16396 Tasting Notes
More Kombucha!
So, Crave Kombucha is a small local company based out of Regina, SK – where I live. They sell their kombucha almost entirely out of our Farmer’s Market, from what I’m aware of. Today was actually the last outdoor farmer’s market of the year – and after a whole summer and basically going “Oh, I’ll try their kombucha next week” I finally realized I had to pounce on the chance like now. So, I picked up a bottle of each of their four current flavours.
This is one that they did specifically for the fall this year – and it’s a limited edition flavour. I was really curious about it, because kombucha already generally has a bit of an apple cider vinegar/tangyness to me so I figured that a kombucha that’s actually supposed to taste like apple must be good, right?
And you know – I think it’s arguably the best kombucha I’ve ever had. It certainly does have that vinegar/tang to it that you expect from a kombucha, but it’s actually very sweet overall and the cinnamon sugar flavour that comes from some of the added ingredients really pulls that apple pie imagery and flavour profile together quite succinctly. It tastes like the ‘guts’/filling of an apple pie, really and truly! I mean, it lacks the buttery crust component but that’s something that I imagine would be awfully hard to recreate in kombucha format – and even with it missing, I don’t feel like I’m losing out on flavour.
Truly, this was way better than I could have expected it to be – and that makes me REALLY excited to try the other three flavours that I picked up!
So, last month I decided I was going to do something a little different tea wise and try a subscription service: I’ve been gifted a few three month long ones in the past but personally I’ve never signed up for one.
The one I chose was the “Sipsby Box” – which you can check out here: www.sipsby.com
What interested me was the fact that they curate a custom box for you based on a quiz you fill out; and the quiz is actually pretty in depth too. It goes through how you make your tea (teabags, loose, iced, latte, Western, Gong Fu, matcha), how much tea you consume, caffeine preferences, flavour/ingredient preferences, do you like straight or flavoured teas, etc.
Like, there’s A LOT of questions.
Then, based on all the information you in put they send you a box every month of four different teas hand chosen from a mix of the approx. 30 different tea companies they’re partnered with. This month, I received teas from The Tea Spot, Camellia Teas, West China Tea Company, and Nepal Tea. Some of the other companies they work with though include (but are not limited to): Harney & Sons, White2Tea, Terroir Tea Merchant, Teapigs, Rishi, Yunomi, and others.
I have to say for my first box, I’m pretty impressed! The thing I was looking for the most in my custom box was to see if they included any of the things I specifically said I wasn’t interested in, since the list of stuff I was open to was pretty general/large. The only things I said I specifically WASN’T interested in were: green teas, Chai/heavily spiced teas, and bagged teas. I also have Sheng pu’erh listed as low interest, but not opposed to. Other than that, I really didn’t care. Like sure, I indicated some of the flavours that I prefer but I didn’t rule anything else out. I was also open to all different caffeine types, straight or flavoured teas, Western or Gong Fu brewing, hot or iced/cold brewed teas, and things for latteing. So, there was a lot for them to work with.
I actually did not get anything I had ruled out though; so that’s great! What I did end up with was two straight teas; a Shou Pu’erh specifically recommended for Gong Fu style brewing, and a Nepalese Oolong – and two flavoured teas; this one (which they recommended as a latte) and a caffeine free rooibos blend with coconut and lavender. So, it’s a pretty diverse mix of teas as well! Three out of four were also from tea companies I’ve never tried/ordered from before as well. This tea is the one exception, as I’ve actually had it before in the past. That said, I actually liked it a lot when I did have it so it’s a good choice! I’m really excited to dig in the other three though, and see what I think.
Finally, once you receive your box there’s a section on the website that displays the teas you received for the month and allows you to rank each tea you received on a 1/5 scales, as well as give feedback for the overall box and adjust any of your flavour preferences as you see fit. From there, the subscription company learns more about your preferences so that it can improve the selection they give you next month!
