10238 Tasting Notes
Geek Steep S1E6 – Spiderman: The Animated Series
Like I said in my tasting note for Ginger Lemon, which is the other tea I chose for my pairing this week, I actually chose two teas for this geek. I watched the first two episodes on one evening and the last one on the next evening which gave me a chance to improve upon things I thought could be improved with my first pairing…
I was trying to create a feeling of nostalgia surrounding my first ever experience with this Geek – and that was rooted in watching the show when I was sick and drinking Gingerale. So, I started with a tea that I consider a really good “sick tea” and while it hit some of those nostalgia buttons, it didn’t totally work for me. The areas of opportunity, I thought, were that it needed to be a bit “punchier” and more flavourful to better reflect the saturated colours in the animation and break neck pacing of the TV show…
I stuck with Ginger, because touching on those nostalgic roots was important to me with this pairing. There are probably a dozen other teas in my stash that I could have picked with a punchier ginger flavour that would have fit the bill, but I went with this one because honestly I really like it/wanted the excuse to brew it up. It’s a peach ginger, which is a slightly different route – but it still has the ginger I wanted. Plus, it’s called Peach Zing and that seems like the PERFECT “comic book action word”. Y’know – like the words that go in the jagged bubble/circle whenever any type of action happens…
Spiderman punches Green Goblin? POW!
Hobgoblin blows up the podium Fisk is speaking at? BAM!
So, why not a Zing!?
It was honestly the perfect pairing – I got the right intensity/flavour level for the tone/style of the show but still capitalized on the nostalgia factor I wanted!
Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/
(FYI – usually Marika write the blog post for the week, but this time it was me!)
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/
Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website
DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast
If you want to get caught up on the Geek of The Week for next Thursday, the spoiler for our explored fandom is at the bottom of our latest DB post!
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.
Geek Steep S1E6 – Spiderman: The Animated Series
This is one of two teas that I paired with our Geek of The Week because, well, this is the first Geek we’ve done so far where I watched the episodes over multiple nights and thus got the chance to “do over” or “improve upon” my first pairing.
I wont give you the full background on why I chose this tea because I’ve gotta save something to get y’all listening to the episode – but the simple background is that I was trying to create a feeling of nostalgia surrounding my first ever time watching the animated series, and that sense of nostalgia is/was rooted around my binging the show while sick.
This is a go to sick tea for me – I love being able to just rip open a teabag, dump it in a mug and fill it up with boiling water and lemon/ginger is the sick tea flavour that I like the most. It just makes me feel comforted and secure, and it nice on both the throat and tummy. For all of those reasons, this sort of capitalized on the nostalgia that I wanted. It didn’t get me all the way there though, so I did my best to improve upon it with the next night’s pairing…
Really though, this whole week’s fandom was basically a nostalgia trip though!
Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/
(FYI – usually Marika write the blog post for the week, but this time it was me!)
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/
Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website
DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast
If you want to get caught up on the Geek of The Week for next Thursday, the spoiler for our explored fandom is at the bottom of our latest DB post!
GeekSteep S1E6 – Spiderman: The Animated Series
This is the tea that I drank during the recording for this week’s Geek Steep episode! While it’s not really a sappy episode in any way, this is probably one of the most “personal” episodes that we’ll ever do – it basically covers my introduction to Spiderman and how that became what is probably my all time favourite fandom. Certainly my favourite Super Hero, by a landslide. However, as you’ll discover if you listen to the episode, this is basically my “geek origin story” because not only was it my intro to Spiderman but it’s the first fandom that I ever was introduced to. Or, at least, the first my basically infant brain can remember…
There’s no deeper meaning for why I chose this tea for the recording. I pretty much just liked the clever word play of having a tea with “conversation” in the name to sip on while having a conversation. My chimp brain sometimes just gets amused by stuff like that.
Our Website: https://www.geeksteep.com/
(FYI – usually Marika write the blog post for the week, but this time it was me!)
Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geeksteep/
Listen to us on Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1286036/podcast/website
DB topic:
https://steepster.com/discuss/42133-geek-steep-a-new-tea-and-fandom-podcast
If you want to get caught up on the Geek of The Week for next Thursday, the spoiler for our explored fandom is at the bottom of our latest DB post!
Flavors: Berries, Black Currant, Blueberry, Jam, Roasted, Sweet
A share from VariaTEA – thank you!
This is alright; the mango flavouring is actually pretty nice. It’s distinctly mango and, while I know that not everyone feels the same way as I do, it has that mild pine-y/turpentine sort of note that I actually really appreciate in mango teas. If it weren’t for the green tea base, which tastes like lawn clippings to me, I think I’d be all over this blend.
Had this earlier in the day during a meeting, and to be totally honest I kept getting distracted in my meeting because the tea was sooo good! As soon as I opened the sample packed I knew it would be, because the aroma was so richly lemon curd, pastry, and cream cheese! The cream cheese was sort of shocking; to be honest I think the “cream cheese” part of 52Tea’s assorted “cream cheese danish” teas is typically the weakest part of the blend – and that’s not on them specifically, it’s just that that sort of sweet and creamy cheese with a “tangy” quality is soooo bloody challenging to capture in general. You see it all the time too with cheesecake blends that don’t taste like cheesecake, and its consistent across multiple vendors…
This was probably the best “cream cheese” I’ve experienced in a tea to date.
The lemon was excellent; fresh and sweet but with the acidity/high notes of a lemon curd type of pasty filling and it only made the cream cheese better. Honeybush as a base is brilliant; it lends the needed sweetness and nutty/graham style notes that work for pastry inspired dished. Everything just clicked, and I loved it.
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.
Coconut custard with vanilla, not vanilla with coconut custard.
This being more of a coconut blend than a vanilla blend is one of those weird tea hills that I’m willing to die on. It’s still tasty, though.
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.
Treating myself to some older Butiki blends from my stash!
I had this one yesterday afternoon, and though I oversteeped the tea leading to a pretty astringent cup the taste itself was good. Warming/woody cinnamon, hints of walnut, and a bit of banana creamyness/starchy quality over a really bready tasting black base. Should have sploshed in some milk to balance out the astringency but I didn’t think of it. Still a pleasant enough cup though!
I was really excited about this blend and the dry leaf visual is also SUPER cool looking but to be completely honest I was very underwhelmed by it when I tried it last night…
I’ve been trying to think of the kindest way to say it, but ultimately I think the best way is the most honest way and that’s that… it just tasted very stale. Really flat/muted and musty apple that’s not assisted in any way by the dull earthiness of the beet power that’s coating those apple pieces (even though they look bloody brilliant)! The cranberry is similar; tastes like the bag of Craisins that’s been sitting in your pantry for multiple years that you bought one day because you were going to “start being healthy” but then never finished. Doesn’t contribute much flavour at all.
Now, I believe this blend has zero flavouring in it – and that’s probably the root of the problem. It’s not that a tea needs flavouring to be good, but dried fruits rarely ACTUALLY contribute substantial flavouring to blends – they mostly look nice and sometimes work as good flavour carriers because they soak up flavouring like little sponges (depending on the fruit). A blend comprised only of dried fruits, though, is just trying to win and uphill battle.
