16396 Tasting Notes
Nothing to write home over.
Sadly, I don’t remember a whole lot about this mug. I drank it a few nights ago on the bus ride home from work, but I was having a really engaging conversation with someone and my mind just wasn’t heavily on the tea. I remember initially feeling like I was getting notes of lemon/orange, but then feeling like I was losing the potency of those notes over time. Like, as if the tea was losing flavour as it cooled down?
Bottom line though, and most importantly, at no point drinking this did it ever remind me of rum or cola – and if you’re tea is going to be named after those two things then at the very, very least you have to nail at least one of those two flavours. So, I was a bit disappointed. I have more leaf of this though, so I’ll be able to try it again and reevaluate.
Cold brew!
So, this was actually a REALLY nice cold brew. My biggest issue with this one the first time I tried it was that there was a weird medicinal sort of taste coming from something, though I couldn’t place exactly what. That medicinal quality sort of spoiled what would have otherwise been a really good and unique juxtaposition between the fruity passionfruit and a very silky, creamy vanilla/custard kind of flavour.
Prepared this way though? Exactly like the hot cup, just without whatever that medicinal element was. Maybe it was a fluke the first time? Maybe it was a fluke it was missing this time around? I guess the only way to really know for certain is just to keep drinking this one and see which outcome is the more consistent one.
This is a queued tasting note.
Working on finishing this one off since I just ordered some of Silk Dragon’s Buddha Dragonwell a few days ago – there’s really no need for me to have two different Dragonwell teas stocked at the same time from the same company, especially since I don’t drink green tea that often in the first place…
This mug of tea was good though; not really any different than the others I’ve had of it though. A bit of sweetness in the top of the sip; reminded me a little bit of a diluted agave syrup with a hint of floral undertone. The rest of the sip was very, very nutty though and almost instantly ate up that floral quality that was, fleetingly, present.
Post Thanksgiving dinner mug of tea.
This was supposed to be a hot cup of tea, but everyone knows what happens after Thanksgiving dinner – you fall the fuck to sleep. So, instead of drinking this when I made it I set it aside and had a nap with Eilert instead. Guinea pig naps are the best.
Now this is cold though, and it’s not quite as good as it was. Still not bad, but just a little flat? Primarily a hybrid of peach and buttery vegetal notes: creamed spinach, edamame, and artichoke hearts? Also, just the faintest bit of astringency in the finish of the sip. Likely from the very fine sediment sitting at the bottom of the mug from being strained that then proceeded to hang out in my mug for nearly two hours.
Welp.
Recently caved and bought DT’s Halloween themed Nordic set, dubbed the “Sorcery Starter Kit” – it comes with a black perfect spoon, a tin of Magic Potion, and the world’s cutest glass Nordic mug with little ghost outlines on it…
To be completely honest, while I do enjoy this tea, I didn’t really care about the tin of tea included OR the black spoon – I just really, really wanted the limited edition Nordic mug. Of course I’m going to put the tea to use though; brewed some of it up as a cold brew though instead of drinking it out of the mason jar I brew in like usual I poured it into the ghost Nordic to recreate the cute image on all the in store advertising for the kit. Add in a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice and…
Well, it kind of looks like the advertising imagery? The advertising has this really cute gradient look to it: blue/purple tea on the top half of the Nordic like the liquor naturally looks from the butterfly pea flower, and a brighter pink/purple colour on the bottom. Once I added the lemon, my Nordic appeared almost entirely like the pink/purple colour: I wasn’t able to achieve the cute gradient look. Maybe if I had used a lemon juice concentrate from a bottle and poured it in, as opposed to squeezing fresh lemons?
Regardless, the flavour was delicious and ultimately that’s the part that I care about the most; aesthetics is just a bonus after that point. With lemon juice this has a very smooth, well rounded berry lemonade sort of flavour. Lots and lots of raspberry and blueberry, with a nice bilberry undertone and the lemon juice acting more as a playfully tart top notes. It’s got the faintest presence of stevia in the flavour, but my personal experience has been that this note is a lot less present when either icing or cold brewing the tea rather than brewing it hot and I don’t find what little stevia I taste unpleasant doing it this way.
Overall, this may not have been the most Thanksgiving-y flavour for the day but it was fun to try and recreate the advertising since this has been my first day testing out the new ghost Nordic anyway.
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.
Sipdown (343)!
This isn’t really a sipdown I’m upset about, like at all. In fact I feel pretty accomplished having now finished off 50g of this – a tea that on the whole I really didn’t like. I just ordered some new rooibos blends as well, so out with the old and in with the new!
