17446 Tasting Notes
Gongfu Sipdown (2947)!
Enjoyed this tea session with some ripe plums. This was so fresh and delicate tasting, with really soft and mildly sugary and soft notes of lilac, violet, sweet pea, and a buttery finish reminiscent of coconut milk, fresh linens, and snow peas. The plums are maybe a touch too strong to be enjoyed directly alongside this refreshing, crisp oolong but the lingering sweetness from snacking on them between each steep carries through in a way that only deepens how enjoyable this session has been!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLqNg7oSXVA/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vl7Bkw4sfs&ab_channel=DJSEUMUNIZ
Gongfu Sipdown (2948)!
This little coin made for a pretty strong tea session first thing in the morning, but I think I also needed that extra little shove to get through the last part of the week. This shou has a rich, smooth, and very clean flavour with a creamy earthiness that coats the palate. I don’t find it particularly nuanced or complex, but sometimes the best tea is a direct one and this one certainly filled that role well. A good daily drinker, with the flexibility to be enjoyed using a lot of different brewing methods.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLs7-QnSiMX/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOEULOSVNK4&ab_channel=OKGo
Iced matcha latte with a layer of strawberry jam on the bottom for what is perhaps the ultimate form of the hyper trendy ‘strawberry matcha latte’ circulating the cafe scene and socials right now. It was just an explosion of creamy, dreamy strawberry with that fresh, slightly grassy note of the matcha. Sweet as heck, but it delivered on that strawberry flavour in spades.
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 and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Can you believe that, of all the Arizona flavours I’ve had, I’m only just now getting around to trying their regular ol’ Sweet Tea!? Arguably the most “basic” of all the Arizona flavours. It’s just, like, quite challenging to find in Canada and all the specialty import stores seem to want to focus on more of the ‘rarizonas’ that are unique everywhere.
I liked it a lot, though! Like, it is OBVIOUSLY very sweet but I would have expected nothing less. The flavour fit so perfectly with that stereotypical idea of Southern Sweet Tea that I had in my head. Just a bit of a citrusy edge, a pretty neutral/standard black tea note, and then a ton of sugar. Fantastic for a scorching hot summer day.
Made myself a mug of this last night to wind down with. I wanted something dark, thick and just a little bit sweet and the fantastically rich and roasted earthy notes of this blend were very spot on for that particular craving. Just a bit of very dark chocolate and the gentle sweetness of dates to round it all out.
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 and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
A hot evening cuppa a few nights ago! I’d been craving this one for a couple days, and those first sips of smooth, warming cinnamon and baked apple were so perfectly what I’d been craving and trying to capture through other teas. The toastiness and slight nuttiness of the manoomin made for an excellent grounding, foundational flavour for those smooth apple and spice notes to be layered over. A kiss of nutmeg, some clove for depth. 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 and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
More office/deskside koridashi today to get through the heat!
I wish I had made more of this because, honest to god, it was maybe the most delicious and perfect koridashi I’ve ever tried. Delicate and light bodied with a pretty much crystal clear liquor were it not for the faintest yellow tint. Top notes were fleetingly fruity with hints of floral white grape and lychee before hitting a more umami stride with slightly saline notes reminiscent of an ocean breeze and a flavour that I can only best describe as reminding me of fresh sweet corn. It was so, so gentle but nuanced and immediately thirst quenching. I was so sad I’d only made the one cup of it, and because it takes hours to make I couldn’t brew any more before leaving the office.
Now I need to see what it’s like prepared as a hot tea, to see if it even comes a fraction as good as this was!
Koridashi!
I know I mentioned it in another tasting note maybe a week ago, but our office has been getting to some pretty ungodly degrees lately (broken air conditioner combined with heatwave) so I haven’t been drinking as much tea at work as usual. And, well, what I am drinking is usually iced.
However, I’m also experiencing a REALLY rare and atypical stretch of being preeettttyyy into straight Japanese green teas (other than hojicha/matcha). It’s quite out of character for myself. It’s been a fantastic excuse to drink a lot of koridashi though. I basically fill a big bowl up with ice at my desk, sprinkle it with one of the green teas my coworkers brought back from Japan and then by the midafternoon I have deliciously smooth green tea to cool down with.
That was the case here, where this shincha ended up producing a really buttery and refreshing liquor with both subtle peach notes, a hint of lime leaf, and a nuttier side as well. The finish had a lot more umami to it. Kind of surprised I liked it, honestly, but I drank it so fast and it just felt so thirst quenching and perfect on this HOT day.
Matcha Pop Sipdown (2949)!
This is another tea that I’ve knowingly been sitting on the last serving of for a while. It’s one of the most unique matcha flavour combos I’ve tried, and it’s never in stock with B&B when I want to make an order. However, their new Tutti Frutti matcha felt close enough in vibes and flavour to me that I was finally ready to say bye to this one.
The intrusive thoughts wanted me to add strawberry jam to the bottom like I’ve been doing lately with a bunch of my matcha lattes, but logic brain won that argument and I talked myself (correctly so) into enjoying the fresh, fruity and floral flavour of this matcha unadulterated. I did however make it as a tea pop instead of just iced, and as always it was perfection. Bright but not shrill or “thin” feeling lime notes, a natural sort of sweetness and depth of flavour, fresh lavender, and even weirdly a hint of banana!? Since I drank a banana matcha latte earlier in the day I wouldn’t have been suspicious of that banana note were it not for the fact I’ve definitely tasted it in this matcha before.
Damn I am so sad to see this one go. I can’t imagine it’s a highly popular flavour from B&B so I don’t know if we’ll ever see a restock again, but I’m definitely tightly crossing my fingers for one!
Sipdown (2950)!
A sipdown that was probably a very long time coming as this was one of the older fruit teas in my my stash and I’ve been knowingly sitting on this last serving for ages. It was a very nice farewell cup though, with a super juicy and sweet peach flavour that treads the line of candy and perfectly ripe summer peaches. The cream note comes in at the end to wrap it all up in a smooth, silky bow.
I don’t know what’s up with NecessiTeas – I haven’t really seen any online/social activity from her in ages nor have I seen anyone make any recent orders. This is a blend I’d love to have back in my stash, but I remember her shipping to Canada being abysmal and with the infrequent restocks it being quite tricky to time out there being enough teas in stock on her website to justify the cost of shipping…
That’s part, I think, of why it was so hard to finish this one off.
