Roswell Strange Send Message

So, I feel like right now I’m kind of internally torn between riding out the last little bit of summer and transitioning into Autumn tea drinking mode, so lately I’ve been flipping back and forth a lot between more fun, summery flavours and Autumnal things with sweet chocolate notes or warming spices…

This morning was a ‘summer vibes’ kind of morning, so queue the Hawaiian Punch matcha – this time whipped up straight and hot, and actually prepared in a chawan. Bamboo whisk and everything! I think this is actually the first time I’ve tried this one straight, and honestly? I liked it a lot that way! I still don’t know that this is the most ‘focused’ flavour – it feels both all over the place, and just very mild and non-distinct all at once.

What did stand out to me this time was the pineapple notes! Very candied in flavour, and almost bubble gum like? Why does pineapple so often seem to venture into bubble gum territory? I know that’s something I’ve DEFINITELY experienced in other DT pineapple teas like Pineapple Mimosa, but also from other companies like 52Teas. It’s not that I’m complaining; I like the flavour! It’s just such a weirdly specific thing…

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.

Sipping on this currently, with some milk.

At the moment, the extent of my thoughts toward this cup are pretty much that it’s pleasantly sweet and smooth with a rich mouthfeel. I do like the natural warm spice notes of the tea; cinnamon and allspice. It’s got a honey sweetness to it too, and something that reminds me a little of graham crackers. I can’t help but think that, if someone were so inclined, this might make a REALLY nice base tea for a sweeter Chai…

Very, very sweet iced tea that I made in my tea press.

It kind of tasted like the colour purple? If that makes ANY sense what so ever. It was just that sort of really sweet, kind of artificial and candy like berry flavour that could easily just vibrant purple. I don’t know. Whoever it was who said this tasted like ‘cotton candy’ in their review, actually might not have been too far off? If it’s the kind of cotton candy that’s berry flavoured, 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.

EDIT: It was me… I was the one who said it tasted like cotton candy. Welp.

Last of three teas I brought with me for the trip to Grandma’s this weekend.

Made this one in the tea press with some milk; it was really good overall! Sweet, creamy and vibrant apricots accented with sweet notes of ginger that almost felt candied? Every now and then hints of the rose would come through as this really light, floral flavour that just added a nice contrast to the fruit notes. Only downside was the gross stevia flavour that stuck out in the aftertaste. Of course, it was brief and only in the finish of the sip, so the easy solution was just to take another sip of the tea to mask the flavour…

Still would have been better sans stevia, 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.

Sipdown (331)!

There’s really no reason for me to hold onto this one, so sipping it down this evening. I was worried it was going to taste bad because the last little bits in the bag were pretty broken up and flaky…

However, I think this might be the best cup of this thus far! Its very creamy, and figgy: in a way I find myself reminded of Fig Newtons and other light, buttery pastries with fig notes and soft lemon. It’s a powdery sort of lemon; creamy/buttery and confectionery and not at all acidic or tannic: its very complimentary with the rest of the buttery notes and fig. Soft grassy flavours from the green base are a nice background to the rest of the profile. Its just very peaceful, and smooth.

Oh, also! Notes of powdered icing sugar!?

And yes, these aren’t really flavours unique to this particular cup; I’ve experienced them the other times I’ve tried this tea for sure – however, they haven’t come together as nicely in those cups as they are right now. It’s a good send off for this one, since it’s still something I wouldn’t order again. Best to end on a positive note!

Cold Brew!

This is one of three teas I brought with me on a trip to visit my Grandma this weekend; the other two were hot teas and I thought it might be nice to have a cold option to drink in between the two. It’s worth note, that this got a VERY long cold brew time because I had actually forgotten it was going in the fridge; so it steeped for like three whole days!? I know, I know – shame on me, and my mother, and my mother’s mother and my cow…

I did inspect the liquor closely for ropes of bacteria though, just to make sure it was all good since it had been brewing so long – it wasn’t cloudy at all, and there was nothing to indicate it wouldn’t be good to drink.

Flavour wise, it was really nice! Very, very smooth with some great range flavour wise. Notably, it was very honey like with red fruit undertones and an overall sweetness. I did think there there were elements that were a little more vegetal or indicative of a greener oolong though that I’ve not necessarily experienced with this tea in the past. For example, it also had notes of saline, mineral, and zucchini! The body was also quite grain like; not quite bread but well, you know? Hopefully, you know what I mean – anyway…

I don’t know; I’m a little less enamored with this one that I originally was but I still really enjoy it and I appreciate how it’s got this really nice range of flavour and is just so smooth, no matter how you make it!

Made this one as a matcha latte at work, extra extra foam.

