16396 Tasting Notes
Matcha Milkshake!
So, I made this one the same way I made the Hawaiian Punch Matcha shake I described in this tasting note: https://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/361335#likes
Honestly? I think I actually liked the Hawaiian Punch better but this one was still really good. Since the recipe uses vanilla ice cream, the vanilla flavour of the matcha was pretty engulfed by the ice cream/gelato. Or, at least, they worked together in a way where you couldn’t really differentiate between the two different sources for vanilla flavour. The orange was nice though! Sweet, but mellow. Very creamsicle like without that raging sweetness.
I would totally make this one again, I might just add a bit more matcha though to get a more amped up flavour…
Freebie sample from one of the Camellia Sinensis orders I’ve placed this year; I think the most recent but honestly I’ve lost track a bit…
- Western; hot/straight
- Very noticeably/clearly astringent
- Not that it’s unpleasant/necessarily TOO much; just very ‘there’ throughout whole sip
- Kind of floral, but in a perfumey and relatively ‘forced’ way
- Rather than a fresh, delicate way like described
- Body is a little more mixed in flavour notes: malt, dry cinnamon chips, stale herbs?
- I know I’m not describing it in a super lovely way…
- But it’s actually not BAD; more so just really mediocre?
- It does hit pretty well all the aspects described by the company though…
- …just not in as positive a light!?
I don’t know… it’s meh.
I guess next time I’ll steep it for less time and see if that softens it in a positive way.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiuKNfw46HU&index=4&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ
So, my whole family is on vacation out of province right now. I stayed behind because I didn’t want to take time off work, but honestly I don’t mind. It’s actually really nice having the house to myself: it’s so quiet/peaceful.
Anyway; last week I had asked my mom to make me a cup of this one when she was making herself some tea but she ended up making a mistake and brewing up Cardamom French Toast instead – which was also good. I was definitely still craving this one though, so I brewed it up a few nights ago: using tea from my mom’s stash ‘cause she’s not around to yell at me not to. I actually do have some of this one in my own stash but not nearly as much so I’m trying to stretch out what I do have…
It’s ok – she never has to know.
I highly regret not stocking up on this one though: it’s definitely in my top three teas that have come out since New Years from DT. It’s creamy, buttery and has that sweet carmelized sugar/brown sugar, vanilla, and custard flavour trio that really nails home that Creme Brulee imagery/taste. Plus, the jasmine is delicate, and as an undertone adds this really elegant layer of flavour that so perfectly compliments the sweetness of the ‘creme brulee’. It’s not overly sweet either, and really natural/smooth.
I mean, I could wax poetic about it for paragraphs but that just wouldn’t be interesting to read. It’s so good though! I really, really should have bought more…
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, my coworker/good friend Kandyce recently got married! I’ve known her since highschool, and we’ve just gotten to be increasingly more close over time. I really enjoy working with her…
Anyway; I got to attend her wedding along with some other high school friends and some coworkers. It was very small; less than thirty people. The whole intimate-ness of it all was so perfect for her and her husband though: it was happy, and peaceful and simple in this REALLY beautiful gazebo surrounded by a massive garden of flowers.
And holy fuck she was beautiful!
Anyway, DT provided a couple brewers of iced tea for the reception afterwards: one of Coffee Pu’erh, which was Seth’s pick and this one of this one, which was Kandyce’s. I think this was a great choice; the name alone is just kind of right on point and it was so fun, and fresh and really fit the GORGEOUS flower ladden venue we were in. Plus, since it was a BBQ/Pot Luck inspired reception (the idea was a community of friends/family coming together to support the two of them; which is also beautiful) it was kind of fitting to have a ‘punch’ of sorts. Though, it’s a shame we don’t carry Honey I Dew anymore ’cause that would have been SUPER fitting!
But yeah – iced Passion Punch! I loved this tea already, but it’s awesome to have such an amazingly positive, beautiful thing to associate it with now.
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.
Aww, I miss seeing this one on the tea wall…
Had a cup of it first thing in the morning a few days ago; it’s was the perfect way to slowly wake up and ease into the day. White teas in general are just really nice for easing into a day peacefully and calmly.
Smooth, soft, delicate.
Notes of cucumber skin, peas, lima beans, hay, straw, and cream.
I love it. I didn’t realize just how much of my stash of this I’d finished off until I went to make it either – I mean, I’m not really close to a sipdown or anything, I just thought I had a lot more than I actually do.
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.
Ok, so weeks ago I bought this awesome garlic infused honey from the Farmer’s market! Mostly, I’ve been using it in cooking – my favourite thing thus far has been mashed potatoes and fresh dill sweetened with the honey. Also, corn on the cob with a bit of garlic honey instead of butter. Yum!
