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Cold Brew!

I want to like this one so much because the dry leaf smells great, but this is my second time drinking this one and it’s just so awful…

The brew actually starts off pleasant enough! It’s sweet blueberries notes that for a split second remind me of blueberry pie filling! It’s lovely, and great – and then it all goes downhill so very fast. The rest of the sip is just horribly bitter; and not in a “bad white tea” kind of way but in a very harsh, chemical/artificial flavouring kind of way coupled with an acai/currant flavour that just tastes straight up like cough syrup. Like, I don’t know that I can even begin to convey just how bad it is…

The finish is equally bad, and very weird because while retaining all that bitter grossness it also manages to somehow tastes chalky and soapy on top of that. I powered through a quarter of my cold brew and now I’m just gagging on how terrible it is. Ugh…

So yeah; dumped the rest of this brew! I haven’t tried this tea hot yet, so I’m super crossing my fingers that at the very least it’s drinkable as a hot tea so that this tea leaf isn’t a complete write off. I’m skeptical though.

Does anyone out there like this tea!? And if so, how do you prepare it in a way where it doesn’t taste like garbage!?

Drank this one last night…

Flavour wise, it was pretty spot on to what it normally is, and that was delicious and comforting in all the right ways. However, something was off mouthfeel wise. I can’t explain where it came from, but it was just so thick and oily. Very, very unpleasant texture. Definitely was the cause for some conflicting feelings…

Tea Press.

I definitely wish I’d taken more detailed notes when I was drinking this one. I’ve kind of fallen out of the habit of writing my tasting notes on the cup I’m drinking out of at work, largely because half the time I’m drinking out of another type of vessel like the tea press or matcha maker. I can’t exactly write on my tea press the same way I can a paper cup…

Anyway! I wasn’t originally interested in this one at all, but seeing how well received it’s been here on Steepster definitely made me curious. The stand out thing was, of course, the fact that VariaTea was pretty into it – and she is NOT an oolong fan. That told me that the flavouring in this one must be good.

The first thing I noticed personally was that honey flavour that AQ2T uses. It’s something I so distinctly associate with this company now; but honestly I’m kind of “meh” towards it usually. It’s not bad; but it’s so strong and it kind of dominates whatever it’s used with? However, it works quite well in this blend! Combined with the creamyness and ‘tang’ of the ‘cheesecake flavour’ it really creates this vivid imagery and flavour of a good, old fashioned New York Cheesecake: just a hella good cheesecake. Plus, this one totally has the rich, graham and honey notes to pull off an equally good ‘crust’ element to support the cheesecake goodness! It’s just the complete package, honestly.

Genuinely, other ‘cheesecake’ flavoured teas should take note of this one – it’s got the sweetness, the creamy element, the “tang”, basically everything you need to convey cheesecake in an accurate and delicious way! Definitely one of the best cheesecake teas I’ve ever tried!

And bonus points for the base. It’s very soft/subtle, but the little touch of grassyness and floral orchid-like notes in the finish as the cheesecake elements subside are the perfect reminder that this is in fact a tea. Plus, they’re just the right contrast from the otherwise very rich and indulgent flavour to temper this one just enough that it’s not too decadent and sweet.

It’s just… a very well done tea, even with that sort of overdone honey flavour.

Cold Brew!

Started my morning with this one yesterday! I’m still pretty enamored with it, to be honest. It’s really sweet and juicy, and especially yesterday drinking my cold brew it felt at times both like I was eating super juicy, ripe pears and getting that rich, sweet pear juice dripping down my chin and slurping at a fruit cocktail, with the peachy cocktail syrup doing the same thing! It’s just such a good medley of both pear and peach, with pineapple and apple undertones.

I will say, that while I think the pear flavour is very natural tasting I do find that the rest of the tisane is so sweet/candy like that it’s hard for me not to associate it with either candied fruit or things like sugary fruit cocktail mixes. I’m sure that’s probably in part from the fact that several of the fruit pieces are candied, and in part from the stevia. I still don’t really think the brew tastes distinctly like stevia, with that funky artificial kind of quality stevia often has. However, it’s definitely sweet.

Still, I really enjoy this one! Sweetness and 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.

Tea Press Sipdown (334)!

I had actually already thought I’d finished this one off when I found the bag of it in my sample box, so this is kind of like a surprise bonus cup of it! I think the fact I was so pleasantly surprised to see that I had another cup of it really speaks to how much I enjoyed this one, though!

