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Last few mugs of this that I’ve had have been almost all citrus notes with not a lot of cucumber, but this most recent cold brew was the opposite! Sweet, mellow and highly refreshing cucumber notes that almost made me feel like I was drinking like a cucumber agua fresca and not a black tea with cucumber.

It was stupid good though, don’t get me wrong.

Another summer tea; though not a new one.

I think this one actually came out the year I first got into tea? So, like, 2013 Summer Collection. However, I know it’s made reappearances off and on throughout the years in different forms. It didn’t come back last summer, and I know a lot of people came in looking for it and were disappointed when it wasn’t there. So, I’m happy that it’s back simply because of how popular it is as a crowd favourite.

Though it does look like it’s gotten a bit of a formula change? The orange pieces are definitely smaller, and I’d argue that there’s possibly more mango overall too?

Personally, I’ve never been really enamored with this one – but I think it’s important to try it and keep myself refreshed on everything so that I can talk about the teas in the most knowledgeable way possible. I made my cup up iced, and it was fine. It’s very intense overall; very, very strong and defined mango notes overall with candied orange peel and pineapple undertones. Really does remind me of a more citrus/tropical weighted punch! The problem for me is that it borders too closely on cloying given how much candied fruit is in the blend as a whole, and it’s very heavy so it’s not really the most cost effective tea either. I can totally see why people are so crazy about it though, and it’s something I feel like I’m going to end up buying this summer anyway despite my reservations just because it’s got so much potential for tea infused cocktails. The creative side of me is already bursting with unique ways to put this one to use…

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.

It took me far too long to try this one after I bought it – and that’s totally on me.

However, now that I have had it I think I’m going to be finishing it off sooner rather than later. It was very good. Like, surprisingly good. Napstablook, for those not familiar with Undertale, is a soft, sweet, polite and melancholic/sad ghost. He’s a precious character who is very beloved within the fandom.

This blend is mostly white tea, with pear, peach, and lavender however there are other things in it as well like oolong, coconut, and apple. I found that the strongest flavour overall was actually the peach; it was the brightest, sweetest and most flavourful element of the tea. The rest was pretty gentle/mild and easy to sip on; hints of the other orchard fruits and a soothing, peaceful floral undertone. Not super distinctly lavender, but definitely there.

I actually felt pretty strongly that the overall balance of intensity in the blend (smooth, soft, unassuming with a brighter, sweet top note) and the flora/fruit elements were a really nice choice for the character – making this a blend that I think tastes great as a stand alone tea but that also really fits with the inspiration behind it too.

Napstablook’s theme (in game): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuGnK4t4cp0

I’ve given up on restaurant tea.

So, last time we went out to eat I brought my little sample pouch of this and a do it yourself type of tea bag and just ordered a pot of hot water and just made my own tea. I know that might make me an asshole at restaurants – but at least I pay for the tea even if I’m not going to drink whatever shitty kind of tea they serve.

This one was really good though; very creamy and rich with a sweet coconut pastry sort of flavour. It’s the butteryness of the coconut that really seals the deal as coconut pastries and not just coconut itself or more of a coconut water/cocktail type of flavour. It also tasted like painfully familiar but I don’t know that I can narrow down why it was so familiar any further than that it probably just reminded me of one of the many other coconut teas I’ve had before…

Only problem I have with these yunnan black pearls that AQ2T uses if just how heavy they are though; yes there’s some resteep value to them (I got three cups of good tea out of what I brought to the restaurant), but if I want to try this tea several ways I’m REALLY limited because there’s just not a lot of pearls overall in the sample packet. Like, I’ll probably only get one more serving out of this.

And that kind of sucks.

Travel mug enjoyed with a touch of milk on the way home from work.

