Mamma Mia

The more I sample David’s Tea products, the weirder their overall profile seems to me; they’re very much like Teavana in that way. It’s basically a concept/execution issue, as the ideas are often excellent, but the end results can range from unfathomably poor, I mean really, truly what were you thinking poor, to quite tasty. But for me, it never really gets beyond that ‘quite tasty, but…’ with either Teavana or DT.

This tea, albeit double-bagged, had taken over most of the swap box when it reached me – not in a permanent way, it just needed some airing out, but the fact remains: this is a very strongly scented tea. It’s also a hot mess in every possible way. Every sip offers a new flavour combination, every whiff makes you flinch in confusion and sensory overload. This tea makes no sense.

However, I really like when things make sense, so the scenario I would like to propose is the following:

It’s a quiet day at the tea factory, all quotas are met, Dario the Junior Tea Blender is just messing about, playing little drum solos on the ingredient tins.

BUT ALAS!

OH NO!

FLORP!

The unfathomable has happened. The shelf containing the jars for hibiscus, apple, raisins, rooibos, candied pineapple, candied papaya, orange peel, coconut chips, rosehips, elderberry, mallow blossoms, peach, almonds and cinnamon COLLAPSED from Dario’s musical pounding. David the Senior Tea Blender is NOT going to like this.

Dario must make haste to sort this out before David returns! He secures the shelf, returns the tins, and is in the process of scooping the fragrant mess on the workbench into an empty jar, when…

David the Senior Tea Blender enters the room! All hope is lost!

Mamma mia! Dario exclaims, freezing in place.

Cocking an eyebrow, David the Senior Tea Blender leans over the offending tin. His skeptical expression turns to one of delight as he roars, ‘Dario! This is brilliant! You even got the name just right!’

(As usual, thanks for sharing, whoever put this in!)

[Sample from the EU Travelling Box, autumn 2013.]

I feel like I may have steeped this one too long, and am dreading the hibiscus…

Anyhow, the tea smells pretty floral, cinnamony, and strong. Reminds me quite a lot of potpourri, really. And for whatever reason, that smell is not appetizing me right now. Really not a floral tea fan, and mixed with hibiscus?! Yikes. Alphakitty, I hope I sent some of this to you (too lazy to check).

Oh man. Uhhh… yuck. The hibiscus isn’t bad (actually it’s not really an issue at all), but SO MUCH rose and the cinnamon flavour are just screaming BATH PRODUCT to me, not tea. Which gives me a soap association (not a soapy flavour though). I’m going to go water it down some though, because I think I was a little heavy on the tea compared to the water, and I’ve had that issue with floral teas before (by floral I mean rose. I really like the orchid floralness of oolongs, entirely different beast altogether. A gentle, happy beast, not like this one.)

Ok. Watered down it isn’t making me gag nearly so much. But again, it’s too much like a bath product for me. This one’s going down the drain; I would MUCH rather get started on the Harney & Sons flavoured blacks from Alphakitty awaiting me on the counter……

Lynne-tea, Mercuryhime, CHAroma, any of you guys interested in about a cups’ worth of this one? Zero chance I’ll be drinking it again. (Or anyone else for that matter…)

ETA: I just want to mention that I don’t think oversteeping is my problem with this one, it’s just not a combination of flavours that I find appealing.

Mamma mia, what a lot of hibiscus, my my how can I get rid of you.

There is TOO much going on in this tea. It’s tart, it’s fruity, it’s cinnamony, it’s nutty, it’s sweet, it’s causing my face to contort.

And the more I drink it, the more it tastes like I’ve licked a bath bomb from Lush. BLEH.

Ok… strange. I thought that I’d give this a second chance, and it’s a good thing I did?

It’s still a fruity cinnamon mess, but this time the cinnamon balances better with the fruit – I don’t actually mind it! And yes, this would be much better if it were iced.

Guess I don’t need to dump this on someone after all – I’ve only got 25g or so – I can save it as a before bed-tea when I want to mix things up. I must have really destroyed it last time by steeping it for 7 minutes – and steeping it a second time didn’t fix it.

Upping the rating from 33.

Amanda Special Thanks for this!

Hibiscus! Oye!

Trying to get past that…the almonds, pineapple, papaya, and cinnamon is what I can taste thereafter.

The way to go with this one is ICED – it’s too sweet for me HOT – but it’s totally doable cold. As it cools I can also taste the elderberries…and citrus flavors. There is a lot going on here but a brave attempt from DavidsTea. Not one I would buy for myself but darn happy I got to try it!

Eww….make the yucky stop!!!! There are just too many flavors in this one. The sourness of hibiscus mixed with, cinnamon, fruits, nuts, rooibos, BLECH!!! It’s wrong…so very wrong.

I was hoping that I might like this tea at least a little more this second time around – No such luck, in fact, I think I like it less. Oh well, at least this sample is done now. On to better teas….waaaay better teas!

Finally gave this one a try!
You know, it was different than I expected. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the smell (mostly cinnamon) and I knew it would be quite tart with the first ingredient being hibiscus.

I quite enjoyed it! But it’s not a keeper (I’m not the hugest papaya fun), I’m glad I only got enough for a few cups. I had it iced, as is my wont, and couldn’t help but compare it to Kanpe. Even with the strong cinnamon association – the two teas are quite different to me.

The taste of this one is most certainly papaya! It took me a while to place it, but once I got it, it tasted just like the fresh papaya we ate at the sparse but satisfying buffet breakfast in cuba. Whoo do I win the longest sentence award?

haha well I’ll stick to Kanpe as my favourite tart iced tea – but I enjoyed this one and was pleased to find it unique and it really does stand on it’s own! I would definitely recommend it to papaya lovers.

Wooow, this tea is not faring well in the tasting notes on here, is it? Too tart, sour, tastes like soap, weird clashing flavours, etc…

I accidentally over-steeped this one like whoa. I have no idea how long it steeped for before I got back to it, but from the deep dark reddish color and the fact that I could smell hibiscus across the kitchen(!) I knew it would be tart beyond saving with sugar.

And it is. But…I don’t mind it! Normally I wouldn’t be able to stand hibiscus overpowering a tea, but this time the hibby is so strong that I actually can’t taste anything else, and…as one note by itself, I weirdly don’t mind it. I said something derisive about teas that taste like sour gummies recently, but I actually like sour gummies sometimes. This is like that. It kinda makes me think I might like plain hibiscus tea sometimes, too.

I won’t rate it though, because I literally can’t taste anything else here except maybe a faint hint of cinnamon; and I’m sure that’s not what DT would consider this tea to be at its best, so I don’t think that’s fair.

Thought I’d give this a go in store today on the merit of it’s awesome dry smell. The sales clerk assured me that the coconut was not there in taste, so I bought a cup. I did not finish the cup. Got 1/3 of the way in…Couldn’t take it, even with sugar. It was just a cinnamon and hibiscus assault on my mouth. I rarely dislike a tea that strongly, but this was just a horrible mistake. One thing I do not appreciate about buying a cup in store is that you’re sort of left on your own with steep time. Mine steeped while I paid for it, etc…I like the handy little timer that you get at other stores, such as (my local!) Sawadee. Anyway, if you’re fond of cinnamon and hibiscus you might like this tea. I was overpowered.

I got a package of this as a free sample from David’s on Mother’s Day, because I spent more than 50 or 60 dollars in-store. I’m glad it came as a free sample package, because I find this tastes more than a little strange.

I know I tried it as a hot brew and not liking it very much, probably because it was too sour. So I recently cold brewed this and all I taste is the tartness from the hibiscus and overpowering cinnamon. Drinking cold cinnamon is not enjoyable.