New Tasting Notes

Sipdown (276)

Thank you Evol Ving Ness for sharing this. It is a bit on the older side so it doesn’t really taste like anything. So this is just being finished because it’s hydrating and that’s about all it has to offer.

Another great sample from VariaTEA!

I am really enjoying this one! It’s a simple, straight black tea.

Every time I open a new black tea I fear ‘the smoke’. I taste smokiness where others don’t ever seem to (Laoshan Black has been forever ruined because of this). Many Teavivre teas I’ve ordered have no mention of smoke, but then there it is for me. And I can’t handle even the subtlest hint of smoke. All of this to say, when I have an opportunity to try a new black tea and it’s smoke-free, I am so happy!

This one does remind me of something I can’t quite put my finger on, but I’m really enjoying it as my evening tea. It’s a bit malty and I’m here for it!

Edit: I did a second steep of this for 30 seconds longer and it was just as delicious the second time around.

I felt like a straight green tea or oolong this afternoon, so I figured I’d start working through a small box of sample-sized straight teas sitting in my tea nook. Some of them are swap samples (I’m sorry, whoever sent them…) and some of them, like this one, are from old Sips By boxes. This tea is apparently from my May 2019 box.

Unfortunately, this tea is very “meh”… It has a very generic dry leafy flavor, and a little hint of smokiness in the background. It’s not bitter or astringent, but there’s not much going on in the way of complexity.

Still, it’s a comforting sort of autumnal flavor that brings coziness with each sip. But I’m glad it’s just a small sample size. ;)

This has been hiding in my cupboard for who knows how many years now. The package was open, but I’m not sure if I ever had a cup or just sniffed it upon arrival. It smells very peach/almondy. I get a clear peach almond in the sip and as it transitions to the finish more of the oatiness comes out on it’s own. There is almost a slight sweetness to the tea, but it’s vague in a pleasant way. It was a very enjoyable light cup that I seem to have finished before I knew it.

Revisited Leatherbound again today and suddenly I can taste the caraway. Funny how that works.

Its still eliciting the same reaction from me, especially when this morning started with rain, hail, thunder, and similar. Oh if I could only go home and curl up with this tea and a good book.

It’s a high quality tea but beware of the floral taste. This was a disappointment for me, but I can tell it’s very good stuff. Just doesn’t meet my personal tastes well. So it’s somewhat hard to rate.

The good:
A thicc, syrupy-even mouthfeel which is excellent. Notes of brown sugar, fruit, malt, and leaves.

The bad:
Flowers. There is a floral taste that almost ruins it for me, but I am getting more used to it. It’s too bad because this would be excellent tea without this flower taste.

Steeping it shorter does help.

I ordered this on sale and I don’t think I would order again, due to personal preference.

Yay, I finally got this tea page to load! ❤

Polishing off another of my teeny tin sample leftovers with this one from Teavivre.

The aroma is very sweet and honeyed. There is a touch of honey in the taste as well, but mostly it’s thick, hearty bread with caraway seed backed by subtle earthy notes and a hint of smoke.

As it cools, the honey comes out a bit more for a nice honeyed toast flavor.

A very satisfying tea for the morning!

Meh. It’s a fruity, cinnamon oolong. Not much of a pastry note. I’m pretty sure I’ve had this exact blend from a different brand before, but I can’t place it.

Blehhhhhhh. I was so excited to try a rooibos matcha. But do you know what the second ingredient in this is? Beetroot. And it tastes like straight up beets. When I added sugar, then it was just sugary beets. Extra milk didn’t help either. I like beets, but not so much in tea/desserts. Yeah I’m getting rid of this one. Let me know if you want a beet tea. 0% red velvet, 100% beets.

