David's Breakfast Tea (Organic)

SIGH. Darn keemun ruins this for me every time.

I wanted to give this another shot because I’m quite tempted by Butiki’s Black Lotus, but apparently I’m just that sensitive to the Keemun that I won’t be able to enjoy it like I want to. Grr. I so want to place a Butiki order this weekend and may give it a try anyway to see how that compares to this.

As for this tea, I need to give it away. Actually I have a couple (read: most) of my David’s Tea collection I want to give away/throw out. I’ve found after a cup or two of a blend the novelty wears thin/quality doesn’t measure up and I lose the drive to finish what I’ve got. They have such great marketing that it’s a shame. Oh well, I’ve got plenty more tea companies out there to try, I guess!

1.5 tsp for 300mL @100C, steeped 4 minutes.

They’ve changed it.

This was a blend of Keemun, Assam, Yunnan and Uva. On the DavidsTea site, on the front page for black teas, it still is. When you get to the indiviaul listing, though, it’s now a blend of Darjeeling, Yunnan, and Ceylon. Could we get it together here, people? Grumble snort.

Ceylon, huh? I dunno …

And what’s with DavidsTea and Keemun? First, they dropped their Keemun offering, and now this blend no longer has Keemun. I had liked how this blend was heavier on China than India black tea.

So yeah, I am not feeling kindly inclined.

Lots of copper from the Ceylon, and that sunshiny but slightly flat taste some Ceylons offer.

Where’s the Darjeeing? Where’s the Yunnan?

A Ceylon-heavy blend. Fine, if you really like Ceylons. Disappointing, if you were in the mood for China. As for being in the mood for Darjeeling … yeah, go get some decent Darjeeling.

Not bitter, and not acidic — but only a medim body. No heft, no snap, no surprise — just a lot of coppery Ceylon. If you like coppery Ceylons, you might really enjoy this incarnation of the blend.

Bleah. Hauling my rating down.

I haven’t done a tasting note for a while. One of my babies (my dog babies) was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy and he’s dying. He’s responding to his meds really well and has finally started eating on a regular basis, and I think he’s toying with sticking around a bit longer. According to the vet, he shouldn’t have made it this long. From this day forward, everyday with have with him is a celebration of beating the odds stacked against him. I love you Octane!
So anywho, it’s been pretty dark around here. There has been tea drinking, but it hasn’t been as enjoyable. This morning I desperately wanted an irish breakfast, but it’s gone. So I went with an english. I just wanted a nice bold cuppa and this guy is perfect. I do not enjoy it steeped for the 4-6 minutes they recommend, far better at around 3 minutes. Perfect compliment to toast and jam.
Here’s to brighter days! :)

How has it been a week since I’ve posted a tasting note? I confess, my tea habits have been rather repetitive of late. I’ve been drinking Mandala Phatty cake, the last of my Fuhai ‘07 sheng from Verdant, David’s Orange Pekoe, and this breakfast. Okay, repetitive but satisfying!

This has a lovely toasty flavor and a spicy bite, a little bit of maltyness and very little astringency. Perfectly good without milk. Between the two black teas I picked up from David’s, I definitely prefer this to the Orange Pekoe but it’s still not a re-buy for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good breakfast tea but not so delicious to me that I’d want it 5 days a week!

It’s a sad, sad day when I have to admit defeat on a tea… Alpine Punch, that is.

I’d tried and tried and tried again to make Alpine Punch work, it tasted so good! But without fail I would get a headache 3-4 sips in and then have to dump the rest. So, the other day I walked into my local DAVIDsTEA in shame, a bag of Alpine Punch to return. The sales-girl helping me was more than accommodating, giving me plenty of suggestions and recommendations.

In the end I exchanged for this tea, since I’ve been looking for yet another black tea to put into rotation with Nepal Black, Buttered Rum, and my collection of Earl Greys. This has a nice body that holds up to milk and sugar, which actually seems to get better as it cools. Right now it’s lukewarm and downright delicious! Nepal Black is still my favourite, but it’s nice to have a break once in a while…

slightly toasty and smokey. just slightly though.
i bet my sister would appreciate this tea more than i do.
she’s a breakfast tea kind of gal.

So its my first day back in the real world after being off sick for a few days, and half way through the day I needed a bit of a pick me up so I started drinking this. I’m not a huge fan of black tea -unless its flavored. So although it wasn’t my favorite it definitely did the trick and I managed to get through the rest of my shift… more or less.

Saturday Sample Sipdown #2
Another Sample from BoxerMama! Thanks!
Nothing to write home about, definitely not the love of my life where Breakfast Blends are concerned, but it was good enough that I drank 2 cups. :)

Advent Calendar Day Huit!

Urgh, really DT? ANOTHER BLACK! I’m glad to get this one out of the way because I really have a so so relationship with breakfast teas. I’m sure there is a breakfast blend out there somewhere for me, but I really prefer earl grey if I am going to have something plain.

I think this tastes like what I conceived tea tasting like as a kid. And for that I deem it ok. It is a bit bitter, and I have to drink it with milk and sugar to really enjoy it. It’s not something I am going to be running to repurchase, but I’m sure lots of people who like these traditional flavours love it.

I needed something to get me moving this morning after getting up at 3:30am to watch the Royal Wedding (yes I’m one of those girls). This is a really nice blend of several different black teas. I’ll post a better review over on my teatra blog this afternoon/evening. But I will say it is yummy!