It’s a very, very tart hot brew with really sour hibiscus notes and then undertones of equally tart/sour and acidic cranberry and currant. The only reason I’m not totally against it is because it’s Thanksgiving and the cranberry notes actually feel really on point/fitting for the holiday. Like cranberry jelly, without the sweetness. That, and the bright red liquor looks REALLY pretty in the new glass ghost Nordic I picked up from DT’s new Halloween collection this year. This is the first tea I’m trying in it, and the while ghost outlines really pop against the dark crimson liquor.
But yeah – glad to be done with this one.
Happy Thanksgiving Canadian Steepster friends!
I decided to treat myself this morning for the holiday, by cracking into the bag of this tea that VariaTEA very thoughtfully and generously sent my way. If there’s one thing I’m thankful for this year, it’s the amazing community here on Steepster and all the many amazing tea friends I’ve made since joining – you guys are the best.
And this tea is the best. Seriously, I will cry real human tears if DT ever brings it back. It’s my absolute favourite tea that they’re ever carried – and the mix of creamy pear and tart cranberry is perfect in every way. It’s just incredible. Even when it’s somewhat older leaf, it’s still just incredibly smooth, sweet and delicious. A perfect holiday treat!
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 I think I first saw this on CS’s website about two years ago, and at that time I distinctly remember going “Oh, that looks wonderful! I must have it!”. However, for the next two years everytime I went to place an order it was out of stock…
That is until about a month ago, when I was finally able to add a bag of it into my cart! It was a very satisfying moment, since it was a long time waiting. That means there was some pressure for the tea to live up to the anticipation of getting it, though. Would it be as wonderful as I hoped it could be!? The answer to that question?
Mostly.
The smell of the dry leaf is fucking INCREDIBLE. Wintergreen is easily my favourite of all the mints, and this is rich and intense – just so, so, so lovely. The part that was lacking a bit for me was the flavour of the steeped up tisane; it was really mild/light. The flavour that was present was smooth and relaxing with a perfect amount of sweetness and cool, crisp finish. Very clean and lovely. I just wanted a lot MORE of it. That said, I have a feeling I may not have used enough of the leaf in my infusion. I did give it a solid steep time; I just think I needed to be more heavy handed measuring it out.
So, hope is not lost yet for that delicious, robust Wintergreen flavour – I’ll try again with double the tea leaf and see if I get something more in line with the intensity I’m craving. However, even if this is all that the tisane is able to produce flavour wise it’s not bad at all.
Thank you for the sample teabento!
I feel a little bad that it’s taken me a while to get to my last two samples – however, I’ve been sick as of late and I wanted to be sure that I was doing the teas sent to me justice when describing the flavours. I drank this one tonight; Western style. Normally I Gong Fu oolongs, but I generally actually prefer Ali Shans western style as opposed to Gong Fu brewed so I just went for my taste preference.
To be completely honest; I didn’t love this one. I think it’s the first tea so far from teabento that was a bit of a miss for me. Not terrible or anything; just not great. I think the biggest reason I disliked it was because there was a VERY strong prune sort of flavour to it – I’m not really a fan of prunes. Apart from that very strong prune note, there was also a really robust nuttiness to the flavour. Sort of a grilled nut/barley kind of nutty flavour with a soft honey sweetness sort of tacked right to the tail/transition of that flavour note.
Apart from those two/three main flavours, there was also some grassy and floral top notes which were fairly smooth and pleasant. The finish was a bit fruitier; peach/nectarine rather than the unpleasant prune notes that take up so much of the body flavour. The peach note lingers briefly in the aftertaste; then swiftly dissipates.
I can see why this would appeal to people; and there are certainly aspects to it that I enjoyed – but the prune is a deal breaker for me. That said, I still have another cup worth of this left, so I’ll give it at least one more try before I completely make up my mind.
Sipdown (344)!
Finished this one off earlier today at work; it was a surprisingly crazy busy day for the day before Thanksgiving. I mean, usually around holidays – especially holidays that focus around spending time with family, it’s very slow at work.
This was delightful though – more similar to the first time I had it, where I really enjoyed it. Sweet, mellow fruit notes: a mix between ripe apples and subtle watermelon notes. It’s got the sweetness of vanilla, without it intruding heavily on the taste. More of a note in the finish/aftertaste, really. Also quite a floral/rosey flavour in the undertones. Hints of the honeybush base, as well.
I don’t think I’d order this one again – I’m not sold on it as a consistent brew, and while I enjoyed the flavour I don’t think it was exceptional either. However, it was a really fun tea and I loved the fandom aspect/tie in. I don’t regret buying it.
