16384 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (233)!
A little “generic white tea” like today, though the finish of the soup has a nice tang to it that tastes a little bit like nectarines or other stone fruits, with that edge of acidity. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and creamy even if I don’t think there’s much of a cream flavour to the sip.
It was nice trying this; but I think it’ll be a bit forgettable long term. Kudos to it for being a pretty good bagged white option though. Those are hard to come by.
Morning cup of tea.
I’m working through a lot of long online training videos for DAVIDsTEA right now because I was recently promoted to keyholder, so I have to go through a training top up. It’s been long, boring and exacting, so having a good solid cup of tea on hand has been a vital resource.
It’s delicate and refreshing with a really clean flavour and overall profile. While obviously rosey, it also has some other fresh flower/Springtime floral notes at the top of the sip transitioning into the mid sip. The undertones are smooth, sweet and grassy with hints of something peachy finding its way in there, as well as a bit of sugar snap pea sweetness. It finishes with a light honey sweetness.
So, so, so good. Better than last time, for sure.
Enjoying sipping on this tea with it’s soft, sweet qualities while I binge a few of my favourite episodes of Friends – it’s still so good. Even if this particular cup has a little more jasmine than I’ve come to expect from this, there’s quite a bit of smooth, buttery creme brulee flavour. Vanilla, custard, brown sugar, and… buttered popcorn? Still digging it, though.
Glad I stocked up; might need to stock up some more though…
(Sometimes I really feel like I should get into instagram… but then I think of the monster I’d probably end up becoming)
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.
Midday cuppa, drank alongside a tasty treat that I’ll write about at a later date when I have the photos for it uploaded…
Hint, it involved tea infused chocolate.
Anyway; this cuppa was pretty good but I definitely didn’t let it brew quite long enough because it was noticeably weak/watery tasting. Consequently, the fruity notes of the blend/pomegranate weren’t overly present. The bergamot was still fairly strong though, for an understeeped cuppa.
Last cocktail tea!
I’ve gotta say, I was a touch surprised by this one. It didn’t sound unpleasant to me despite being coffee flavoured, but since the cocktail collection is usually iced teas I was surprised they were with something more dessert-like and inspired by cream based liquors. There are SO many interesting cocktails out that that this just seemed like an oddball choice. Like, what about a Fuzzy Navel tea? Or a Manhatten? That could have been REALLY interesting! Stick it on a black base, with grenadine (like a Monk’s blend), some cranberries and cherries, and some pithy orange rind. You could totally pull that off…
Anyway, it tastes pretty good. It reminds me a lot of Mocha Latte or Tea Desire’s Latte Macciato because of the strong cream, coffee and milk chocolate flavours. In that way, I think it’s a bit boring because it’s not unique/exciting. However, there is ONE thing here that in my mind sets this one apart; it’s got a very strong, sweet and delicious carob flavour that offers something different from the other similar blends. I made this one iced to fit in with the rest of the collection since I’d tried all of them that way, however the flavour really does seem to me like it would be much better suited for a hot tea, likely either with a touch of milk or just as a full blown latte.
It’s good. Different. Probably a much needed switch up from the rest of the collection which is very, very fruity…
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.
Third tea in the collection.
When I saw this one in the line up I kind of groaned a bit inside; I’m personally a little sick of the token apple tea that seems to come out with every major collection. Well, maybe not EVERY one, but a lot of them. That said, I think people are going to eat this one up because as much as I’m sick of apple teas that still remains one of the most requested flavour profiles I see working in store.
The dry leaf is kind of fascinating; there’s so much apple of all different shapes and sizes and really, that’s it. The ingredients for this blend are VERY simple and straight to the point. Plus, the big apple chunks you see in the website image for this blend? Yeah, there are A LOT of those. In fact, it’s hard not to scoop them up when you’re scooping this tea. In a way, it’s a plus ‘cause they pack a lot of flavour. However, they also take up a lot of space in a perfect tea spoon. Random observation but the dry leaf smells a little like anise to me? Didn’t come through in the flavour at all; but I thought it was a unique sort of quirk.
Also, fans of Sour Watermelon take note because this blend uses the same sour apple that gives Sour Watermelon its sourness – and a lot of it. In fact, having tried this one iced now, I’d say it’s arguably the most sour tea we currently sell. REALLY tart/sour with such a strong Granny Smith apple flavour. I know people, including our ASM, are going to fucking eat that up and be so in love with it, but it was a little too much for me. I’m not the worlds biggest fan of sour things, and this is no holds barred sour. So, a pass for me but one that I expect to make a big splash and resonate with a lot of people.
Totally just boils down to personal tastes.
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.
Next up from the cocktail collection.
I’m sure many people are going to be disappointed this year that the incredibly popular Sangria isn’t back, since this tea obviously draws inspiration from the same cocktail but is a lot different. For sure I consider myself part of that group; I love the old Sangria blend and every year in the past I’ve kicked myself for not stocking up more on it when I had the chance.