This one was delicious, though a little weak. To be fair, I was somewhat reserved with the amount of matcha I used, and then on top of everything else I used a TON of milk (which definitely masks flavour) and the drowned the mug in layer upon layer of frothy milk foam, which then only ‘watered’ down the flavour even more! Still, it was very creamy and sweet with vanilla notes and a soft boozey quality. Just like Irish Cream.

The weirdest part was that it was somewhat astringent though? I’ve pretty well never had an issue with a flavoured matcha, especially one prepared with milk, leaving such an intensely dry feeling on the bed of my mouth. I don’t know what it came from, but it was hella weird. Still tasty, but weird.

So, I’m rewatching my favourite season of BTVS right now but even with it being the season that captivates and engrosses me the most out of every season, I still fell victim to the extreme calming and relaxing effects of this tea!

I finished the mug, and found all the stress of the work week melting away. The silky vanilla notes, and soft floral elements were like a lullaby in liquid form. Not five minutes after finishing the mug, I was out like a rock. Mid episode.

I mean, I’ve seen this season like five times now so it’s not like I missed anything crucial or it’s anything I haven’t seen already – but still!

Cuppa’T had a flash sale recently for the beginning of September, so I stopped in to see if there was anything I wanted – I ended up restocking my favourite herbal that they carried this summer and picking up 50g of this for myself, and then because I’d bought 100g in total I got another free 50g of tea as part of the sale which I also used in this tea so that I could give 50g to the boyfriend.

I actually like Irish Breakfast a fair bit, and generally prefer it to English Breakfast or all the other ‘breakfast tea’ derivatives. However, my boyfriend really likes Irish Breakfast. Prior to meeting me and having his tea world explode with possibilities, Irish Breakfast was actually the only tea he owned and drank regularly and even with my introducing him to a whole bunch of other options it’s stayed a favourite. He goes through it like no bodies business, so I thought it might be nice for him to have something similar but just a little different on hand to play with/alternate in between different cups so that he doesn’t go through his Irish Breakfast quite as quickly.

My first impression of this one is that it’s nice but not mind blowing. Certainly, like Irish Breakfast, it’s a VERY full bodied, bold and brisk flavour. I thought the creamy element of this one might soften it a little, but not the case. I’m undecided on whether or not that’s good or bad. It is creamy, not as in your face as anticipated? The dry leaf smells creamier to me than the steeped tea actually tastes. The biggest thing that personally I was “meh” about was the fact it was really astringent? Like, almost uncomfortably so.

I can’t help but wonder if that’s because I made this in my tea press and it sat for a while? However, that’s 100% not been an issue for me with other teas with more finicky bases so I can’t be certain. I think, in my case, the best thing to do is going to be to retry it the exact same way as before – except in an infuser mug rather than the press. Then, I’ll know for sure if it’s the tea itself or the method of making it.

As for the boyfriend, he tried it today and while he liked it he said it definitely needed some sugar. Also, he always adds milk to his teas, so his cup wound up with milk and sweetener though I drank mine completely straight. He does prefer the traditional Irish Breakfast, though.

Anyway – for now, I’m holding off on rating this one.

So, I’m experimenting with some of my flavoured honeys today and I thought that this was a tea that would work well with pretty much all the flavours I have – it was mostly just a matter of choosing which one.

My options are:

Chocolate
Orange Spice
Matcha
Coffee
Cinnamon
Garlic

And of course plain.

I didn’t go with garlic or matcha because they just didn’t seem like they’re compliment the flavour, and chocolate and orange spice seemed like they’d compliment it TOO well and wouldn’t really add much. So, then it just came down to cinnamon and coffee. In the end I went with coffee, purely because I’m almost done that jar of honey and I think I should probably finish off some honeys before getting more…

So, I’m currently drinking this mug and honestly? It’s ok. Not really any more or less than that. I like the tea on its own in the first place, and it’s not like it isn’t already a sweet tea so the addition of honey does put it dangerously close to tasting cloying. I actually thought it was make the chocolate the sweetest aspect and that would be the element that would be hard for me, but no it’s the orange that’s a bit too intense and in my face flavour wise.

I can taste the coffee flavour in the honey though, and you know what? It works for me! Instead of a nice duo of flavour this is a really nice trio that feels balanced apart from the general sweetness of the cup. The coffee has a bit of a bitter edge to it, the chocolate is rich, sweet and creamy and the orange is vibrant and juicy with an edge of acidity. It all comes together and works well. Plus, the mate itself has a lovely soft roasty quality too, which also works alongside the coffee.

While not without some cons, this is just a pretty nice midday cuppa. An invigorating one caffeine wise, as well! I definitely look forward to reaping those benefits as well.