I think I’m probably going to do at least three months worth of teas; I feel like that’s going to be enough to give me a sense of the range of teas offered/available as well as see if the company can consistently keep things I’ve indicated no interest in out of my subscription boxes. Plus, it gives them a while to learn about me and my preferences, as well. So, two more months to go! Lets see what happens.
As for this mug of tea? Well, I made it with a splash of milk and it was pretty damn delicious! Like I said, I’ve definitely had it before so I did know what I was getting into flavour wise. It’s a very, very rich/intense dark chocolate fudge/truffle sort of flavour with some great earthy undertones from the pu’erh that’s blended into it.
Anyone who’s been following my reviews for a while knows that I’m not normally a chocolate tea person, especially when it’s just chocolate without any other flavours to contrast against it but this is one of those very rare exceptions. It’s just so well balanced, and it’s chocolatey without being overly sweet or bitter and most importantly it DOESN’T use chocolate chips! Chocolate chips are the biggest deal breaker for me in terms of chocolate teas; they melt down and create an AWFUL mouthfeel that’s just oily and gross. This is thick, and velvety! Really, really pleasant.
It’s definitely been a long while since I last had this one, but I’m excited to have it back in my cupboard again!
Hot, oversteeped mug from the start of the week.
When I say over steeped, I mean it got like a forty minute long steep. It didn’t taste bad though! It was still largely an apple and mixed berry sort of profile (blackberry, raspberry, elderberry) it’s just that there was a bit of kick/pucker to the berry notes. That’s fine though! It also gave me a bit of a kick caffeine wise; and that’s exactly what I needed so it’s a win-win.
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.
So apparently I’ve never written a review for this tea before!?
I know I’ve had it a few times though, since for the last few years its come back around Halloween just like this year. I guess I always just forgot to log it on Steepster!?
This one has never really been a favourite of mine, but I don’t hate it either. In theory it sounds really good; creamy coconut and chocolate with warming spices and vanilla!? That should be quite comforting, right!? Something about it has always just slightly reminded me of soap though – chocolate and cinnamon soap. I’ve never, ever been able to totally nail down what ingredient does it for me though. Experience with other teas would suggest it’s the coconut, but this is a different sort of soap note that I find distinct from the taste of lotiony/soapy coconut.
So far this year, I’ve had this one twice now though both times I prepared the tea the exact same way: as a latte with a hint of vanilla agave and a light sprinkle of cane sugar on the foam at the top of the mug. One of the two times, I also added little cat sprinkles for a bit of an added Halloween aesthetic. That’s all the sprinkles did though; add aesthetic. They don’t really taste like anything.
I actually enjoy this as a latte more than any other way I’ve tried it; it’s got a lot less of the soap taste and the other element pull together in a more harmonious way. I like the chocolate and cinnamon pairing a lot; it reminds me of Cocoa Canela/Mexican hot chocolate in general. There’s something very, very comforting about it that just warms you up from the inside out. Like a nice big, reassuring hug. Hints of vanilla in the undertones. The coconut is just sort of missing, though? Oh well.
This is good for the very occasional drink at work but not something I’d want to buy for at home…
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.
Started the morning off with this one yesterday; back before I knew how much of a nightmare everything was going to be during the rest of the day…
Ignorance really can be quite blissful sometimes.
This was a good mug, though! Since it was a hot tea, it was obviously a little sour/tart both from the hibiscus but also the lemon and orange mix. Overall though it was pleasant, with sweet citrus candy undertones to it. A smidge of honey would have been nice too, but on its own it was still a lovely lemon dominant profile.
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.
This was one of our two TOTDs yesterday, as an iced tea.
It was a really, really busy day so I didn’t end up having any time yesterday to actually brew up any tea to drink – so instead I just slurped back some of these guys since it was already brewed up. In total, I had three iced Forever Nuts – all of them with a little bit of milk. I probably drank more Forever Nuts yesterday than I have in total all year. It did taste pretty good though; like an apple crumble in a cup. The milk just goes really well with it too; it’s that extra bit of creamyness that ties it all together.
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.
Made a pot of this one yesterday to drink during a nice soak in the tub.
