drank Deep Purple by DAVIDsTEA
15575 tasting notes

Home sick today – woke up with a really sore throat and no voice, so basically just resting and drinking warm teas today. However, it’s a good opportunity to get my tasting notes up for the three new Halloween teas that launched yesterday!! Here’s the list of what came out:

- Deep Purple (New)
- Forbidden Root (New)
- Eye of Newt (New – Web Exclusive)
- Monster Mash (Updated/Returning)
- Stormy Night (Returning – Web Exclusive)
- Pumpkin Pie Matcha (Returning – Web Exclusive)

I’m not going to put up new tasting notes for the returning teas because they aren’t different – save for Monster Mash which is an updated version with new blue/purple witch-y themed Sprinkles. However, even for that one the taste isn’t at all different so I’m not going to write anything for that one either…

So, Deep Purple!! This is kind of a neat tea – we’re classing it as a black tea on our tea wall, but it’s actually a Kenyan Purple tea; of course there’s no “purple tea” category for us to slot this into though, so this is the closest one it can get categorized in. I’m not personally a huge fan of most purple teas, I think the taste can be a bit underwhelming even if they’re conceptually very cool and usually quite striking looking. It’s almost more of a novelty thing? However, that said…

I’m a HUGE fan of making tea accessible – including teas that are not highly commercially available or that the average person isn’t aware of and purple tea 100% fits that bill! So I love that we’re taking a purple tea and making it our star for Halloween – it’s a neat way to allow people to try something more unique. Is it strongly Halloween feeling to me? Ehhhh… It’s a bit of a stretch; but I suppose we’ve got the colour changing properties of both the purple tea and the butterfly pea flower at play so that gives some kind of tie in; sort of like we’ve done in the past with Magic Potion…

So what does this tea taste like!? To make it simple, lemon and blueberries! I actually really like how we’ve approached the flavour – most people will likely add lemon juice to this tea already to colour change it, so having a lemon note as the primary note just strengthens that element and makes sense to me. What I like about it is that this isn’t an overly sweet lemon note; it’s not bitter or acrid/tart/sour but it’s not exactly candy lemon either. Just a refreshing and naturally sweet lemon, maybe tinged with a little bit of a tropical pineapple note!? The blueberry is also pretty mellow, but a bit sweeter than the lemon – not as strong overall though, especially if you’re adding lemonade to this. It’s a nice medley, and a overall a smooth and fruity tea!

What I like about this blend is that it’s sweet but not the usual DT level of sweet – that makes sense to me for people who like fruity tea but not at that Frozen Raspberry type of level, but it also means that if you DO like sweet teas like that you can add sweetener or lemonade and still achieve that flavour profile.

Debating whether or not I want some of this for myself – I’ve actually only had it hot/room temp at this point but I imagine it’d be so nice iced or cold brewed so I might nab a bit for experimentation…

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.

Kawaii433

Feel better soon!

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Kawaii433

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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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