29 Tasting Notes
Just found a sample of this tea, and decided I’d give it a go. It was my first experience with guayusa and it was wonderful!! The color of the liquid was dark brown. The nose is mildly sweet and spicy, and the taste is earthy and herbal, but not heavy. There’s lots of ingredients in this tea, and they blend together perfectly. So sad that DavidsTea discontinued it! But, at least they have other Guayusa blends. Looking forward to trying some of those.
A lovely green. I could drink this all day if it weren’t so expensive! Unfortunately, my palate has not yet evolved to be able to distinguish between a really good green and an exceptional green tea. Maybe someday… In the meantime, I know I like this one: buttery, lightly roasted green goodness. Not too grassy, none of the bitterness of lesser greens. It reminds me of Sencha Ashikubo.
Preparation
Today’s sip down: the last of the pink flamingo. Finally. I’m not a big fan of hibiscus or lemongrass, and this has both in spades. Super tart. Where’s the citrusy sweetness? It didn’t even brew up hot pink for me. Came out a purple plum color. I won’t be buying it again. Good thing I only had a little 30g mini-tin of it.
Yes! I bought 100 grams of that back before I was more familiar with what I like in a tea. This one sounded so fun! But I discovered in a big way that I can’t stand hibiscus. To me it’s simply sour, not pleasantly tart. I battled my way through several cups of it and then threw it away. :(
How can this tea be rated so lowly on Steepster?! It’s amazing. A tried and true staple of my cupboard, and one of our all-time favorites. Erik loves the pepper, fennel, and mint. I love the roasty Hojicha and juxtaposition of warm spices with cool mint. Hojicha holds a special place in my heart. It’s not your average green. In fact, it’s closer in taste to Oolong than green. DavidsTea rarely stocks it beyond this blend, and it seems to be very seasonal elsewhere as well. Nice to see this tea included in the Cold Survival Kit of 2014-2015. That collection is brilliant! Love everything in it.
Earthy. Strong. Ginger. Orange. This tea wakes me up in the morning after a rough night, or when I’m recovering from the flu. When I drink it, I feel invigorated, yet grounded and ready to tackle whatever the day may bring. I brought this home from my my first ever visit to DavidsTea in Toronto (way back in 2009!), and I keep refilling when it runs out. So glad Davids is still stocking it.
When my tummy is rebelling or I feel a twinge of a cold coming on, I make 3 cups of this and knock it right out! The ginger is definitely front and center: as powerful as you’ll get without slicing the fresh root yourself. The other spices compliment it well, and it’s a great tea to make in the evening, when I don’t want any caffeine. Included in the Cold Survival Kit of 2014-2015.
Delicate and soothing. The long list of ingredients seems intimidating at first, but they blend together well. Unfortunately, my initial infatuation with this tea was short-lived. It’s still pleasant, but the potency of the taste has dissipated significantly since I first got it in September. So now I have half a tin left and I’m rarely in the mood to drink it. I should have known since nettle leaf seems to be the base that the spices are built around. I love nettle leaf. It’s very slightly sweet and delicious when fresh, but tends to go stale quickly. I’m not sure how to rate this tea. It was awesome! But, now it’s just meh. I think I’ll rate based on the fresh taste with just a couple points knocked off the top for a short shelf-life. In the future, I need to remember to only order 50g of nettle-based teas at a time (instead of 100g.). This was introduced as part of the Cold Survival Kit 2014-2015. I thoroughly enjoyed that collection. It has a great assortment of teas and really cute packaging. With honey sticks to boot! Actually, I haven’t tried this tea yet with honey and lemon. I think I will do that tonight. Bonnie’s review with those condiments was encouraging.
Perfect tea when you’re feeling under the weather. No caffeine to interfere with the sleep you need. Soothing ingredients. Eucalyptus is a bit of an odd taste. But, sometimes I’m in just the right mood for this tea, so I’m glad I have it in my cupboard. Erik loves it, so perhaps that’s tipping the scale in it’s favor as well. Got this in the Cold Survival Kit I ordered from Davids in November 2014.
Coconut and mint usually don’t go together in my brain. But, that also makes for a very unique taste that I keep reaching for and wishing I had more of. And my boyfriend loves it, so I’m probably going to order a tin. It’s the closest thing we’ve found to replace White Chocolate Frost (which was discontinued much to his dismay.) Also part of the Winter Collection 2014-2015. It’s like an Andes after-dinner mint without the chocolate, sweet but not overly so.
Delicate toasted nuttiness. Too much walnut can make for bitterness, but this blend has just the right amount. Sweet enough to warrant it’s namesake with a long finish of cinnamon at the end. It’s a very enjoyable tea, brews up a nice like golden color. I’d buy it again. I got about 25g in the 2014-15 Winter Collection.
