16396 Tasting Notes
Grabbed this one from one of my many sample boxes downstairs.
My flavoured samples are a bit of a mess right now, but the straight tea ones are actually really organized for the moment which is why I’m a little frustrated with myself for pulling this one out tonight! I don’t know why, by CS really likes giving me Darjeeling samples in my orders, so I’ve got a few from them with really similar packaging. I had actually meant to grab one I’ve already tried but they all look and sound the same at a glance. I just feel like I wont do this one justice tonight; my nose is REALLY stuffy and it’s definitely affecting my ability to taste flavour nuances pretty badly tonight…
Yeah; this is weird. I need to revisit this when I’m not feeling well because what I’m tasting is pretty odd/muddled and unclear. It kind of reminds me of vegetables/yellow bell peppers? But also malt, and… something else? The something else isn’t pleasant though; the more I sip it the more I think of, like, cardboard? I’m sure the tea doesn’t taste like cardboard though. I’m just not at top game/tasting capability right now.
Even bell pepper feels weird to me though; but skimming the company description for this one… maybe not? They don’t specify bell pepper, but CS does describe this as tasting like vegetables. I don’t know; personally it doesn’t remind me of a Darjeeling AT ALL right now. Everything is a little bit ‘bleh’ currently, though.
No rating for now.
From VariaTEA!
A little bland – can’t tell if that’s because I’m stuffy or it’s because of the tea, though. Definitely tasted the strawberry, but it was kind of artificial. I could feel the spice/ginger in the back of my throat, but couldn’t actually taste it at all.
I’ll revisit and reevaluate at a later day. No rating for now.
Sipdown (344)!
Finished this one off hot and straight today; it was really good! Very strong buttery notes; butternut squash but also just butter in general. That thick, buttery aspect totally carries into the mouthfeel as well. It’s weird how those two go so hand in hand. The rest is a mix of smooth, creamy grass notes and vegetal elements: soy, edamame, creamed spinach, and buttered artichokes. Also squash, obviously.
I’ll miss this one – but not greatly. It’s a little weird, but very comforting and interesting overall. I don’t know that Matcha Outlet (RLT’s new brand/name) even carries this flavour anyone though? So even if I wanted more it might not even be an option…
Sipdown (345)!
Thank you for the tea VariaTEA! I’ve been putting off trying because I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it; but I’ve been feeling especially stuffy/had a sore throat today so I thought it was a good day to give it a shot.
It reminds me really strongly of DAVIDsTEA’s Throat Rescue blend, with some of the peppery/spice elements of Pick Me Up, the sick tea that they did last year with the yerba mate base. It’s very fennel/licorice root heavy in flavour and normally I don’t know that I’d be really into that but it’s very soothing on my throat right now, and I appreciate that. Lots of spice and mint in the body of the profile; tons of peppermint and a mix of clove/cardamom and savory tulsi. The saffron peaks through in the finish; it’s warming and a very interesting spice component alongside that sweet licorice root profile.
I wouldn’t drink this on a regular basis – but for today and for being sick in general?
Totally works for me!
This one is actually setting in very nicely as a daily drinking black tea for me!
Normally my favourite straight blacks are Dian Hongs because they’re quite sweet and chocolate heavy – but this years as the seasons change I’ve found myself craving spiced teas a lot more than I normally do. Not Chai though, or straight up spiced teas. This is a really good compromise though, because it’s got lots of spice notes to it naturally: cinnamon and cumin primarily. Also notes of malt and rye.
It’s not an exceptional black tea, but it’s a consistent enough one that it works for a no frills casual daily drinker…
Very good, early morning option – especially when you’re craving something sweet and rich in flavour. It’s so oily as far as mouthfeel goes though; which is just kind of gross too. I think it comes largely from the chocolate chips, but also maybe the coconut shreds and the banana chips too?
I’m still loving it, though.
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 is a queued tasting note.
This was really good! I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from it because Adagio fan blands can be a little dicey and often muddled flavour wise – and this is a blend I’m not familiar with. However, this was really good! It was very smooth, and rich/full bodied.
It’s very chocolatey, with lots of nutty undertones. The almond is really obvious, sweet and marzipan heavy! However, I also felt like I was picking up notes of hazelnut and combined with that very sweet, creamy milk chocolate notes it sort of tastes like Nutella? I think it’s a great dessert option though, and there are worse flavours for a tea than Nutella. It does have an heir of familiarity to it that all Adagio blends kind of have; but that’s just because I’ve tried these same base teas in the blend so many times now – just in different combinations.
Now, does it remind me of Luke Skywalker, or any of the Skywalkers, really? No. Not at all. It’s still great, though!
Cold Brew!
So, I’m currently drinking this one while waiting for my boyfriend to come over. He’s meeting my mom tonight, and we’re having a more formal sit down dinner. I’m kind of anxious about the whole thing, to be honest.
This is really enjoyable though, and I’ll be honest having something pleasant to sip on that’s cold and refreshing is really helping! It’s actually very familiar tasting – and it took me a good ten minutes sipping on this to figure out why. The berry and lemon notes come together in a way that remind me of DT’s Electric Lemonade blend, which is also a berry lemonade flavour. However, this is DEFINITELY more natural tasting in my opinion. It could very easily just be a strongly fruit infused water; raspberry and strawberry notes, and a squeeze of fresh lemon! It’s odd that I taste strawberry though, considering this is raspberry/blueberry if I remember correctly…
The cucumber is interesting: this cold brew had a large slice/cross section of cucumber measured out into it so I expected it to come through really clearly. I wouldn’t say that it’s not present; but not in a very overt way. It’s more just that it has that really cooling, crisp cucumber aspect rather than the pulpy/vegetal element that comes from the cucumber peel/rind. It totally adds to the hydrating factor without taking away from the fact that this is a fruity tea.
Interesting, and delicious!
What can I say, it’s fall and when it’s fall the pumpkin teas come out!
I cold shook this one in with a bit of pumpkin agave and some milk. It was very, very rich and sweet – absolutely reminded me of pumpkin, but really creamy. Sort of like the Pumpkin Pie blizzards you get this time of year from Dairy Queen? It would have benefited from a touch more cinnamon/nutmeg to convey the crust element of the pie and not just the filling. Also, near the end of the mug it was very cloying.
The blizzard comparison definitely has me thinking about doing this one up as a milkshake, though! That could be really tasty…
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.
Iced tea.
I was craving something really strong and fruity, and I ended up making this one since I was so surprised at how much I liked it the last time I tried it. I think this cup ended up somewhere inbetween my first tasting of it (which was unpleasant) and my most recent (which was really good). It was very tart and hibiscus heavy; I did end up adding a pump agave because I thought the tartness was a little heavy handed. The rest was good though; very strong pineapple/papaya notes, and with the agave it was just more so like they were candied pineapple and papaya.
Reminded me a little of a mix between the red and yellow Sour Patch Kids, as well…
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.