Going through my cupboard last night, I found three bags of AQ2T in my white/oolong bin that I totally forgot I had. One was unopened. This brightened my night up significantly! Steeping this tea this morning… the cup smells like those chocolate covered gummy candies you get in a tube from Asian grocery stores! I love those things. I get that candied chocolate scent with fruit underneath. When I sip on this, the scent translates perfectly to flavor. The white tea base keeps it light and airy like the candy. The finish is more of the same. It looses a little bit of the magic as the cup cools which creates such a dilemma for me: sip as quickly as I want to or slowly to stretch out the cup, even if it means it’s slightly less delicious at the end. I would totally order more of this if possible and would probably go into hoarding mode since it keeps so well.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnIOUWA0o0/

1 teabag used.

SIPDOWN
This pouch was hidden in the back of cupboard and I know why. It isn’t great for me; it is drying and tannic black tea without any other notes I am able to find out. Sips are as well quite harsh.

Won’t repurchase this one, but I would like to try another Bihar Doke teas, maybe they are better? This wasn’t good at all, at least for me. I generally enjoy Indian teas, but not this one…

This tea has gotten a bit flat with age.

The grape flavor is still there, but the oolong base doesn’t taste like much anymore. It does still have a nice silky mouthfeel, and is pleasant enough to sip on. But mostly at this point, it’s just muscat flavoring with little-to-no oolong.

It looks like this tea isn’t offered on the Hawaii website, though they do have the Queen’s Muscat Oolong which I remember being quite similar. I seem to have never written a note on it, oddly enough…

It’s been a few years since I’ve had one of these mini tuocha that Kawaii433 sent in a swap (I hope all is well out there, miss!). I received a few of these as a freebie in my most recent order with Mandala and brewed one gongfu tonight so I figured I’d give another review.

This is the mellowest, most potentially inoffensive shou I’ve ever tasted. Dark in color but not in taste. Earthy but never overbearing; hay, leather, still getting a touch of autumn leaf. Light sweetness and bitterness. Stable, simple and pleasant through every steep, of which I got a good amount. Very low caffeine. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to purchase these, but it’s a nice break from some of the strong shou that I gravitate toward.

[Initial rating 74]

This tea smells so amazing, both dry and after steeping.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t deliver on the scent. It’s not bad per se, it’s just a bit bland. There’s some mild spicing, maybe cinnamon and ginger, perhaps some clove. But the apple isn’t really there at all, and the base tea nonexistent.

Womp womp. Oh well!

Boosting my score to a perfect 100…because it really deserves it. Breakaway sells the absolute best matcha that I’ve tried. Hands down. It’s so smooth and drinkable, and there is absolutely no bitterness. I add a bit of honey, but it really doesn’t need it. I’ve been enjoying it most mornings, and I really look forward to it. Highly recommend for matcha lovers. All of their varietals that I’ve tried have been great, but I gravitate towards this one because of the value, and I make most of my matcha iced anyway.

Tried the last of this brewed at 1g:30mL instead of the usual 1g:20mL and at 195F to attempt to mitigate the overwhelming roast.

I did enjoy it more, even though it wasn’t as complex and had a thinner body and very mild aftertaste. It was still very nutty with supplemental notes of thin wildflower honey, vanilla, sandalwood, ginger, orange zest and orange blossom. The roasted taste was much lighter. The taste-texture devolved pretty quickly into this very particular astringency and bitterness, neither of which sits right with me.

Revoking the “Not Reccomended” status. It’s not a bad tea for the price (of the newest lot), just the nuttiness is too much for my tastes. Also, maybe I’m spoiled but I do expect more longevity before encountering the impassable astringency and bitterness.

I just skimmed the reviews of this one and was surprised to see they’re fairly mediocre. This is one I really enjoy from DF.

I find the scent translates to the flavour nicely and I enjoy their subtle flavours so much. Even Lex leaned over to smell my cup and asked for a sip haha! There’s a smooth vanilla flavour with a hint of orange in the background. This is a lovely tea to finish off my studying for the evening.

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I have made this 3 times now and every time I didn’t really get to try it hot. And when I did try it, it would be like one distracted sip and then I would fall asleep or need to attend to something else. So, with this being the last serving, I made a conscious effort to get to it hot and now that I have, I have to say, I am indifferent.

I get cherry, apple, sort of cranberry. Hibiscus, though its not overly tart. Honestly, it might have been better when it was cold. It’s meh.

