16827 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (2671)!
This was the last of the three sachet samples that came with my advent, and honestly my least favourite of the three. The idea of a passionfruit oolong is really interesting to me, and I definitely admit this cup did have a tropical note to it. However, it lacked that really vibrant, sweet tangy quality that I so closely associate with passionfruit. Instead it was pretty floral leaning (not just from the oolong itself, but largely so) and a little drying in the backend. I fine enough tea that I would drink again if served, but far enough off from my expectations and totally nailing that passionfruit note that I don’t think I’d seek it out again of my own accord.
Cold Brew!
I just finished off this cold brew and it was really refreshing but flavourful! Super intense, punchy green apple with a lot of bright acidity and pucker to it but with a wonderfully playful and autumnal feeling spice note from the cardamom that curbed a bit of the sourness and added just a bit of nuance/dimension. I think it would still be very good without the cardamom, but a lot more generic and therefore probably a little less interesting to me personally.
I think I’ve mentioned it in a few other tasting notes at this point, but we moved head office locations back at the end of September. I’d say like 95% of staff moved to our new office location, and then I’m part of the 5% of people who work in our tea lab as their primary job function who actually moved into a second location attached to the warehouse.
The two locations (main office and tea lab/warehouse) are actually very close to each other though, and because I do work cross-functionally I spend maybe a day a week at the new office to support in other ways outside of R&D. I was there this afternoon and, prior to the start of a meeting, the person I was meeting with offered to make us all a cup of tea. I told her dealer’s choice and then was INCREDIBLY delighted when she remembered that Blueberry Jam is my favourite DT blend and brought that as my cuppa.
It’s not that I was having a bad day (it’s actually very nice catching up with people in main office), but it was COLD and super rainy all day and I’d just spent ten minutes walking in that weather to get to that office. So those first sips of rich, jammy berry goodness were so satisfying. So, so satisfying.
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 now PAINFULLY old, but somehow it’s still managed to stay amazingly delicious despite the fact it contains several ingredients know for spoiling pretty quickly like, say, coconut. I was actually worried brewing it up because I didn’t know if it would be funky, but it was smooth and sweet with thicckkkk, buttery caramel notes and an undertone of cinnamon. I added a little vanilla cold foam after a few cautious first sips, and it was even better with that extra rich, creaminess…
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!
Raw pu’erh from Yiwu is such a favourite comfort tea of mine, and that was proven with the first steep of this tea. Full-bodied and oily with a punchy taste of different stonefruits and citrus, and a lightly cooling finish. So smooth and satisfying on the throat, with that warm glow setting in by the third or fourth steep. I probably had another four or so good ones following that, with some sweetgrass, darker honey, and floral dried chrysanthemum (as if it was press in a book) notes weaving their way into the session at different points. Outside of snow chrysanthemum, I don’t usually love chrysanthemum tea or chrysanthemum flavoured things but I thought it was really nice here with the different elements of peach fuzz, honey and candied orange rinds that it latched itself onto.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCC-PgJy5PX/?img_index=3
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQRpBhf42Wo&ab_channel=AlenaSpanger-Topic
Gongfu!
Black Friday launches seem to be creeping up earlier and earlier every year which means it’s probably not too far off when we can expect to see a new version of this limited edition cake, so I kind if felt like revisiting a past year’s pressing. Definitely smooth and fruity-leaning, with peachy overtones and a bit of a more woody and floral undertone leading into the finish. It’s a bit less bright and jammy than the last time I brewed it, which was several years back. However I like how the flavours have settled into something more complex but still approachable.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCFTm7XS1EJ/?img_index=3
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chioBeVGgCI&ab_channel=KieranIvy-Topic
I love soba so much, whether it be on its own or mixed with a tea base such as this one. Though it’s a light touch of toastiness, it works well with the present notes of cornsilk, steamed vegetables, and nutty undertones. Very genmaicha reminiscent, though just a little more tea-forward in my experiences.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCIJ1N8StX6/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2_E0Z3diLE&ab_channel=BloomsdayVEVO
Drank this as a hot cuppa earlier in the day and it was nice! Definitely herbal leaning with that herbaceous, slightly earthy and green labrador tea note and the faintest little bit of dryness to the mouthfeel. However, that feels right at home with the slight tartness and cranberry/red fruit notes that come through from both the rosehip and cranberry combination. Not jammy, intense, syrupy or anything like that are all – more like having an herbal tea with a splash of cranberry juice added to it. Just a splash though since it’s still a lighter flavour/body overall.
I keep getting the “someone forgot to turn of the kettle” error message when I try to click on the tea entry for this page that isn’t marked duplicate, so I guess I’m logging it here…
Anyway, I made this as a hot matcha latte today and it was really nice! Definitely has a golden, biscuit-y sweetness and a little bit of a lingering sweetness as well that loosely reminds me of licorice root but overall it’s cozy and warmly spiced from the ginger. Not too earthy or hot at all. It’s been SUPER clammy, grey and gross here in Montreal this week so it did feel a bit like a ‘hug in a mug’ in a really nice way.
Another T&T iced/bottle tea find!
It’s interesting to me that the English translated name on this bottle specifies Japanese green tea whereas the black tea version did not give a country. I assumed that meant this would probably be a Sencha or similar, but I was pleasantly surprised with my first few sips because this was very nutty and a little toasty tasting. Not like a sencha/gyokuro or really most steamed Japanese green teas at all. Not really quite so heavy/intense to make me think of a hojicha, though? Maybe a little roasted kukicha??
I don’t know. The whole bottle left me very confused exactly what type of Japanese green tea this was made with, but I did enjoy it very much. More than the black tea from the same brand, in fact! It was just so smooth, fresh, and clean tasting with a perfect natural sweetness and nuttiness.
