I guess this is the year of caramel teas!?
Anyway, this is one of the newly released teas from today! I’m pretty excited about it, but I definitely think it’s the most “out there” of today’s teas – and I hope that doesn’t prevent it from doing well…
As y’all here on Steepster know, I absolutely love both a good Hojicha tea base for a flavoured tea blend but I also really like a good smoky tea base for flavoured teas. With this blend, I kind of get the best of both worlds because as the name would imply there is Hojicha in this tea. However, what it might not super obviously convey is that it’s actually this super cool Hojicha that’s also kind of smoky!!
Both of these interesting and cozier profiles, from pine-y smoke to nutty and roasty toasty Hojicha, provide a really interesting and nuanced canvas for which the rest of the blend is built. It’s got sweet, but not cloying, burnt sugar/caramel note with a hint of salinity that mixed with the Hojicha base almost tastes like a really golden, gooey and maybe even just a tiny bit burned marshmallow – and that’s where the idea of the name “Campfire Hojicha” came from. This gooey, golden and complex marshmallow/caramel note mixed with all the smells and aromas of a big fire and surrounding trees on one of the last hot summer nights before The Fall.
Yes, what I’m describing maybe doesn’t make the most sense for a tea launching with holiday teas – but this year has been unpredictable for many reasons, and that includes some unexpected delays with tea as well. So, this was definitely intended to be more of an Autumnal profile this year…
My dream is that this tea does really well, and it opens the doors for the use of more Hojicha in DT’s tea blends (or maybe even a straight Hojicha) but I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, because I do think that maybe it’s a bit more out there/“busy” in terms of flavour than our more dessert-ish blends usually are.
Still, I can dream!
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.
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Just placed an order for this one! Really excited! I agree with you; Hojicha is so under utilized!
Ordered this one as soon as it was released. Sounds like my kind of blend!
Do you know any other Canadian tea brands or teas that incorporate a good smokey tea base? Sorry, still new to teas! Steadily exploring them! But I absolutely loved Dessert by Deb’s blends that incorporated smokey notes, so would love a recommendation! :)
Most of the company’s that I’ve seen do it are US based (like 52Teas).
I like houjicha blends, but a bit worried about the “smoke” since that is a migraine trigger for me (I can’t take lapsang souchong). Guess I’ll just have to see how it goes.
Just placed an order for this one! Really excited! I agree with you; Hojicha is so under utilized!
Ordered this one as soon as it was released. Sounds like my kind of blend!
Do you know any other Canadian tea brands or teas that incorporate a good smokey tea base? Sorry, still new to teas! Steadily exploring them! But I absolutely loved Dessert by Deb’s blends that incorporated smokey notes, so would love a recommendation! :)
Most of the company’s that I’ve seen do it are US based (like 52Teas).
I like houjicha blends, but a bit worried about the “smoke” since that is a migraine trigger for me (I can’t take lapsang souchong). Guess I’ll just have to see how it goes.