Normally, when I get these fun flavoured honeys its for use in tea though – I just couldn’t figure out what this one would work with, though! I mean, how often does one go “Ah, yes this is good tea but you know what would make it REALLY good? Garlic!”. So, I just didn’t use it with tea…
Except, yesterday I was dusting off the teaware shelf and I glanced at the tin of this on the bookshelf next to it and a lightbulb lit up in my head: “Maybe this tea!?”
So, I steeped up a cup and added a conservative amount of the garlic honey and you know what? It worked. I mean, this tea already has that savory component to it from the potato, and so it wasn’t a HUGE leap to think the garlic would work with that. It also brings out a little more of the veggie/grassy side of the green tea base too. The best part is that it’s still sweet though! I mean, obviously honey is sweet so you’re getting that sweetness but it also makes the sweetness of the apple pop really well too. It’s savory, but crisp and juicy too. The warming cinnamon in the finish is a good transitional flavour between those two components.
It just… it works!
So yeah, after years of saying I was going to do it I STILL haven’t tried this tea with salt yet but I did try it with garlic infused honey and I somehow feel like that’s just… better.
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPHWEBbLSLs&list=WL&index=2
Milkshake!
Some pictures: https://www.facebook.com/resteep/posts/10211028094312235?pnref=story
- Actually like this a lot! It seems more flavourful that the iced latte I had, too
- Not just because of the icecream either: this has clear apple and pineapple notes
- Plus some other fruit elements going on: it’s SORT OF mango like?
- While also having this more generic red fruit taste; strawberry perhaps?
- Really smooth, creamy and refreshing though while still being fun/summery
Also here’s my recipe:
1 Perfect Spoon of Matcha (NOT a matcha spoon)
2 Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream/Gelato
1/3 Cup of Milk or milk alternative
3-4 Ice Cubes
Personally, I used Fiasco’s Bourbon Vanilla Gelato and regular ol’ cow’s milk.
In the future, I probably wouldn’t change much except for possibly adding some strawberries or mango to the mix as well for a bit of added fruit awesomeness.
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.
Usually I can’t do this one on its own; it’s just a bit too harsh and astringent for me, and the spice notes are REALLY prominent/drying. However, I think I may have stumbled upon a way to make that a lot less of a problem.
It really was a happy accident too; my mom was making herself a cup of tea and I asked her to make me one too. She was skeptical because she didn’t want to mess it up and not have it live to my ‘high standards’. I walked her through it though: 2 tsp of leaf, 85 degree Celcius water, for four minutes. She brought the cup of tea over to me, and I took a big, confused sip and went…
“This is really nice, but it tastes nothing like Jasmine Creme Brulee!?”
I had been picking a tea from her tea shelf, and I pointed to the tin of Jasmine Creme Brulee only she saw me point to the tin of Cardamom French Toast directly beside it. Easy enough mistake; I just wouldn’t have generally speaking used such a low temperature for this blend, which is a black tea. Had I know this is what she was making I would have said 95 degrees, or just under a boil.
I guess a lower temperature is EXACTLY what the tea needs to not come off as astringent to me though because this was blissfully smooth and sweet with brown sugar, custard, cream, cardamom, sweet lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg notes! It actually really did remind me of French Toast once I wasn’t trying to mentally figure out why my Creme Brulee was so spiced/full bodied and weird.
Definitely, 100% noted – if I’m not adding milk I need to steep this at a lower temp for it to work out for me! Gotcha!
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.
Cold Brew.
- Buttery vegetal/grassy thing going on
- With lots of florals: peony/gardenia
- Garden snap peas; just slightly under ripe
It was 100% drinkable, but I didn’t love this cold brew. The mix of buttery vegetal elements and that much floral flavour was a little too cacophonous to be really good. One and not the other, sure. Just not super relaxing put together…
I just realized this tea came out on my birthday…
That’s an arbitrary but kind of cool coincidence.
Anyway, I drank this one at work hot and Western style, but with a dallop of frothed up milk added to the top. It didn’t do a TON to impact the flavour of the whole cup, but the sips I took through that fluffy pile of frothed milk before I’d consumed it all were a little extra creamy, and extra smooth with an obviously different mouthfeel as well. The flavour of the tea was mostly vanilla; LOTS of vanilla. It was rich, it was creamy and it had a lovely sweetness to it as well. Weirdly, I also got a lot of toasted coconut flavour from this cup although I can’t even begin to guess where the hell that aspect was coming from. Huh; who knows???
Very pleasant cuppa though; I liked the touch of frothed milk.
