Dexter3657 is nutso generous; she joked ages ago to me that she’d ordered this multiple times for herself only to then give it away in swaps, then in her “no real reason, just ‘a little something’ your way” package—the one loaded with wishlist goodies I never thought I’d actually get to try and currently-out-of-stock-or-unavailable-without-astronomical-French-shipping treasures, cough—she included some! And teased me appropriately. (:
And I regret nothing. This is in fact surprisingly good. I haven’t had anything from David’s in a year [EDIT: wait, that’s not true, duh! Lariel was my Secret Pumpkin and sent me the fall blends and I enjoyed them, whee pistachios! My bad!]—I’m glad it was there for me when I got reintroduced to tea last January and started there for loose leaf but I tend to feel like I’ve moved on (I likely wouldn’t feel this way if I had a walk-in one near me, but it’s online only and if I’m going to bother to mail order there’s just so many shops out there that, well, you know)—but this is a crowd favorite and until discovering Butiki’s Blueberry Purple Tea this winter (thanks to JustJames!) I hadn’t found a blueberry tea that was all that memorable (I like Della Terra’s Blueberry Crumble but more for the strudel/coffee cake quality of it than blueberry…it’s not what I ‘d think to dig out when I’m all “I want blueberries!”).
This is a nice easy-going treat, with a juicy lush jamminess in the berry flavor I appreciate (lots of berry teas have a harsh tart raw/fresh berry profile, which I love in a real berry because it’s countered by a watery clean bursting aspect, but in tea, not so much), almost evokes plump stickiness. The tea base is soft without contributing an irritatingly watered down feeling, you know, the one some David’s and Adagio teas possess. The biggest surprise was the resteep though—I must’ve resteeped this 4 times as we finished Slings and Arrows tonight (so bittersweet; I’m really going to miss that show) and every single steep was good! (I started with 5 minutes, then 7 ever after.)
I would drink this again for sure on a night I don’t want to get super wired (though it’s a black base it doesn’t seem to make me super jittery, and it doesn’t feel harshly bright on the stomach either) and just want something that’s easy and pleasurable, a sweet treat that delivers but doesn’t demand a lot of focus to enjoy (sometimes after dinner I feel like I can’t drink any super complex teas or I’ll feel guilty I’m “wasting” them as I’ll be distracted/preoccupied doing something else, but at the same time I still want a tasty tea!). And I know R would really enjoy this for afternoon tea sometime. Bet it’d be delicious with scones.
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this is one of two that i adore from david’s =0)…. and yes it’s good with scones…. and toast with jam, and crumpets…… =0D
I’m all over your tasting notes lately— sorry about that. But I keep thinking I may be interested in this tea. I just kind of discovered David’s Tea, which is late in the game. But whateverrrrr. I like that this tea is organic and kosher, which is useful if I need to make tea for other people. I feel like berries are hard to capture in tea without them being really fruity, though, but my boyfriend loves fruit teas, which is why I’ve even considered this tea. It sounds really good, and I did like the La La Lemon by David’s, which is also organic. So I keep thinking I may buy some. I’m glad to see you liked it! I’m also shocked you got a resteep. It never would occur to me to try to re-steep a flavored black tea. I’ve always thought they wouldn’t hold up.
I may investigate this tea further now. I think the La La Lemon for me makes me think the David’s tea organic black tea base suits me, but the lemon tea lacks any exceptional qualities. Which is why I’ve been considering this at all recently. Also, the image on the website makes it look delicious!
I also feel like I’m ‘wasting’ teas if I don’t have the time to enjoy them. I’ve been sitting on my tin of Tiger Assam for a full week now, because I just haven’t had time! I like to have a sort of generic flavored black tea I can brew and I can always enjoy without feeling like I’m wasting it, if that makes sense. My go-to was the La La Lemon, which is gone… So I get that.
And my final thing, I love afternoon tea with scones! I almost always have class in the afternoon, so I don’t always have time, but I’ve been baking a bunch of scones just to have a proper tea. I also love scones. I don’t know why my American self has such an infinity for them, but I adore them.
ooh, what’s the other one JustJames? i’m the same way—i’d still buy brazillionaire once in a while maybe, if they still carry it, i’m not sure. (and BTW, it’s nice to see you around…thought of you throughout this winter, i know it’s been a while since we talked…i hope you’re doing well!) i love how we always find ourselves talking about food! haha.
