the only tea that you could maybe arguably say isn’t new since, a few summers back, we carried a non-organic banana flavoured matcha that sold out very, very quickly. I’m glad this tea is “back” though for people who loved the OG one or who didn’t get a chance to try it back then.

Honestly, it tastes very similar to the previous one. There are some key differences though, and it’s actually not because of the organic switch. Eagle eyed tea friends might notice that this matcha is more expensive than other organic flavoured matchas, and that’s because this matcha is more like a “semi sweetened” version. It actually contains 40% less sugar than our usual flavoured matchas, which is why the cost is higher but also why the taste is a little less sweet and more matcha forward.

Otherwise, it’s that same rich banana flavour that reads a little like banana taffy or runts. Very nostalgic (as is this whole collection), and so good with milk! I definitely like this one on its own, but I adore it either as a hot or iced latte – and I actually recently tried it as an iced latte with chocolate milk and that was INSANELY good tasting for a really decadent chocolate covered banana sort of profile.

Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=3 (3rd Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg3DkQTUHS8

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.

This tea is actually the only store exclusive blend in the new drop. It’s a yerba mate based blend with a juicy, ripe peach flavour and a hint of strawberry to it. Very good iced, but actually I think this might actually be the only tea in the collection that I personally prefer hot.

The inspiration was sort of the fruit carts/stalls that are prolific in the summer in Venice Beach/LA in general or places like British Columbia (Vancouver/Kelowna/Victoria I’m looking at you!) where you can pick up baskets of perfectly juicy and ripe fruits. Definitely this is more peach than strawberry, but I do love how gorgeous the giant strawberry slices in the dry tea leaf look. As it compares to Just Peachy, I think this is slightly less sweet and also slightly less tart with a bit of a smooth and subtle grassiness from the mate used as the base. However, I definitely think if you enjoy one then you’ll likely enjoy the other – and I personally love having caffeinated fruity iced tea options and I don’t think I’m alone in that.

Of course I wish this was available for everyone to try, but so far pretty much every store exclusive blend where customers have been vocal about wanting it online has eventually launched there too – I mean, Jungle Crush and Peaches & Cream Oolong are both good examples of that. So, y’never know!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6J_r7QuSAp/?img_index=4 (4th Pic)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc6JOIQFLmc

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.