16396 Tasting Notes
Cuppa from earlier in the week.
At this point it’s somewhat hard to keep track, but I think this is the first green tea I’ve ever had from Vietnam? Definitely not the first in general though; I think I’ve had a good handful of Vietnamese oolong and black teas.
This one wasn’t overly for me; nothing particularly bad about it but just not flavours suited to my palate either. Mostly a smoked vegetal sort of profile; kind of asparagus and snap pea like? Not a ton of overall sweetness to this one. I bet it’s perfect for some people, it’s just that I’m not one of them. At least it was a freebie though, given to me by Camellia Sinensis with a previous order.
Sipdown (513)!
Mmmm… nope.
This one is just weird; a mix of roasty coffee and chocolate body notes, a nutty undertone, this funny overarching mustiness and the weirdest fruity/tart top notes. It just doesn’t work for me and it felt like a bit of a chore even finishing off the last cup of it. Tea shouldn’t feel like a chore.
Sipdown (514)!
Got this one in my Sipsby box! I’ve never actually found a mint flavoured matcha I’ve liked so I wasn’t so much excited about the particular flavour of the matcha I received BUT I was excited to get something from this company. I’ve been fascinated by them for a while but since they don’t offer Canadian shipping I haven’t been able to do anything about it…
Added a little bit of milk to this one.
Flavour wise? This actually MIGHT be the best mint matcha I’ve had to date but that said I still don’t like it that much. I think mint matcha just isn’t my thing- but it’s well balanced with the natural taste of the matcha itself and quite smooth/creamy. Not overly sweet, either. I think if you were someone who actually liked the idea of a mint matcha that this would be a really solid, enjoyable option. For me though? It’s just kind of average.
I recently received this in a stash sale from someone on Steepster and while this tea was still in its original packaging unopened it’s VERY worth noting that this is old tea. So, you have to take what I’m gonna say with a grain of salt here because my introduction to this tea today could potentially be so different from what it tasted like in its prime…
That said, lets get into it!
In theory this is something that I should be all over because I love grape and cranberry teas in general. They’re both just flavours I deeply enjoy when it comes to tea although a lot less so in regard to the foods themselves. When I cracked open the bag? Oh hell nah. I can’t place exactly why but the smell of the dry leaf is really unappealing to me. I mean, it is VERY intense which is kind of the exact opposite of what I was expecting to get when I cracked the bag open? And it’s a really, really artificial and almost boozey smelling grape like very, very bad grape liquor. I can’t really pick up the cranberry at all here either. It’s so intense and just… nooooo…
Now, that said, steeped up? It’s a lot more reasonable. I mean, there’s still this painfully artificial quality about the grape in this that is getting under my skin and there’s an almost chalky undertone so I wouldn’t describe it as good tea but it is drinkable overall. It’s kind of candy sweet; makes me think of very syrupy/sugary sweet grape freezies/popsicles. It’s a lot less potent overall. I don’t feel punched in the nose like I did smelling the dry leaf.
Still no cranberry, though.
Sipping on this one now.
It’s ok, but pretty simplistic in the flavour profile. I mean, it’s essentially just an apple cinnamon rooibos and that’s not exactly a ‘new’ or ‘edgy’ flavour combo/pairing. I just think it tastes like a more toned down version of DAVIDsTEA’s Cinnamon Rooibos Chai blend with a punchier apple element.
Sipping on this one now, with some coconut agave. A very, very small amount as I think this tea has the perfect amount of sweetness on its own – I just wanted to see what the addition of the coconut flavour would do to the profile overall. It’s very nice; I still don’t taste papaya but the watermelon is super juicy and well rounded and I like the softer coconut notes mixed together with it because it gives the drink a semi tropical vibe overall without taking over. It makes me think really strongly of summer time cocktails! Plus, the white base here works so nicely with coconut. In general, I think coconut white teas are divine (and something I’d love to see 52Teas approach in a more minimalistic/stripped down way), so it’s nice getting that sort of vibe on top of an already yummy tea.
Tried this one yesterday morning, with some added milk to try and emphasize the ‘latte’ part of the name. The dry leaf scent of this one was a little intimidating to me – so heavily ginger scented. I mean, I expect ginger in a gingerbread tea. Obviously. But to me a good ginger bread tea needs to have lots of sweetness too, and a molasses like quality.
Steeped up? I’m actually… surprisingly REALLY into this one!?
I don’t know that I necessarily get the molasses that I really want from a ginger bread kind of tea but the rest is very, very nice. It’s really important to note here that I don’t like ginger that much and this is very heavily ginger flavour, but I’m still into it. I think that’s largely because it’s balanced with other flavours like an almost equally intense but sweet cinnamon note, some cloves (and man do I love clove), and a good amount of creaminess – not just from the milk I added but from the tea itself. There is marshmallow root in it, so I’m sure that’s where part of that is coming from but I’m getting some borderline vanilla like elements too that are strengthening the creaminess and helping with the idea of it as a ‘latte’ flavour too. Also a bit of a soft, roastiness/nutty note in the undertone from the Houjicha in the blend that adds a really nice, and unique layer of flavour. Like, make no mistake this is pretty heavily spiced – but I just… don’t care?
It works for me!
I must have really been in a kiwi mood this week;
I made this one up as a hot latte yesterday and it was actually delightful! I feel like fruity matcha lattes can be so hit or miss, but this one was interesting in a genuinely good way. It had a lot of overall brightness to the profile, and was sweet and flavourful. I liked that it was still juicy and vibrant while finishing in a really creamy and decadent way.
ONly downside was my dang matcha kept settling to the bottom of the latte faster than I could drink it because I kept having to step away from the mug to help customers. I mean, that’s my job so I’m not complaining about having to help ‘em out. I just wish it would have stayed suspended a little longer so I didn’t have to re-stir everything.
With milk and vanilla agave.
So, I’ve been on a big vanilla agave kick lately but I definitely over did it with this one. It’s already a sweet tea, and adding the milk would have been fine but the extra vanilla agave just pushed it to a point where it was far too sweet/cloying to be a relaxing and overly enjoyable drink. I mean, I still finished it but just wasn’t satisfying and it took me a long time because after a sip or two I had to pause due to the richness.
Yup; just adding a note in here for myself: Don’t sweeten this one. You wont like it.
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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
