16396 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (311)!
Thank you VariaTea for the sample! This one really had me curious; and I was really hoping I’d like it. Overall I just thought it was really plain, though. Not bad, totally drinkable but really underwhelming.
- Mostly very earthy Pu’erh
- With very subtle vanilla undertones to it
- Adding milk made it smoother, and a little more custardy
- And really thickened the mouthfeel as well
- However as “creme brulee” this was REALLY lacking
Soy Latte, from last night.
Normally I don’t drink soy milk lattes because I don’t like the taste of soy milk – but someone had ordered a latte with skim and we accidentally used soy so we had an extra cup kicking around after redoing the latte for them…
No one else on shift really loves this tea, so I took the latte. It actually tasted pretty good despite the soy milk – I mean, definitely a different flavour from the milk but the taste of the tea itself was really lovely! Very, very lemony with a creamy aspect to soften it. Hints of pineapple. I do really like this one as a latte; I MAY need to buy more because I think the 20g at home I’ve been rationing probably wont satisfy me forever.
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.
Hot cup from yesterday, with a bit of honey added to it.
This was really heavy on the lemon myrtle this time around, with softer background notes of the peppermint leaf and chili flakes. I had picked it because I was having a bit of heartburn and I thought it might have been really soothing to sip at – I think that would have mostly been true were it not for the chili flakes. I could totally feel them in the back of my throat…
Also, I don’t think I dissolved the honey well because my last few sips were almost sickly sweet from honey which I imagine probably had just sunk to the bottom of the mug.
Cold Brew Sipdown (312)!
I liked this one so much as a cold brew than I did as a hot tea, but I still don’t know that it’s something I’d want to purchase again. There are so many similar things out there that I think are just slightly better executed.
The flavour was much more mellow than my last cup, and I think I liked it a lot better that way – it almost came off as smoother, and more refreshing? It had lots of notes of blueberry, raspberry, and elderberry; but weaker than last time. It really does give off a juice-like vibe! No trace of the black tea base though, and I think even a glimpse of it would do something to improve the overall body of the tea, and improve the flavour.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, much less stevia taste too!
Cold Brew!
So I was right, and cold brewing this definitely resulted in a tea that was far less tart/heavy on the hibiscus notes. The star flavour was definitely the strawberry: very plump and juicy! It really well conveyed both the flavour of very ripe, natural strawberries and of strawberry candy as well. I do think some of that ‘candy’ element came from the pistachio flavouring though: I’m still finding that the flavouring for the pisctachio is very sweet/candy like and less natural. I think some of that sweetness much have rubbed off on the strawberry, making it seem more candy like too.
It was still REALLY delicious overall, though!
Stole some of my mom’s hoard of this to make a big hot mug of it, with some milk added in. I was craving something really sweet to curl up in bed with…
It was indeed very sweet, and it tasted like it normally does with a couple small exceptions – I got one of those MASSIVE cinnamon stick pieces in my dry leaf and I think consequently that caused the cup to be a little cinnamon heavy. However, I also tasted a lot of bright pineapple notes too, and while I’m 100% not complaining because I LOVE pineapple I will say that it was pretty unexpected as far as flavours I generally associate with this tea go…
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 this one hot the other day, for my boyfriend though and not myself. He was really intrigued by the idea of this tea and was even willing to try it even though it has both pineapple and coconut in it, two ingredients he really dislikes.
I added in a splash of milk for him, because he generally takes ALL his tea with milk and a whole lot of sugar. I managed to convince him to pass on the sugar in this one though, it’s already really sweet. And in fact, it turns out it was too sweet for him – he took a few sips, but said the banana flavour was too rich and that it reminded him too much of banana medicine so he didn’t want to finish it.
I, however, love the flavour of this tea so I happily finished off his mug! I will say, it is a very sweet flavour – he’s definitely not wrong in that regard. I don’t think it’s quite as artificial/candy like as the flavoured banana medicine you drink as a kid is, but I suppose I CAN see the comparison. Mostly, it’s just a nice dessert type flavour though, and very silky/smooth. Easy for me to polish off.
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 (308)!
Thanks VariaTea for the sample!
52Teas flavoured Genmaicha are usually pretty solid, so I was pretty excited when this one was announced, although a little skeptical that it would taste convincingly like cotton candy, and not just generically sweet.
If nothing else – the dry leaf for this one is incredibly beautiful aesthetically though! Really nails the cotton candy aesthetic/vibe with the cute little heart sprinkles and fun pastel colours…
It did fall into the trap I was kind of worried about; bottom line this had all the flavours of a common Genmaicha tea but with a lot of extra sweetness. I didn’t really get anything that was distinctly ‘cotton candy’ and that was disappointing. However, my assumption was that if it was just gonna be a sugary sweet Genmaicha it would be far too intense/cloying and that didn’t exactly happen either; it was relatively well balanced overall and I thought the extra bit of sweetness atop all of the roastiness actually worked pretty well. In fact, if it reminded me of anything it was probably more of a lightly toasted marshmallow flavour rather than Cotton Candy.
Anyway, thanks VariaTea for sharing! It’s always really fun trying another 52Teas blend and this one was pretty good overall!
So we got some of the skinny tins of this tea from Winter sent to us for the Semi Annual sale, and even though I didn’t love this tea over winter I found myself really wanting to buy one of the skinny tins.
And because I have no self control I did.
So, this mug was with a bit of cashew milk – and it was actually VERY pleasant. I think the thing that I found myself subconsciously craving when I saw the tin in stores was the intensity of the mint chocolate flavour. Like, I have a few mint chocolate teas in my cupboard right now but I’d say that this is the most intense one. It’s REALLY cooling, and the mint finish has a bit of bite to it. But then, it’s softened by the sweetness of the chocolate and creamyness of the milk. Actually, the chocolate is pretty intense too in its own right – what it really reminds me of it a hot cup of cocoa, with a lot on intense boozy peppermint add in. You know, top of your hot chocolate in the winter with a BIG splash of peppermint schnapps!? That’s basically this tea.
Huh – didn’t expect it to have grown on me so much over time.
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 (309)!
Finishing this one off tonight…
It’s kind of boring, honestly? Very, very strong rooibos base flavour – not a good option for those who dislike the taste of rooibos. Lots of wood, notes of honey, even a little bit peppery. The one thing that does set it apart is that it’s also fairly floral, with some stronger rose notes. That’s not enough to keep me personally interested in it, though. Only time will tell, but I imagine the memory of this one will fade away quickly, and it’ll just be another forgettable tea adding to the tally of things I’ve tried.