However, for people like me and others who never were a fan of the old Sangria tea hopefully this can be an acceptable alternative…
I tried my cup of it iced, and for at least the time being I’m still undecided on it. It actually doesn’t take bad at all, but it’s very tropical and different from the blend I’ve come to love. I think the mango, pineapple, and passionfruit ALL come through really strongly and clearly, and that aspect of the blend is really tasty. Plus, none of the summer iced teas launched this year have really embraced that tropical element so we’ve been sampling other alternatives (Maracuja Mango, Green passionfruit, etc). so I do think this fills a gap in the year’s collections. Downside is that it has the same sort of tangy/tart hibiscus background flavour that MANY of the summer teas have (Rainbow Sherbet, Blackberry Blizzard, Rose All Day…) and because of that I think that what could have otherwise been a really interesting flavour feels a little played out/unoriginal. I still want to believe there’s more to be gleamed from this tea though, so I know I’ll personally keep trying it out in slightly different ways to get the best flavour possible. In the mean time, I’ll focus on the sweet, tasty pineapple/passionfruit flavours.
I’m still mourning the old Sangria blend, 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.
New teas!!!
Come on, everyone knew it was coming – DAVIDsTEA has always featured a cocktail collection over the last few summers, and usually it’s a hit! I know that personally I’ve found many really great teas through the cocktail collection. Sadly, the two I most wanted to return weren’t back this year (Pineapple Mimosa and Mint Julep) but there’s always next year…
Of the four new teas this year this is the one that our staff, myself included, were most excited for. For once, the one I was looking forward to turns out to also be the one that I like the most! So, that’s kind of nice. Like all the teas from this collection, I made this one iced when I tried it out so here are my thoughts!
- A little initial tartness; you can tell there is hibiscus in this
- It’s got a strong grape flavour that separates it from the typical hibiscus heavy iced tea
- I think it tastes like Welch’s grape juice (which is a plus)
- And the rest of our staff seems to agree on that
- I’m not a big wine person myself but, to me at least, the dry leaf smells like wine
- Hints of currant in the finish and aftertaste
- VERY full bodied, strong and robust flavour overall
- Maybe a hint of something floral, too?
It was just REALLY good. I look forward to tweaking this a little bit next time I make it; I have a feeling that either a shorter steep time or a little less leaf would balance the hibiscus a bit more, and bring more focus to the unique grape in the blend.
Also, just kudos overall to DT for avoiding both cane sugar and stevia for the WHOLE collection! I know there are going to be many people out there grateful for that.
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.
And, all of the teas are vegan from what I can see. I’m pretty excited!
I had to double check, but yes all of them are vegan! However, fair warning that Mudslide is processed in a facility that deals with milk products and could contain traces of milk. They’ve got milk in the allergy warning just in case, but it’s not in the blend itself.
Yeah, I’m not too worried about trace/contamination. Since going vegan, I just avoid dairy in any new teas I buy when it’s added as an ingredient (usually labelled as added lactose, whey, sprinkles, white chocolate, or milk chocolate). I’m going to finish up what I’ve already purchased or gift/trade it away. It’s really nice to see teas mostly devoid of common allergens (no added nut/milk/egg/nitrate ingredients) AND with no added sugar. I plan to purchase all but the apple one because I need a new new herbals.
I might try this one. It’s intriguing and I love Welch’s grape juice. Every year, I hope that they will bring back Mint Julep. Oh well! I will probably mourn it for the rest of my life, like I’m still mourning Cookie Dough.
Started off with a hot, Western style cup to drink while I (finally) watched the Switched At Birth series finale – I got super engrossed in the episode though, and when it was over I realized I now had a very cold mug of tea. Thankfully, this one tastes REALLY good cold though! It’s fresh, and has lots of great floral and stonefruit notes: peony, magnolia, nectarine, white peaches, and a little bit of honey sneaking in at the end of the sip. It reminded me so much of the Spring to Summer seasonal transition: just light, bright, fresh and really beautiful and natural.
I’ve decided that come pay day, if this is still up on the BLT’s website I’m gonna cake it.
(Also, that finale! Pretty much had everything I could have asked for/wanted; what a great end to an equally great show.)
The cuppas from this Christmas past continue…
A bunch of us have brought in our old, limited edition teas to work for new hires to try so that they’re familiar with some of the older blends that people often come in looking for or looking for replacements of. That meant I got to enjoy another cup of this tea!
Overall I’d say I’m a fan of this one – I’ve never really gone out of my way to stock up on it because I know through Steepster that many companies offer teas with similar flavours to it, but it really is a treat! It’s just so rich and cake-y with brown sugar, molasses, and fruit based glaze notes. I find it delightfully indulgent, and I have to say that personally I’m rooting for a return of it in the winter.
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.
I’m praying it comes back too! One of my favourites.
Which teas are supposed to be similar?
A lot of the sort of generic-y sweet teas are sort of similar; at the moment I’d say that Oh Canada! or Creme Caramel Rooibos are probably the ones we stock year round that are most similar, and then both Chocolate Cake and Jasmine Creme Brulee are sort of similar but neither of those are core/permanent teas.