I’m just gonna pause on the tea review for a moment though and be the adult that talks about the weather for a bit. So, I live in Saskatchewan which in general doesn’t have great weather but, like, damn. I feel like we’re going to COMPLETELY miss Spring this year and jump straight to summer. It’s still frigid the majority of the time, there’s snow EVERYWHERE. I hate it. Like, where’s my damn short/dress weather? This time last year I was whipping out the fun, cute a-line dresses and now I’m frankly pissed. I hate where I live sometimes. Honestly…

So, anyway – I drank this one the miserably cold bus ride home. It was warm and comforting, and definitely tasted a lot more like a peanut butter cup this time around than it did last time. I don’t know what the change was; it could be the added milk or it could just be I got a better ratio of ingredients in what I had measured out. I just know it was creamy and nutty with good chocolate notes and minimal apple. Though more almond than peanut in terms of nut flavour; which makes sense because it IS almond in the blend and not peanuts…

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 a large mug of this one; which only leaves me the one mushroom left to try out Gong Fu – I’ve gotta, gotta, gotta remember to steep at least one of them that way!

This was pretty tasty though; very smooth and creamy both in terms of flavour and mouthfeel. Obviously a little bit earthy, but a sweet kind of earthy with undertones of mixed, almost ‘honey glazed’ nuts? Kind of like the tins you can get from Planters that have assorted honey roasted nuts – just without all the salt.

It’s something tasty and easy to drink, but not something that stands out enough to me to warrant a repurchase. We’ll see if Gong Fu changes my mind though.

Yes, this is 100% something I’ve drank over the last week.

However, do I remember what it tasted like? Not in particular. With the 50+ hour work weeks I’m doing right now it’s lucky if I get any jot notes written down for the teas I’ve been drinking and then on top of all that my mind hasn’t been super sharp for non-work related stuff because that’s just where all my focus is.

However, of course I remember that this one was wickedly smooth and had a solid, comforting roast/char to it. I love that roasty/toasty quality in an oolong – it feels like home. However, this also had a good degree of sweetness to it too; stewed fruit and raisin undertones. Not the main thing, but there enough to be noteworthy.

This one is almost a sipdown too… Almost.

Tea Press Sipdown (532)!

Seriously love this one. Overall, it’s sweet but not artificial or cloying and definitely conveys the taste of cola. The more I drink it, the more I feel like the ginger could actually be a little stronger/more in the forefront. The citrus undertones are pleasant too; I know they’re meant to sort of play into that cola flavour (spice + citrus in the right combo = cola) but they’re nice as a stand alone not also.

Please, please reblend this one sometime in the future!

Cold Brew Sipdown (533)!

The final sample from my T by Daniel order.

So, if you’re going to call your tea ‘Wow’ then I think you really need to deliver that exclamation through the flavours in the blend. This was a good tea, but it wasn’t a Wow tea for me. Mostly that comes down to the fact I think I’ve tasted nearly identical blends from several different tea companies – many of which are more accessible to me or more competitively priced. Overall profile of the tea is strong, rich, and creamy nougat with almond, freshly mowed grass, and orchid undertones. It’s a sweet blend that does not lose the oolong among the dessert flavours.

I’d totally drink again; but wouldn’t drop money on it.

Sipdown (534)!

Another sample from my order; this is one I actually highly debated ordering a full size of but ultimately decided not to because I felt it would be too similar to teas I already have in my cupboard. I was definitely excited to see it as a sample though because it meant I still got to experience it!

Overall, I think I’m glad that I didn’t order it – it certainly was NOT a bad tea but I feel like I was right in that it wouldn’t have added anything to the growing catalog of teas I have. Not surprisingly given the name, it’s very apple flavoured – but definitely more of a smooth, buttery baked apple flavour rather than anything over the top juicy or tart/acidic. It’s kind of crazy how diverse apple flavours can be, when you think about it. Something else I found interesting was that the sweet almond flavours in the blend, which I thought might make me think of Forever Nuts from DT because of the cinnamon and apple pairing, reminded me pretty strongly of DT’s Cotton Candy blend and the way the mango/hazelnut pairing in that tea eerily recreates the titular flavour. So, this was almost like an apple flavoured cotton candy/fairy floss sort of thing to me? Not a lot of cinnamon going on overall, either.

Bottom line; very pleasant and I’m really happy that I did wind up getting to try it. Just not something I’d need in a larger size.