16384 Tasting Notes
So, I had a Camellia Sinensis order show up today! I actually placed the order not really for any tea in particular but because they were carrying an absolutely STUNNING jellyfish teacup that I just 100% needed to own. You guys don’t even understand; jellyfish have been my spirit animals as of late. They’re these gentle, floating water blobs that zap you when you get up in their personal space – how perfect is that!? Plus, all my good friends refer to me as an “asexual jellyfish”. I don’t know where that even originated, but it’s just a term now. So now I have this equally bad ass jellyfish teacup!
Anyway; while I was ordering I DID pick up some tea too – because you just gotta. That’s how addiction works. I chose this one because I have tried a Columbian Bitaco tea before and I thought it would be interesting to compare the two mentally, especially since this one was a pretty reasonable price.
The dry leaf for this one is really sweet smelling with distinct notes of honey, cocoa, and graham crackers that definitely piqued my interest/curiosity. Steeped up, it’s kind of similar to the dry aroma? I mean, it’s got hints of malt and honey but it’s also pretty brisk and full bodied with a thicker mouthfeel and a somewhat astringent and tannic finish. Also, a bit of a burnt sugar sort of flavour, too.
I mean so far my initial impression is that I like the other black Bitaco tea better it was smoother, and it had this very fascinating anise flavour to it. However, I think some tweaking could produce a very interesting infusion. Either less leaf, or less steeping time would probably fix the astringency and I bet milk and sugar or honey would make for a really nice breakfast tea with some of those honey notes getting exaggerated nicely.
Definitely excited to see where this tea will go.
Current rating is a conservative 69, with the belief that appropriate tweaking will result in a brew deserving of a better score.
Hot mug of tea on the front steps with a bowl of cherries, and some good music!
So, this second time around i feel like I definitely got more of a feel of the “spice” elements of the flavour profile. The finish was very clove heavy, with even a sense of ginger or even cinnamon. All of that, of course, on top of the very herbaceous flavour of the basil itself. It was actually a very nice compliment to the cherries as well because it sort of created this sweet “spiced cherry” sort of flavour profile with the same great juxtaposition between savory and sweet that you get from pairings like sage and blackberry or peach and thyme.
In fact, I think I’d be REALLY on board for a “Spiced Cherry and Tulsi” type of blend; either herbal, rooibos, honeybush, or black. Cherries, tulsi, clove and the tea base, maybe with a bit of cinnamon? Can I put in a formal recommendation for Anne of 52Teas to make that!? It would be SO good!
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iWIufREVVM&list=WL&index=2
Pot of tea early in the morning with brunch!
This still isn’t my favourite straight black, but I did enjoy the pot I made of it for the most part. It was really rich and full bodied with some nice nutty notes to it and underyling sweetness. The combination of those two made me think of walnuts quite a bit, actually. However, it was also very tannic/astringent which was sort of… meh.
Flavors: Nutty, Walnut
Iced!
I’ve had this one cold brewed quite often, but never iced before and I have to say that there are some subtle differences between the two styles. Firstly, this iced cup seems a lot sweeter and brighter to me; perhaps because the caramel melts down more when it’s brewing versus a cold brew? It’s got that strong caramel/honey sweetness though and then a LOT of very floral fig/rose. The finish is more in line with apple and pineapple though.
I’m very into how lively this cup is tasting though, and I appreciate the brightness of all the fruits in it. I also shared it with a couple coworkers; usually they enjoy the tea I bring to work but the REAL sign they’re into something is when they go in for a second, or even third, sip – and both coworkers I shared this with did just that!
This is so nice to have on hand for summer.
Iced!
Grabbed this one to sip on during a walk around the part, with the guy I’m seeing but also not ‘seeing’. If that makes sense. He’s very allergic to apples, so I try to pick something apple free whenever we’re meeting up, and the whole oolong collection right now is apple free so that’s a good starting off point.
This one wasn’t bad iced; it was REALLY sweet and I don’t know that in the moment I was craving something with quite that degree of sweetness. However, the strong coconut notes and creamy undertones were what I was wanting, and I found them very refreshing and summery. Really pleasant for an afternoon walk. The other downside was this had a bit of an oily mouthfeel from the melted down chocolate, so that was a bit off putting but not a deal breaker at all.