This last cup was fairly one note – but it was a good one note. Basically, it was just really sweet, fruity and bright kiwi notes! Kiwi is pretty great though. The only thing that kept it from basically just being a purely kiwi flavoured cuppa was a hint of lemon in the finish. It was the perfect second layer of flavour, and a pleasant end to the sip.

I’m not looking to get more of this one right now, but definitely something I’d consider ordering again the the future!

Latte Sipdown (335)!

Finished this one off at work as a latte; with extra foam and a vanilla agave drizzle on top!

This one actually works better for me as a latte than a lot of other, normal EG blends do. The main reason, I think, is just ‘cause the bergamot in here is fairly mellow in the first place so it’s more of a creamy, soft smooth flavour with a mild overarching bergamot flavour than an intense bergamot heavy profile that I’d get from something like, say, DT’s classic Earl Grey or even the Cream of Earl Grey…

I mean, I like bergamot – but I don’t want to drown in it.

This one is also nice though because of the fruity element. To be honest, it’s never really tasted distinctly like pomegranate to me and even as a latte I still didn’t get any real distinct fruit notes/flavours but there’s something to this one that just conveys fruit. I’d say it’s sort of just very light/mild generic red fruit notes, if I had to describe it. A coworker did try this latte, and she thought it was kind of like a SUPER light and creamy strawberry flavour though, for what it’s worth.

Anyway! Point is, as far as EG based lattes go this was pretty mild mannered but still really good/smooth! It was a nice way to finish up this tea. I don’t think I’ll really miss having this one in my cupboard though; I’m not a HUGE EG person anyway, and of LP’s creations that used bergamot I still vastly adore the Peach Formosa oolong so if I’m going to feel sad about running out of any LP creation then that’s the one I’d be mourning…

This is one of the five different teas I asked my mom to pick up for me when she went to Teavana. This was shortly after news had broke that they were closing, so when I found out she was on vacation and has access to a store (we don’t live near one) I wanted to take advantage. I got a mix of things that personally intrigued me, are more popular, and more unique…

I’ve actually had this one before, once, but it was years ago and I don’t remember a whole lot about it other than I didn’t like it as much as other yellow teas I had tried at the time. I thought it’d be worth revisiting though; yellow tea is still fairly hard to get your hands on so even yellow tea from Teavana is worth at least a little exploration.

For my ‘first’ tasting of this – or rather the first tasting of this pouch of it, I made it as a hot tea, Western style. 80 degree Celsius water, and a three minute steep. I was surprised at how sweet and fruity it tasted! I mean, that wasn’t all there was to the flavour, it also had a very strong, sweet honey top note and undertones of straw, hay, and candied peanuts. However the most dominant flavours in the sip are nectarines and peaches! It’s pretty delicious, but I’m confused where that rich, sweet fruity flavour is coming from? It’s just so surprising for a yellow tea!

I’m so curious to see whether or not that fruity flavour will be consistent as I continue exploring this yellow tea…

Made a mug of this one the other night to sip on whilst having the most blissful fucking bubble bath…

- With added cashew milk
- Tastes like an apple pie or apple crumble
- Sweet, syrupy apples with lots of cinnamon notes
- Hints of nuttyness and floral notes in the background
- Very Christmas like and festive
- But also REALLY confectionery/pastry like

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 (335)!

Thanks for this one VariaTEA!

I’ve always wished this one tasted more like fresh, natural strawberries but instead it’s super strawberry milkshake-like instead. Actually, almost exactly like the super thick, creamy strawberry shakes that McDonalds sells. For me, that gives this an almost nostalgic feeling. I drank so much of those things as a kid; definitely less so now. In fact, I can’t even think of the last time I was in a McDonalds…

This time around I drank this as a hot tea with milk; it was tasty to be sure. However, when something intensely reminds you of milkshakes it’s a little weird to be experiencing them hot. Iced probably would’ve been a better route.

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 (335)!

This one was a freebie sample that came with my last Adagio order. The package said it was for cold brewing, so of course that’s exactly what I did!

It was ok, but honestly a little bit boring? Like, it’s a pretty full bodied and brisk black tea flavour complimented by a relatively natural mango note. It’s malty, and floral from the base and the mango tastes like, well, mango. It’s pretty sweet but not excessively. Definitely drinkable on its own, but a hint of sugar could probably turn this one into a decent “Sweet Tea”. As it stands, though, I’m finding it a little one dimensional. Average is a perfectly suitable word for it…