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Gongfu!

Tried to have a nice & relaxing outdoor tea session last week but the weather wasn’t having it – so it was very windy and cold. The tea was still good though! VERY sweet liquor, eating early infusions, with syrupy red fruit notes at the top of the sip. The slips into more vegetal body and finishing flavours with fluctuations between floral and refreshing garden peas and more astringent collard greens. This might be my favourite from this year’s Spring puerh ‘dragonball’ sampler – that I’ve tried so far, anyway…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CF7HqmNAnaO/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEzWKjdqRBA&ab_channel=ZellaDayVEVO

Sipped this last week, while enjoying some tea outside before the weather makes that completely not doable for the next few months…

This is a really beautiful looking Bai Hao Yin Zhen with fat, very downy buds and accents of mixed red berries; it steeps quite gentle with delicate notes of honeysuckle, peach skins, and red fruits – emphasis on the raspberry! Lovely cup enjoyed while befriending butterflies! I know Silver Needle is a more expensive tea base to work with, but I would love to see more of it from 52Teas in the future if at all possible…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CF5P75rATR5/

(I’m really happy with the second phone! The was some quick timing on my part to snap that one, if I don’t say so myself…)

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfldciwnHG8&ab_channel=DavidDeanBurkhart

Sipdown (1117)!

Finished this off at work today; it was alright but it still tastes eerily like Whipped Cream Vodka to me and that’s just not really a flavour that I feel like I need in my life right now. Maybe five years ago. It’s not a bad tea, though! I’m just passed the whipped cream vodka stage of like now, y’know?

(I also felt weird drinking it at work, even though I know there’s no alcohol in it…)

Cold Brew Sipdown (1118)!

Feels good to get another sample out of my cupboard, though this is one that I did enjoy having around for a non-fruity cold brewing option. I’m really happy that I realized so soon that cold brewing this blend was the sweet spot; if I had continued to drink it as a hot tea it would have been alright but definitely not nearly as enjoyable. It’s got some lovely vanilla fondant type notes that just work better for me chilled; somehow less doughy…

Cold brew!

I’m a little bit sad that neither Sil nor VariaTEA found this tasted much like pear to them; but not too sad because that just means I get to keep hoarding this stupidly expensive scam company tea all for myself, haha. I made this brew a while back after reading Sil’s review, and I enjoyed it a lot. I definitely think it tastes like pear to me, but it’s a very distinct sort of sweet golden pear that simultaneously has fresh, juicy notes but also that more “poached pear” bake-y quality too. The honey leans into the fresh fruit, while the rooibos works with the poached elements I’m getting.

Yum.

Saved the best for last!

Of the three new iced tea from Wize Monkey, this is the only one that’s not a parallel of a LLT they carry in their line up – at first I was disappointed that there was no Strawberry Hibiscus iced tea, but reflecting on it I think it was smart to do something that was unique to the line up because it meant that (unlike the other two) there wasn’t anything for people to directly compare this to. That gave it the breathing room to just be its own thing!

Grapefruit can be tricky – a lot of the time it’s bitter/pithy and people are typically SUPER averse to that, but when it’s right it is soooo right and this is right! It’s an incredibly fresh and bright feeling pink grapefruit flavour that immediately hooked me in from the first sip. Like the mango version, it does not comprise the bulk of the flavour – that is still the coffee leaf, which is excellent. However, this hits different because the flavour seems weighted towards the top of the sip so you start with this lively and joyful note of sweet and crisp pink grapefruit and this you move into the mellower, grounded coffee leaf that finishes clean and refreshing. I could drink pitcherfuls of this in the summer and still not feel bogged down – I’m sure of it!

And now I also selfishly was a pink grapefruit LLT version, haha!

I think Mango Party is the first coffee leaf tea I ever tried and also probably the one that I’ve drunk the most of – so while it’s not my favourite tea that the Wize Monkey team has put out, it is the one I’m the most familiar with…

Admittedly, when I found out Wize Monkey was going to be releasing an iced tea line up, I definitely was excited by the idea of their Strawberry Hibiscus blend being adapted. Mango Party makes a lot of sense too – especially considering Mango Party has been the tea of choice for things like their Coffee Leaf beer collaborations. Of course, an RTD version of a LLT is never going to taste exactly like the LLT and you can’t expect it to. So I was keeping my expectations very neutral for this flavour. It is my least favourite of the three, but when all three taste amazing that’s not saying much! What I didn’t expect from it was for me to actually PREFER it to the Mango Party LLT…

It’s such a nice balance, where the coffee leaf is still the most dominant flavour but it’s just complimented with this delicate kiss of natural, ripe mango. Not sticky and lingering in the mouth, or cloying – but just a nice flavour accent to an already delicious base flavour. So many RTDs try to hide the base tea with flavour, and I so appreciate Wize Monkey not doing that because the coffee leaf is GOOD and deserves to be celebrated!