Kat, another bonus aspect of this one is that it contains elderberry i believe, which is good for your immune system (the last 5 or so years i get sick during cold season without fail, often multiple times, and this was the first winter i didn’t even once…i’m chalking it up to the tea, especially all the blends that had elderberry in them).
and yeah, i adore my “focused idyll” times with tea where i can drink it gongfu in a gaiwan and prepare to have my mind blown, or in a mini glass pot steeped over and over, typing notes about every flavor that emerges and transforms…but sometimes i just can’t, or i wanna plunk down with a book or a tv show, but i still want to enjoy my cuppa! good to know i’m not alone.
and dude. scones are delicious enough to transcend borders and oceans! i love how easy they are too—i can mess up a biscuit like nobody’s business with my overzealous nervous dough working, but scones are for some reason always foolproof and super tasty. ack, now i want some and it’s 2:30 in the morning. :b
vanilla orchid is my second.
la la lemon i could never take seriously… it’s caffeinated neo citrin lol. nicer, but decidedly reminiscent!!!
i have an awfully evil recipe for scones with a whipped cream base….. awesome for this tea. =0D
oh oh oh james can I have that recipe? because I need me some evil scones in my life! ha
Scones are brilliant! Had a hankering for scones something fierce this weekend, so for XS Malarkey (where I’m resident baker) I whipped up tiny baby buttermilk scones filled with a dollop of my own strawberry and rose jam!
this is one of two that i adore from david’s =0)…. and yes it’s good with scones…. and toast with jam, and crumpets…… =0D
I’m all over your tasting notes lately— sorry about that. But I keep thinking I may be interested in this tea. I just kind of discovered David’s Tea, which is late in the game. But whateverrrrr. I like that this tea is organic and kosher, which is useful if I need to make tea for other people. I feel like berries are hard to capture in tea without them being really fruity, though, but my boyfriend loves fruit teas, which is why I’ve even considered this tea. It sounds really good, and I did like the La La Lemon by David’s, which is also organic. So I keep thinking I may buy some. I’m glad to see you liked it! I’m also shocked you got a resteep. It never would occur to me to try to re-steep a flavored black tea. I’ve always thought they wouldn’t hold up.
I may investigate this tea further now. I think the La La Lemon for me makes me think the David’s tea organic black tea base suits me, but the lemon tea lacks any exceptional qualities. Which is why I’ve been considering this at all recently. Also, the image on the website makes it look delicious!
I also feel like I’m ‘wasting’ teas if I don’t have the time to enjoy them. I’ve been sitting on my tin of Tiger Assam for a full week now, because I just haven’t had time! I like to have a sort of generic flavored black tea I can brew and I can always enjoy without feeling like I’m wasting it, if that makes sense. My go-to was the La La Lemon, which is gone… So I get that.
And my final thing, I love afternoon tea with scones! I almost always have class in the afternoon, so I don’t always have time, but I’ve been baking a bunch of scones just to have a proper tea. I also love scones. I don’t know why my American self has such an infinity for them, but I adore them.
ooh, what’s the other one JustJames? i’m the same way—i’d still buy brazillionaire once in a while maybe, if they still carry it, i’m not sure. (and BTW, it’s nice to see you around…thought of you throughout this winter, i know it’s been a while since we talked…i hope you’re doing well!) i love how we always find ourselves talking about food! haha.
Kat, another bonus aspect of this one is that it contains elderberry i believe, which is good for your immune system (the last 5 or so years i get sick during cold season without fail, often multiple times, and this was the first winter i didn’t even once…i’m chalking it up to the tea, especially all the blends that had elderberry in them).
and yeah, i adore my “focused idyll” times with tea where i can drink it gongfu in a gaiwan and prepare to have my mind blown, or in a mini glass pot steeped over and over, typing notes about every flavor that emerges and transforms…but sometimes i just can’t, or i wanna plunk down with a book or a tv show, but i still want to enjoy my cuppa! good to know i’m not alone.
and dude. scones are delicious enough to transcend borders and oceans! i love how easy they are too—i can mess up a biscuit like nobody’s business with my overzealous nervous dough working, but scones are for some reason always foolproof and super tasty. ack, now i want some and it’s 2:30 in the morning. :b
vanilla orchid is my second.
la la lemon i could never take seriously… it’s caffeinated neo citrin lol. nicer, but decidedly reminiscent!!!
i have an awfully evil recipe for scones with a whipped cream base….. awesome for this tea. =0D
oh oh oh james can I have that recipe? because I need me some evil scones in my life! ha
Scones are brilliant! Had a hankering for scones something fierce this weekend, so for XS Malarkey (where I’m resident baker) I whipped up tiny baby buttermilk scones filled with a dollop of my own strawberry and rose jam!