Honey Black

Yet another from Cameron B!  Thanks so much!  I had always been intrigued by this one, so I am glad I am able to try it.  I have had it QUITE a few times now and haven’t written a note yet.  I mean, if it says anything, this is the tea I have been drinking more often than any other tea, so I think I’m REALLY trying to figure this tea out.  On all of my steepings, I think two teaspoons for a mug really works the best, as less than two teaspoons, it’s just too light in flavor for me. Despite the fierce looking leaves, so tangled together they cling to the teaspoon, it’s another lighter black tea.  It’s in the name: honey.   Sweet, but also slightly squashy, and a bit starchy.  On the first steep, it looks like the leaves are different colors in the basket, which I don’t normally see.  However, this one is slightly more nuanced than other teas that I have had similar to it lately, but is also still a bit of a flavor puzzle, which is why I keep steeping it up but not writing a note.  It’s tasty, but a mystery!  Reading Cameron’s note… I REALLY wish I had gotten more of Cameron’s flavor notes out of this one!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 1-2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 3 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep

This is a really nice blend! The only caveat is it is expensive. It has very attractive curling leaves that open up beautifully when brewed and it has a very rich, layered malty, dark chocolate sort of flavour. After that, there’s a gentle sweetness that’s mellow and quite warm. It’s a subtly flavoured tea, but I like that, I think it suits this blend very well. Compared to other David’s Tea blends with flavours, this one is a lot less sickly sweet and much more well-developed.

So I picked this up with one of my frequent steeper rewards. I’m not a big fan of DT’s teas in general, but I do buy their teaware pretty often, so I often have rewards sitting around that I need to use up. I enjoy Taiwanese black teas quite a lot, so this seemed like a good choice to try.

Contrary to the name though, I’m finding this overall quite savory. There’s a green beany vegetal note to it, along with some malty rye bread and roasted sweet potato. And then on the darker end, some deep caramelized notes and hints of raisin. Although a lot of those things sound sweet, it still leans to the savory side to my palate. There’s also a floral note that I’m not loving. As far as honey…? I think I can taste it a little bit, but it’s definitely a darker honey, like buckwheat.

So sadly not a favorite. I think I might set the rest aside to rehome, not sure yet though…

Pitting this tea against 52 Teas’ Radioactive Marshmallow and both are lovely. Check out my tasting note for Radioactive Marshmallow here: https://steepster.com/teas/52teas/97295-radioactive-marshmallow?post=422987

Both teas are new to me and I started with Radioactive Marshmallow. I genuinely didn’t think this tea would be able to put up much of a fight but its holding its own. Like Radioactive marshmallow, this is simple – smooth honey and a medium-bodied black base. Where the marshmallow sits on top of the base, the honey sort of lingers underneath. That makes the start of the sip a little more earthy/woody. It ends on a sweet honey note that lingers on the tongue.

Both are solid options but I think Radioactive Marshmallow squeaks ahead just because I tend to reach for marshmallow teas more often than honey and that tea puts flavor first and base second. As someone who drinks flavored teas more often, that means I will likely reach for it more but both are really nice.

Finished this up last night as a cold brew. Well not officially finished off as there’s a pitcher of tea sitting in the fridge. But its no longer in my stash, so I’m considering it done. :)

Not as fond of it cold brewed as it tends to seem just a wee bit more harsh than if I hot steep it and add to ice.

I had a nice big pot this morning, and it really hit the spot. Pure honey, malt goodness. I enjoyed it with some raw sugar and oat milk- so good!

Sipdown! 302/365!

This tea is super old. Like possibly 2011 DT advent calendar old? It’s surprisingly still not too bad – not overly sweet, but a nice light, flavourful black tea. I’d expected it to taste more like a mi lan black, but the sweetness is usually a fair bit stronger in those teas. Nice enough, though.

I spent yesterday evening at Marika’s for dinner and a couple rounds of board games and it was just lovely! This was one of several teas served up during the evening, and in particular it was what we brewed while nibbling on a platter of baklava at the end of our meal. Such a delicious complimentary pairing of sweet honey notes of this full bodied black tea with the honey saturated phyllo dough and crushed pistachios. Incredibly delicious!

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.

Sample from omgsrsly I thought i’d tried this one from David’s before but it appears not. Brewed this one up today since i’m trying my best to get through a couple samples today while i work from home. This is relatively decent. there’s a sweetness here. It reminds me a little of a lesser version of some of the teas from TTC. I’d drink this one again :) thanks omgsrsly!

Thanks Evol! Brewing it up Gong Fu, and the first sip is mostly malty with a slight honey aftertaste. Nice body and texture with a little bit of a chocolate covered raisin thing going on, but I get malt, honey hints, and smooth texture more than anything else. Malty black tea overall. The same can be said for the later steeps. A little flat, but again thick and smooth in terms of texture. I did not enjoy this one as much as the other samples you gave me Evol, but it is not bad.