La Vida Coco (Organic)

Adventaggedon Day Six – 1/5

Cold Brew!

There are a lot of teas included in this advent that I’ve been excited to hear people’s reviews for, but this one in particular I’ve been really on the edge of my seat about. Why? Well, it’s actually exclusive to the Around The World advent!

The part of the world that this tea represents is Puerto Rico and, if you got the Ricky Martin reference in the name, that may have been a little obvious to you. When we’re working on new teas in R&D, not every tea starts with a final name in mind. Sometimes we start with a flavour or a mood and the name comes much later. That was kind of the case with this tea, where we wanted to convey something light and refreshing with sort of tiki drink or “cocktail you drink out of a coconut” vibes. Personally, I think we really nailed that last part. I was definitely listening to a lot of Ricky Martin when I came up with this name though, haha!

In terms of flavour, I think I would probably best describe this as coconut water meets nostalgic Hawaiian fruit punch. That sort of tropical red fruit note, if you will. Definitely more light and refreshing (and heavier on the coconut), and not the same level of saturated juiciness that the real 80s/90s Fruit Punch has. There’s also a little hibiscus in the blend but I wouldn’t compare this to our more overly hibiscus forward fruit blends like Hibiscus Splash or Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait. What I really like is that this blend doesn’t shy away from the yerba mate base, either. It’s definitely distinct and that clean, sweet grassy note adds to the more “mature” adult fruit punch/coconut water mood. I love it cold brewed or over ice.

I know I’m heavily biased, especially because organic blends are so much harder to develop, but this really was my favourite advent tea today.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl16y9KOY7N/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY

I mean, is there anything else to pick music wise!?

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.

Let’s start this by saying that coconut and I are not friends. It’s close to a number one flavor to avoid for me, though I’m trying to remain open-minded about all the teas I approach here.

The dry scent was herbal, and I got something a little spicy. After a 4 minute steep, all I smell is coconut. When sipping, I do get fruit up front first – apple, and hibiscus comes through as well. But the aftertaste is once again all coconut.

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad tea if you’re okay with a coconut flavor, so it’s not a “not recommended” or anything. But I’m going to avoid it in the future for sure, assuming it is something that is or will be available outside the calendar.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 6