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“I’ve discovered a cache of old Davids Teas, some from as far back as 2015. Most of them are unflavoured, so they probably haven’t withstood the test of time particularly well. I can’t remember if I...” Read full tasting note
“Aaaand another unofficial sipdown (finished up sometime prior to Oct 2018). I do actually remember this tea, and I believed I enjoyed it for what it was, though it didn’t have my favourite...” Read full tasting note
“So I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this one. Well start by saying that it smells amazing, no doubt. Then at first the tea its self was as expected. Sweet grass, sweet grains, etc. Good, but...” Read full tasting note
“Day #7 of tea! Again, another one I’ve had recently, but a tummy one, nonetheless – I find this to be a straight black tea of better than average quality, so it’s perfect for me with some milk. My...” Read full tasting note
Pot of gold
With its pretty golden tips and light, coppery infusion, this rich black tea is a true treasure. It comes from the New Vithanakanda garden in Sri Lanka, a third-generation tea estate overlooking the lush slopes of the Singharaja rain forest. And with its fertile soil, warm weather and 2400 foot altitude, it’s the perfect location for deliciously complex teas. Their specialty? Whole leaf teas with beautiful gold and silver tips. Hand-picked from specially selected bushes, this full-bodied black tea is the cream of the crop – and we rushed it to our shelves the moment it was ready so you could taste it fresh. Extremely limited edition…taste it while you can!
DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.
I’ve discovered a cache of old Davids Teas, some from as far back as 2015. Most of them are unflavoured, so they probably haven’t withstood the test of time particularly well. I can’t remember if I tried this Ceylon black tea before unintentionally archiving it. I steeped 2 teaspoons of long, kind of broken leaf in a 355 ml mug at 195F for 3:30 and 5 minutes.
Prior to steeping, the leaves give off aromas of honey and generic black tea. The first steep has notes of honey, baked bread, malt, and lots of tannins. The tea leaves a tannic aftertaste and is quite drying. The second steep is just a step up from generic black tea.
I’m not sure if this tea was more interesting when I purchased it, so I won’t assign it a rating. As it is, I don’t think it’s a loss that DAVIDsTEA stopped carrying it.
Flavors: Bread, Drying, Honey, Malt, Metallic, Tannin
So I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this one.
Well start by saying that it smells amazing, no doubt. Then at first the tea its self was as expected. Sweet grass, sweet grains, etc. Good, but not amazing.
And then it goes from sweet grain to sweet pasta. And I don’t want to say it tastes like Alphagetti, but it 100% tastes like Alphagetti. Now that’s not strictly unpleasant, but it’s not what I want in a tea. At the very least, it’s a little odd.
But THEN it starts to taste like bread and butter. And I’ve been looking for a tea that tastes like bread because honestly, if I could live off bread I would. This gets huge points there.
And then we’re back to the Alphagetti…
So probably not a buy for me. I’ll leave the limited quantities to someone who isn’t having as much of a roller coaster ride with this one.
I do kind of want to buy a baguette now though…
Flavors: Bread, Butter, Grain, Sweet
Day #7 of tea!
Again, another one I’ve had recently, but a tummy one, nonetheless – I find this to be a straight black tea of better than average quality, so it’s perfect for me with some milk. My one thing I noticed this time, is to watch the steep time, as I left this one too long this afternoon!
1.5 tdp for 300mL water @95C, steeped 4 minutes.
Dry leaf is very pretty with long twisty leaves and lots of gold tips. I’m not seeing any twigs.
Wet leaf smells of malt and honey and that faint tang of copper that many Ceylons have. I’m not catching any of the astringency in the scent. A slight scent of toasted grains (like Grape-Nuts cereal).
Liquor is steeping to an attractive dark copper.
Mmmm, this is lovely. No astringency or pucker. No strong coppery tang. Lots of dark honey and toasted grains. I expect this would get pucker if steeped much longer, so if you like that, go for a longer steep. Me, I’ll just sip this now and smile.
The liquor didn’t look downy at all, but it does offer a very soft mouthfeel, soft even for a Ceylon black tea.
Lots of nuance in the flavours as the tea cools and you get further down the cup, too.
This sounds like a tasty Ceylon. I’ve only had a few and they tended to have that copper tang. I’ll have to give this one a try. Thanks!
Tastes like malted honey. I think that I may have allowed it to steep a little too long on the walk back to my office, as I tasted it as I walked along and it seems as though it got a little past perfect and picked up a slight bitterness. Still very nice though.
Flavors: Honey, Malt
Dry leaf: Aroma of whole grain bread and fragrant molasses.
Liqueur: Clear copper. Smells like warmed grains.
Flavour: The cup is layered with flavors of malt, grains and sweet bread, with a bright texture.
My recollection was that it was better than most ceylons I’d encountered, but I don’t particularly like ceylon, so, meh. Most of my DTs (even the really old ones; I have many pre-2015) have decently retained flavour, if they were sealed in the foil baggies they use. The tinned ones have not.
It was indeed sealed in a foil baggie, but I honestly found it to be a bit boring. I haven’t had many Ceylons, so maybe I don’t like the profile either. I got another Ceylon as a mystery tea from What-Cha, which should be more representative of the type.