16384 Tasting Notes
I think I was in a really grape heavy mood this week…
I made this one iced yesterday, and it was pretty solid. I think it actually would have benefited slightly from a pinch of sweetener because it was a touch borderline bitter with some astringency but I stuck it out without the sweetener and it was still a pleasant experience. Very, very grapey with a lot of top notes sweetness. Some floral undertones, as well. Sort of jasmine-y, but also not really.
Totally reminds me of ice wine.
So, I saw on instagram the other day that someone had made this up into a latte. They described the flavour as “like the best, most tropical creamsicle” and you bet your ass I wanted to try that! However, this tea is one of the ones on our ‘do not latte’ list so I was kind of skeptical to make it. There’s only one tea I know of that we have indicated as something you shouldn’t latte that you actually can latte – so that didn’t seem promising.
I did it anyway though, for science! (And also because I was just so damn curious)
…it curdled. So badly, in fact.
How, instagram wizard, did you manage to pull this one off without it curdling!?
I strained out the curdled portion of the tea though because I’d gone this far; I was seeing this through to the end! After it was strained, the liquor actually looked REALLY pretty. It was this sort of solid, opaque flamingo pink colour that was just so beautiful. Flavour wise, though? Not really a creamiscle. To me, a creamsicle would need some sort of rich, creamy sweetness or vanilla and this just kind of tasted like straight up orange juice? But with a creamy mouthfeel. That’s not the same thing.
Conclusion? Skip the effort and extra steps, and just stick to drinking this one hot or iced. After all, it already tastes perfectly fine made up that way.
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 continues to be a delicious, sweet raspberry tea that I will happily drink on shift. In fact, it’s currently tied with Orange Passionfruit and Passion Punch as my favourite iced tea to drink on shift/recommend to people to drink. I still wont buy it for myself to drink at home on principle that I don’t want something at home with that much sugar premixed into it. Like, I’m genuinely positive I probably would have loved this one just as much as I currently do had it not had the added sugar at all. People will add sweetener if they want it one way or the other, this just alienates the people who would prefer a blend without the sweetener added ahead of time.
And yes, I know there’s some hypocrisy in that statement since I do enjoy the blend. Just know that I kind of hate that I enjoy the blend…
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 (245)!
Iced, with a spot of milk.
I’m definitely enjoying this one more the second time around. Also, I find that the flavours are weirdly more fitting for an iced tea style of prep rather than hot even though I would have personally assumed the reverse would be true. The apple is this lovely mellow sweetness though, and then the combo of the clove and cinnamon along with the sweet, woody quality of the base and extra creaminess of the milk come together in a way that is both warming and spicey but also that vaguely resembles pie crust which really drives home that element of the tea for me.
I also really like DAVIDsTEA’s Spiced Apple but personally this one is better to me because you CAN add milk to it, and DT’s take will 100% curdle. The milk is just the perfect addition to convey the pastry element, and if you’re not feeling the pastry as much and just want the apple and spices you can leave this one straight up and then those elements are more prominent, and delicious in a very different way.
For the record, I still don’t understand what the lemongrass adds.
Made this one iced at home the other night to sip on during a Buffy binge watch. I’m doing my annual rewatch of the series right now, but it’s different this time because I’m rewatching it with someone this year who’s never seen the show before.
It’s great having someone to watch with, however he’s also the kind of person that brutally picks apart all of the continuity errors in a series and this is one series I’d prefer to be willfully ignorant of the errors in it.
Anyway; this is still a really delicious iced tea. It’s got strong Welch’s Grape Juice/Wine flavours to it that separate it from a lot of the other herbals that we’ve released this summer but also has some really nice supporting fruit notes from the apple and the blueberries in the blend. Occasionally a little burst of currant flavour as well. I’m not totally sure why, but this iced batch had a bit of a bubble gum sort of quality too that I found pleasant in addition to the grape.
Mmm!
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.
Another cold brew.
Basically, I just want to echo my initial impression and reinforce the fact that this has been very consistent across multiple brews: the flavour of this tea is really sweet and smooth and borderline juice like. It’s got a great, well defined strawberry flavour however lacks a lot in the cream department.
Also, just a personal pet peeve but I hate when companies use the word cream in the name of the blend but use ingredients that prevent me from actually adding cream. Like, I could never add milk to this because it would curdle so badly. DT’s Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait is another that bugs me: a parfait is a yogurt dish, but if I added dairy to that tea it would curdle SOOOO badly. If I can’t add dairy, don’t name the tea after dairy…
End rant.
So, recently I mixed this tea 50/50 with Saigon Chai and I came across the weirdest discovery/conclusion… Mixed together, these two blends taste like Coke!
Read more here: https://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/360249#likes
I’m just cross referencing for the sake of posterity.
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.
Are you guys ready for one of the weirdest tea pairings I’ve ever come across?
Well, buckle up because have I got something crazy for you! Mix 50/50 Saigon Chai and Sweet Lime (both from DT) and you get a drink that tastes legitimately like cola! I know, that’s mind blowing and all kinds of weird but I swear that it works.
I first came across this pairing when another employee at DT shared it with me and I was totally sure they were insane but it was just crazy enough and just weird enough that I had to personally try it. I mixed the 50/50 ratio like told, at a steep temperature more suitable for white tea for four minutes and it legit does taste like cola. It’s sweet and smooth, and reminds me of those sugary cola ball candies or just flat Coke in general.
I don’t know what to do with this information now that I have it – but I had to share because it’s weird as fuck and totally worth trying.
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 Sipdown (246)!
So, I finished this one off at work last night! It wasn’t really bad, but it was also very delicate in flavour to the point where it was borderline bland. Just the softest, most delicate floral flavors with hints of grass, mineral, and sweetness. I just wanted a bit more flavour/to kind of be softly punched in the face with the magnolia.
A love punch.
Unrelated, but super cool…
The Tea Association of Canada is doing a few different tea/Canada articles for Canada 150 and one of them is a tea and Canadian cuisine pairing guide. Well, guess who got featured in the guide!? Me! I got the email for it yesterday, and it definitely made my night. If you’re curious you can check out the article here:
http://www.tea.ca/about-tea/history/tea-in-canada/canada-day-food-pairing/
I just felt like sharing/boasting.
Take #2
I used the same amount of tea leaf this time, but with a shorter steep time. It was an improvement because this was a lot smoother mouthfeel wise, however there was also a faint watery quality to the flavour profile too. I mean, yes it was sweet and malty with honey and cocoa notes but it lacked body/presence.
More tweaking is probably needed still; maybe the same steep time as my first try but with less leaf?