Yesterday was probably one of the most stressful days I’ve had working at DT since starting there. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the most stressful, but top three for sure. It was a nightmare, and I came home sore, tired, stressed, on edge, and with a KILLER migraine.
I chose this one for my pot of tea for two reasons; it was quick and easy without any measuring required and I wanted pineapple. It’s basically my favourite food, just flat out, so pineapple teas for me are like the pinnacle of comfort flavours. This totally delivered on the flavour as well, it was really smooth and sweet with a great combination of flavour from the flowers, flavourings, and tea base itself. When you broke it down into individual notes, it was a mix of hay, cream, pineapple, cane sugar, and fresh floral elements. However as a whole, it came together to create something so much better so after my first teacup from the pot I just let myself get swept into the flavour as a whole.
What was the amazing thing it created flavour wise? A pineapple flavoured cotton candy!!! Super smooth, and airy/light with a sweet pineapple infused fairy floss kind of flavour. It was exactly the thing I needed to lift me up and feel good after that total beast of a day. Yes! Thank you unexpected but insanely delightful pineapple cotton candy tea!
Flavors: Cotton Candy, Pineapple
Had this one near the end of my shift, and honestly that might have been a mistake. It’s about midnight now, and I’m finding myself a little too revved up on caffeine to quite head to bed for the night. This was a blend of black tea and yerba mate, so pretty caffeinated, which is something I definitely knew when brewing it…
So really, I only have myself to blame.
Flavour wise I was really disappointed by the one! The dry leaf smells so deliciously good; creamy milk chocolate notes, a hint of something earthy, and a really sweet smelling berry and currant aroma! I thought that based on the smell alone this would be something really interesting, and complex flavour wise. Instead, it was actually quite bland/weak in flavour…
Watered down chocolate notes, a dull/flat sort of earthyness and then a finish of almond and generic tasting berry. That’s four different flavour notes right there – you’d think that’d be at least a little interesting, right? But since they were all either bland or just very light it’s just a super lack luster experience.
Why doesn’t this taste at all as amazing as it smells!? So much lost potential.
In general, I really, really like the tea and animal graphics that teabento uses on their site but I think this is probably one of my favourites – I’m totally biased though as a rodent lover in general. I do have a rat and a hairless guinea pig at the moment, after all.
This was my last tea of the day today; I drank it Western style on the way home from work. It was smooth, light to medium bodied with a very fresh, aromatic and sweet jasmine flavour. A little peachy in the undertones, and pleasantly grassy. I thought the whole profile was very clean, and to the point without feeling flat/stale.
Jasmine green teas are actually probably my least favourite variety of jasmine scented teas; but every now and then as a really rare cuppa I can get into them. So, I wouldn’t order this again because I just wouldn’t want it enough to be worthwhile. I actually only got it because I was grabbing a bento anyway and needed one more tea to fill it; and since this is one of my favourite tea/animal designs on the site I figured why not? If I were going to order on of their jasmine teas again I’d probably go for teabento’s jasmine scented white tea, Silver Cat, instead. However, there’s definitely nothing I can fault this tea for – as far as Dragon Pearls go I thought this was a very solid option!
Higher rating, because even though it’s not my favourite profile in the world I don’t have anything negative to say about the cup at all.
Morning mug of tea.
This is exactly the kind of black tea that’s perfect to start your morning off with; it’s really rich and full bodied which exactly the sort of profile I want from an early morning cup of black tea. However, even though it’s full bodied it’s not harsh at all: it’s actually very, very smooth and velvety in mouthfeel with some brilliantly sweet and indulgent flavours.
The majority of the flavour notes are milk chocolate; silky and sweet. If you’ve ever done a professional chocolate tasting, you know that you start by holding the chocolate to roof of your mouth to heat up and melt – and that sweet, creamy melted chocolate flavour against the roof of the mouth is exactly what I’m experiencing sipping on this one right now. The rest of the profile are notes like malt, molasses and nougat with just a little hint of fresh baked bread. It’s a very complex and rich profile overall.
Mmmm!
Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/9dmgJ9xfIVs