From Ontario to California, this must be a record — 6 days to receive a tea package from the wonderful Leafhopper :)

My housemate requested last night a cup of peppermint tea, so I used the opportunity to break into the box of goodies. It’s a sweet, herbaceous peppermint with plenty of menthol kick. I thought it must be that NW US peppermint and reading the description, it is! Peppermint grown in Washington is my favorite because it never tastes muddy or stewed even with boiling water and long steep times.

Thanks for the nightcap, Leafhopper.

I really should have looked at my previous note before steeping this… This tea is such a diva, it comes out fairly bitter and astringent with my usual (rather conservative) black tea parameters.

Even with the bitterness, I quite enjoy this one. It’s such a bright combination of citrus and still tastes lovely even though it’s a few years old at this point. The strongest notes are the orange and tangerine, and the grapefruit adds a nice bit of sharpness. I don’t taste the jasmine at all, but it’s possible it’s lost in my deplorable preparation. :P

I think I’ll leave the tin out on the counter, and hopefully tomorrow I’ll manage to steep this properly! Sorry, tea.

Another new tea!

This one didn’t really come out in a “collection” per say, but sort of a mini capsule with three different blends that have no flavouring in them at all. One is more of a “blend” you would typically associate with having flavouring (tasting note on that one at a later date), one is a returning oolong that’s scented, and then there is this one – which is just a straight shou pu’erh. It’s always a good launch week when there’s new traditional/straight teas to talk about! FYI – all three are verrryyyy limited quantities for now…

This shou pu’erh comes in traditional “dragonball” shape – the balls vary in weight because they are hand rolled and are typically between about 5g and 8g. This is important to keep in mind with steeping, because it’s not an exact science. You wont get perfectly the same brew if you just use one/two balls each time. They’re wrapped in gold foil, and because of that they sort of remind me of Ferroro Rocher. Here’s a fun/cute fact for you all: before the tea was officially named we referring to this tea in the tea lab as “Shou Rochers” because of how uncanny the appearance is at a glance.

I’ve had this three ways now – in a Nordic mug, Grandpa Style (also in a Nordic Mug), and Gongfu. My preference of the three is Grandpa style; I think there’s more body when brewed that way and more of the sweetness of the petrichor/date notes comes out with that longer style of steeping, which compliments verrrryyy smooth woody and umami/brothy notes. I guess mushroom is the brothy thing? That’s what my coworkers say, but as someone allergic to mushrooms I don’t have a strong point of reference.

In a Nordic is fine, but lacks some depth that I personally crave. Gongfu was also good, though it didn’t have lots of longevity. I’d say you’re looking at more smooth and consistent body and umami flavour without as much sweetness. If you’re someone who drinks a lot of shou Gongfu and, like me, reaaalllyyyy loves typical Menghai character (that burly woody/camphor thing) then you might find this shou a little flat/unexciting.

However, it’s because the flavour is so consistent and smooth without off fermentation notes or “kick you in the face camphor” that I think it’s actually a VERY STRONG option as a “gateway” shou for someone unfamiliar with the tea type looking to get a foot in the door. I don’t see there being a lot of flavours that would typically turn off the pu’erh adverse and it’s soooo easy to brew. So in that situation, “unexciting” is actually a benefit. For me, it’s just easy drinking shou – something to toss in a mug and sip on thoughtlessly that tastes just fine. I would travel with these dragonballs because my impression is that you could make this anytime/anywhere and you’d likely get the same consistent experience.

I think I grabbed a half dozen or so for myself, and I may grab more to have on hand as a travel option – but mostly I’m just exciting that DT is exploring more pu’erh in more shapes/styles, and in what I believe is an accessible way.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkOBO3gdju/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRnN_SMrsIc&ab_channel=Argonaut%26Wasp

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.

This is just a happy favourite of mine! A bit more bite/tartness from the rhubarb but always finishes soft and creamy. I’m starting to see signs that I’m making a dent in my 500g tin of it and that’s a bit melancholy for me. I kind of never want to run out…

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.