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 (249)!
I think I need to channel my inner Sil and step up my sipdown game, because soon I’m going to find myself crossing the 250 tea mark and that is NOT a route I want to go down.
I finished this one off last night at work and I have to say that I found the contrast on the intense peppermint and the sweet, juicy watermelon a lot less abrasive this time around. I mean, I still think there was a degree of discord between the flavours but certainly not to the same extent. I can’t help but wonder if that’s because, even after that one cup, I am already just slightly conditioned to the weird overlap of flavours though.
Bottom line, this one isn’t bad but it’s just really quite weird too. Maybe spearmint would have been a better mint pairing? Spearmint is naturally a little sweeter, so maybe it would have tied in better to the sweeter melon which still having that cooling/refreshing aspect. I don’t know; I doubt I’d purchase this one again but I’d probably drink it if offered.
Made a hot cup of this one at work the other night, with a small splash of milk because I accidentally let it oversteep a minute or two longer than ideal and I was worried it’d be WAY too harsh since this is a CTC and steeps up very quickly.
Milk was the perfect band-aid for that screw up though; this becomes a beautiful and full bodied black tea with all the bright, brisk and malty characteristics of a solid Kenyan Black tea and hints of citrus in the undertones. Very, very smooth and with a fuller mouthfeel from the added milk. This would be great for a morning cuppa instead of a more traditional breakfast blend, but I also really enjoyed it late into the evening as something bold that could keep me going during the rest of my shift.
Tragedy has stuck, Steepster fam!
So, this month has brought about another round of teas being retired by DT and sadly that includes the following: Dark Chocolate Delight, Countess of Seville, Main Squeeze, Green Rooibos, and this tea – so if you’re a fan of any of those I suggest stocking up because stores wont be supplied with them anymore come end of June. Also, they’re all 40% off right now…
Anyway; I was pretty choked up about Main Squeeze and Green Seduction. I’m still debating whether or not I need to stock up on Main Squeeze, but I definitely grabbed 100g of Green Seduction since my plan had always been to do so after I finished off my tin of Movie Night. Basically, I just expedited the process.
The first thing I did with the tea leaf after I got home with it was make a cold brew! Lots of awesome, natural pomegranate flavour with some other sweet red fruit notes for support; largely raspberry. Though, I did find there was a bit of a currant flavour too. I just greatly appreciate how intensely fruity this one is and how ALL the fruit notes are just very natural and realistic tasting. It’s also just quite smooth.
Glad I stocked up; this one will be missed! It’s my go to recommendation when people come in looking for iced green teas/fruity green teas in general.
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, after months of working closing shifts at work these last two weeks have been filled with opening shift after opening shift. I’m slowly adjusting to getting up at a drastically different time of day; but mate and guayusa blends have become a pretty integral part of my morning routine.
I have a different incentive lately too; the guy that I’m interested in is MUCH MORE of a morning person than I am, so getting up early means long conversations while I get ready for work/bus to work and he’s just the sweetest. Like, a literal cinnamon bun. We’ve been on a few dates now, and everything is just going really well. Honestly, Steepster Family, I’m just very happy in general right now.
So this tea, though! I brought in some of my own stash the other day just to have a different mate option for the morning while opening the store. I made it up as a latte, which was a first for me/this tea and it was VERY good. Really sweet, which I think is a given, but also just solid milk chocolate and coconut notes with smooth, almost candy-like banana undertones. Hints of caramel and vanilla? Just very pleasant and the perfect sweet treat to jump start the morning with.
10/10 – would totally latte again.
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.
Didn’t like this one hot, so I tried it as a cold brew.
Basically, I still didn’t like it.
It’s just very artificial and chemical tasting still; almost exclusively with the “cream” component of the tea and not the peach, though. The finish is a little chalky, as well. I mean, I guess next thing on the list is to try it with milk to see if I can cover up some of that cream taste; but not sure what route to go next if that doesn’t work.
