Raspberry Meringue

Sipdown (206)

I was going to steep a straight black tea because I was feeling mighty tired after my endless shrimp lunch. However, I ended up napping instead.

So it was late and after my 4-day weekend, tomorrow is a long day of class so I need to go to bed at a normal time. So rather than a caffeine filled black tea, I went with a latte. This tea has caffeine but not much and also has chamomile.

I have had this since March 2017 but have clearly put off drinking it, probably due to the chamomile. However, as a latte, it is quite nice. It has a soft raspberry flavor that is sweet and compliments the creamy vanilla. The chamomile is hidden by the milk so if you have this and don’t love chamomile, latte is the way to go.

I am not a fan. It has a medicinal flavor, I can’t quite place, just know I don’t appreciate it.

Well the first few sips of this were nice. True raspberry complemented by a nice white base and something a bit cakey. But as it cooled, a strange mustyness took over and I really didn’t like that. Nope, not at all. I won’t say it was terrible, but it went from pretty decent to pretty meh very quickly. Oh, also? I didn’t like how sweet it was. Almost syrupy.
Yeah, I’d have this again, if it was offered to me. But I definitely won’t buy it unless there is a specific reason like infusing it into alcohol. Heyyyyy maybe I’ll use up the last of it that way :P
As well, I’m annoyed that I asked for 10 grams, the girl at the counter gave me 14, claiming that any less wouldn’t give me a full serving. Well I had a massive mug, two cups worth, and I’ve still got enough for another of the same? Using my measuring spoon, that I purchased from DT. What gives????

A teapal sent me samples of the Malt Shop Collection, so I had a chance to try them all before placing my April Fools’ Day flash sale order.

This tea was what I was hoping Raspberry Cream Pie would be. To my taste buds it tastes like liquefied fresh raspberries. It’s both tart and sweet, and, surprisingly, despite the white base and the short steep time, it’s really quite flavorful. It’s a great light full-on raspberry tea.

Hmmm…has a lovely raspberry flavoring. I think this tea lives up to its name. I approve! Now, I must try it iced! My favorite season is coming up just in time too-Iced Tea Season!! Woot Woot

Another surprisingly tasty blend – this tea is a nice combination of raspberry and cream. Not something I’d reach for often, but it was a nice sweet treat.

This is a nice raspberry blend. It has more of a realistic raspberry flavour to it, and I can’t really pinpoint what else it tastes like other than raspberry.It’s kinda like a light tangy taste which I suspect is the meringue. It’s basically a better, more mellow version of RCP. It was lovely as a hot tea with a little sugar added.

Next up for the Macaron Collection; iced for my first tasting.

Of the three teas, this is definitely the one I was most excited about…

Right up until I read the ingredients list, that is. Personally, a tea named Raspberry Meringue on a white base sounds phenomenal to me; something light, airy and fluffy with a delicate raspberry sweetness and maybe a sliver of creaminess? My biggest fear would be that there would be added sugar/sweetner, and this would become too sweet. Well, low and behold this IS sugar in this. Not even cane sugar either – just sugar sugar. Additionally, they’ve added green tea, chamomile, and a whole bunch of tropical fruits? The ingredients for this just sort of look like a mess to me, and I couldn’t see how they would come together in a positive way.

When we cracked the bag open to fill the tin for this blend it wasn’t promising either; despite being a fresh shipment of tea for a brand new launch and a sealed kilogram bag it just sort of smelled stale, flat and almost musty to me? I was really hoping to be proved otherwise though.

My first taste was not positive. I’ve tried to come up with a delicate way of putting it, but it really boils down to the tea just tasting bad. It’s not that it was over steeped/the leaf was scorched by too hot of water: I’m very careful about that, and there was no bitterness or astringency. That weird mustyness/stale quality carried through into the taste for me though, and it really negatively affected the profile. Honestly, what it made me think of was my Grandma’s storage attic where she has all these boxes that I’m pretty sure have just been sitting for like 30 odd years. They have a thick layer of dust on them and when I drank this I felt like I was licking the layer of dust. Bleck.

It wasn’t all bad though; the finish does have a nice raspberry note to it and if I could find a way to make the whole sip taste like that finish I think I’d enjoy it. The raspberry is somewhat tangy, with just a hint of acidity and it comes off pretty realistically/naturally. Like eating REALLY ripe raspberries out of my grandma’s raspberry bush. This is the aspect of the tea I’m choosing to focus on when talking about it to people coming into the store. Also, interesting that regardless of which element of the blend I talk about it all comes back to good ol’ Granny Strange.

It’s also interesting to me because I’ve had A LOT of customers come in and sample this as the TOTD and lots of them LOVE IT. I can’t help but wonder what they’re tasting that’s so different from what I getting. Taste is subjective though, so perhaps my tastebuds are just in the minority with this one? But yeah, of the three this is definitely my least favourite.

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 regarding the teas, and not the company’s.