15662 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (591)!
Finished this one off last night – but not as a beverage. I decided to try to make some “tea dyed” hard boiled eggs for Easter, based on an article I read in the Tea Association of Canada’s monthly newsletter. I picked three different herbal teas that I was hoping would dye my eggs blue, red/pink, and yellow.
Obviously this was the one I used for the blue colour, because of the butterfly pea flower. To make the dry I basically brewed up a mason jar of tea at four times the strength to get a very pigmented, intense tea. Then I added in white vinegar and salt, added in two hard boiled eggs and left them to do their thing and get dyed over night…
Welp; this one definitely did not work. I mean, it did stain the eggs but not the pigmented blue/purple I was hoping for – or even a pastel version. Instead it was this very washed out looking blue/grey colour. Not really all that pretty or Easter feeling. A bit of a fail, really…
I don’t think I’m restocking this one either – it’s not something that I’m personally crazy about, and it’s one that I generally kept on hand because my youngest sibling really enjoys it and I liked having something for them to drink. Since we’re on opposite sides of the country now, though, I don’t think that I need it around anymore 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 and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
Gong Fu “Sipdown” (592)!
Not technically a sipdown, as I’m giving away the last 7g or so that I have of this to someone else in a swap – but it’s close enough.
I thought I had written a tasting note on this one prior with a lot more detail about the flavours and progression through steeping it Gong Fu – but I’m realizing now that I was thinking of another one of CLT’s Shou offerings and I’ve actually not reviewed this one on Steepster yet. I’m sorta kicking myself for not checking before this session, as I would have kept some sort of record while I was drinking the tea. As I was under the impression I’d already done a thorough review before I did not take notes this time…
Seven infusions – could have done more, but y’all know the drill in regards to evening Gong Fu session on weekdays: didn’t want to be strung out on caffeine and unable to get a good nights sleep. #adulthood
Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwGHyl4FjHt/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2TiCkNF610
This is what I had to say, in terms of the flavour of the tea, on instagram: Lovely tea – this last session was relatively heavy handed and it produced a very earthy and full bodied cup w/ an almost woody ‘espresso’ kind of profile, with umami undertones and a sticky sweet raisin and maple finish? So unique!!
I do remember the woody, maple, and raisin qualities in particular because the were super enjoyable – love that combo in any tea, but especially in a good shou. Also by heavy handed I mean I was brewing, like, 11g? So, this really was a THICC session/infusions.
Another Rishi tea.
This one tasted eerily familiar to me, and it was really bugging me because I was sure I’d never had this tea before. It did eventually click, though, that it was strongly reminding me of two of DT’s herbal teas – Serenity Now and Tulsi Tranquility. Same sort of general, strawberry leaning fruity profile as those two blends & and a similar balance of fruity notes and spearmint as Serenity Now has (just with a white tea base and no lavender). There’s a stronger, more noticable amount of tulsi/basil in this tea as opposed to DT’s Tulsi Tranquility though, and I do actually like the more prominent taste of basil better. You can’t taste the white tea in this for shit, but I did enjoy the cup a lot once I scratched that itch of trying to place what it was reminding me of.
Trying out another Rishi herbal blend!
I really enjoyed this one; a lot more than I expected to. It was quite intensely peppermint flavoured – and in the way that is extremely crisp and cooling/menthol in the finish. It felt sort of healthful, and that flavour combined with the softer, subtler undertone of sage really did put me in a state of mental clarity and relaxation. Interestingly, I couldn’t taste the lavender – the mint was too strong and I think it swallowed up those notes. I did feel relaxed the same way lavender often makes me feel though; however that also easily be explained away as just being the result of the mint and not having anything to do with the lavender at all…
I don’t drink a lot of peppermint herbal teas – not because I dislike the flavour but because I had a very negative experience with loose peppermint tea leaf years ago that has sort of given me a mental block with straight mint. This is so peppermint heavy without being a straight mint though – I could probably do this quite easily and happily as an alternative to straight peppermint…
This one was ‘on tap’ at work a few days ago, so I made myself an iced tea of it just for some quick hydration – I didn’t expect to enjoy it since I don’t normally like this tea all that much. I was surprised though – it’s not that I found myself suddenly in love with the tea, but more that it was just so weak/watery tasting that I found myself completely indifferent to it? It was almost like drinking a slightly flavoured water…
Good for hydration though, so there’s 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 and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
I’ve tried a few different flavours carried by Peace Tea, but I think this is the first one that I’m actually really into. I mean, it has that sugary sweetness that always seems to accompany “Ready To Drink” iced teas – and it doesn’t really taste like tea at all, but I generally just expect that from these types of “iced tea” beverages anyway. The berry flavour is amazing, though! Very fresh and sweet; not super distinct or like any one type of berry but I feel like perhaps that’s the point? I get sort of that generic “blue raspberry” kind of vibe, honestly – and maybe a little bit of strawberry? And as sweet/sugary tasting as I found this, at least the fruit in it tasted natural over artificially flavoured/chemical.
Early morning cuppa from last weekend! I’m honestly just continuing to really enjoy this Earl Grey – and it’s weird to me because that’s usually not a type of tea I’m into but something about this one is just really good. I wish I understood why; I’m sure it has to do with more than just the fact I enjoy the coffee leaf base. It’s something with whatever the bergamot Wize Monkey is using is – it’s just very nice.
Cold Brew Sipdown (593)!
Feels good to have finished this tea off – I feel like I really worked for this sipdown! Unfortunately, this tea and I never really completely “clicked”. I just find it too tart and sour for any type of “cream” profile (other than sour cream, of course – but that doesn’t seem to have been what the intent was). It’s also not really plum-y. However, if you ignore everything about what the tea should have tasted like, it’s actually a pretty nice cold brew for something fruity on a rooibos base.
Sweet, sweet floral honey notes with just a hint of a delightful pepperyness on the tip of my tongue in the finish. Basically a wildflower honey note? Such a beautiful, natural tasting tea – and I love how calming it is in terms of flavour while still having that mental boost because it’s on a mate base. One of the rare teas that lets me both have my calm and peaceful intro to the morning while still getting the lift I often need.
Petition to bring this tea back.
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.
AQ2T put the lime in the toasted coconut, and I steeped it all up.
(Just relieved that after not having this for a while it still tastes crazy bonkers good, and the coconut hasn’t gone funky at all yet – still have time to enjoy this one!)
