16916 Tasting Notes
Made this earlier in the week and though it was fine tasting I did find myself thinking it was rather light in both taste and body as I was drinking it. I don’t think it was because of my steeping as I used water just off a boil and my standard five-ish minute long steep. So, it was just a bit strange. Still pleasant though, with smooth notes of both bergamot and lavender. Actually, because it was a little lighter I felt like maybe the lavender came out a little stronger than it normally does? Give it was a stressful afternoon, the extra lavender was a boon more than a bummer.
Brewed this one up yesterday! I’ve just been seeing blackberry everywhere the last few months and with Starbuck’s most recent launch of their Blackberry Sage refresher it made me think of this blend – one of my favourites from Adagio.
I actually tried the Starbucks drink and I thought it was disappointingly light on the sage, though I can see how most people probably wouldn’t want a ton of sage – it’s a little more of a polarizing flavour, so the conservative approach was probably the most commercially safe option. In contrast, this is pretty sage forward in such a soothingly aromatic way. Sage is great for aromatherapy, and I definitely was feeling that sort of blissful, relaxed vibe as I drank this mug. It’s still blackberry in a sweet, jammy and dark kind of way – but it’s almost like the reverse of the Starbucks drink which was primarily blackberry with a little sage.
Man I love this blend, though!
Tea Pop!
One of my favourite year-round blends from DT, and honestly something I should probably drink more than I actually do since it brings me so much joy. Yesterday a coworker and I made some teapops to enjoy in the afternoon, and this was the tea I picked out for us. It just slaps every time. Sweet, juicy raspberry with that soft, creamy sort of finish that rounds out the whole drink. Very refreshing!
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.
Holy snow day!! Today was basically endless white in every direction you looked, so it was the perfect time to get cozy and try out this tea – one of the new teas I picked up from Toronto Tea Festival this year, and also a new (to me) tea company as well!! This tea won the black tea category of this year’s blind tasting competition, and it’s not hard to see why. Though I would maybe personally prefer a bit of a richer and more sweet milk chocolate note, the tea is undeniably very, very smooth with a pretty solid balance between the cocoa and creamy flavours with a brisk, malty and more full-bodied black tea base. It’s perfectly comforting on a day spent bundled up indoors. Well, other than the quick jaunt outside to snap some tea photos…
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGB4auQS3dK/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iThlpKPtsdo&ab_channel=TeenageDads
A tea enjoyed yesterday for Valentine’s Day!
What could be more on theme than oversized heart-shaped shortbread cookies dunked into a delicious teacup of this black tea blend with a splash of coconut milk? Like a lot of teas I’m drinking this month, this was a pick up from Toronto Tea Festival! The sweet raspberry and chocolate notes of the dry leaf won me over and, now that I’m brewing it up myself, I’m happy to report that it’s just a rich, jammy and wonderful once steeped with the perfect balance of berry and cocoa alongside a more brisk, full-bodied black tea. It’s even interestingly just a little bit nutty in its undertones, which was unexpected but welcome.
Tea Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGEgkPsy0ym/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xee_2r-5L2U&ab_channel=CameronWinter
Cold Brew!
Smooth, fruity, floral, and fresh with a great balance between jammier Saskatoon berry notes with just a little bit of fleeting tartness on the top notes of the initial sip that capture the pleasant burst of flavour you get eating real Saskatoons straight off the bush in the summer. At times I felt like I was getting a smidge of welcome cranberry, and the aftertaste was a little rosy with the honeyed sweetness of the rooibos. Made me feel just a bit homesick.
Iced!
There’s a lot of different fruits in this blend and none of them specifically stand out as, like, a singular flavour you can taste. It’s sort of just a more mellow and refreshing tea that kind of tastes “generically pink”. I guess maybe mixed berry if you wanted to get specific, and if I was blind tasting I could see a world where I interpreted the notes as a more floral lean and less conventionally sweet/tart strawberry note??
But to be super honest I really think that my brain would go to strawberry more so because the aftertaste is sooooo fresh and basil forward? Just a really good clean, crisp herbaceousness from the tulsi. Why would that make me think strawberry? Simply just because strawberry and basil are a much more common pairing that really any other berries/fruits. But all that said I enjoyed this a lot! I didn’t need it to have a really clear fruity flavour direction to still be refreshing and balanced feeling with the white tea base and tulsi inclusion.
Another tea enjoyed earlier in the week. It’s very, very good but I honestly don’t really have the energy right now to do a whole big tasting note on it. Basically, read my last tasting note and know that this time around I made it in a travel mug and it was just as delicious. Travel mugs do not make every tea shine the same way they would in a mug, but there was no compromise of flavour here. Only sweet, creamy lemon curd goodness with an accessible, grounding shou pu’erh base.
I made a cup of this over the weekend and it was quite interesting because it was the sort of sweet, juicy candy-watermelon flavour that I know, love, and expect from this blend but the undertones and aftertaste were almost giving me this hint of brown sugar!? And I never would have thought of watermelon and brown sugar together as a pleasant combination of flavour but it fucking worked.
I should really check out Deb’s website again – I feel I’ve fallen off pretty hard on her new releases because the teas were starting to feel very repetitive to me, but it’s been long enough now that maybe there are some more distinct blends in the mix that might spark some curiosity. If anyone else has ordered recently and had a blend stand out, please let me know!
Iced Latte!
…and speaking of iced latte kicks, this was the one I started today off with. In hindsight caffeine may have been better, but I just adore this perfectly rich and gooey tasting toffee-like flavour with the subtle undertones of cocoa and, like, a caramelized sort of date note!? I made it with oat milk and I felt like that amped up a lot of the richness of the caramel flavour as well. It’s also a really good salt balance too. You do feel like it’s not just a plain caramel note, but it’s not too savory/saline either.