Earlier this summer I got the chance to try the three new Wize Monkey “iced tea” RTDs that they launched this year – and y’all know that I love Wize Monkey so I was chomping at the bit to see what they would be like!

Spoiler – they’re all good!

This is basically exactly what I wanted from a pure coffee leaf RTD – it’s super refreshing and natural with that really distinct coffee leaf flavour that’s sort of hard to describe; like a mix of the best parts of green tea, slightly roasted yerba mate or guayusa, and a nutty bready kind of note. It’s definitely not a sweet/sugary drink, which leans in hard to that natural feeling and makes it something you can easily drink for enjoyment or hydration on a hot summer day and not feel gross about after you’ve finished the can.

While it’s not my favourite of the three new RTDs they released, it’s an amazing representation of what coffee leaf can be and – having met Max & Arnaud, the two brains behind this awesome company, I’m honestly just so happy for both of them! This was super good!

This is the other new Halloween tea and another gummy candy feature!

I know some people have found this flavour to be a little weird for Halloween but it just feeds perfectly into this idea of nostalgic childhood Halloween’s for me – I elaborated more in my initial note of Strawbearry Gummy, if anyone reading this in the future is curious what I mean by that.

Of the two new teas this year, I prefer this one over the Strawbearry Gummy. There are a million strawberry teas out there, and I just personally am more intrigued (almost always) by teas that are a little more weird/out there and less commonly found. I mean, this is by far not a unique tea in the sense that it’s the first cola tea I’ve had. I currently own other cola blends from other companies and, heck, DT has even had another cola blend before – Cherry Cola.

This tea is actually also loosely based around a cherry cola flavour, but more emphasis on the cola and less on the cherry. To be honest, the “OG” Cherry Cola may actually be the worst tea I’ve ever tried from DT so for me this blend tastes like sweet, sweet redemption more than anything else. Also a lot like cola though, obviously. When you brew it hot, more acidity comes out of the hibiscus during infusion and they slight cherry cola flavour becomes more evident. Steeped iced, it’s more of a pure cola flavour.

The cola comes from the combination of citrus and spices, something I’ve talked about in other cola tea blends before. You can even recreate a messy/loose cola flavoured tea at home by mixing a more cinnamon heavy Chai blend with a more acidic lime one, if you have both flavour profiles in your stash. It’s obviously supported, though, through the cola flavouring and gummy candies in the blend. Honestly though you can pick out the gummies and it’s still going to taste like coke. I also appreciate the subtle inclusion of vanilla, which is a nice “tethering” flavour!

Compared to the Strawbearry blend, there are a lot less gummies in this blend – maybe two or three for your average 50g pouch? You can pick them out if you want, though they’re pretty tough so eating them might not be the most advisable. I’ve certainly tried – I kind of eat everything in my tea, at least once. Since they’re much larger than the gummy bears, they definitely don’t dissolve as easily so you kind of have to commit to a longer steep time or I would recommend using a fill your own tea bag to prevent steeper clogging or just washing your steeper immediately after brewing before they have a chance to re-solidify.

I know this is definitely going to be a polarizing tea blend but if you like cola flavours at all then I think it’s one worth checking out!

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFr_zndg3sA/

I drank this one as part of #SeptemberSipdown on the dessert tea themed day. Is cola a dessert tea!? I don’t know – but it gave me an excuse to take this pretty picture and highlight one of my all time favourite Halloween mug designs!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, and I really wanted to because I’ve seen a lot of people assume this, the gummy candies in this blend don’t come from Squish! I think it’s completely fair people are assuming so, since the Strawbearry Gummy bears do but this one does not!

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.

New Halloween teas!

My turnaround time for tasting notes from new tea launches is usually a little bit better than this, but I guess sometimes life is just busy and things take time! The two new teas for this Halloween are joined by a few returning favourites, like Stormy Night, but as always my focus is on the NEW blends because I already have tasting notes for the other teas.

I don’t really know how much there is to say for this year’s collection, honestly. Both teas are themed around different types of gummy candies – in this case gummy bears – and I feel like it’s a really fun return to the childhood roots of Halloween. Y’know, trick or treating as a small child and getting massive pillow cases full little snack sizes of your favourite candies and chocolate bars and, if you were really lucky, occasionally scoring full size candy bars and cans of soda! Normally I don’t love candy in tea, but for a Halloween collection I’m actually really into the idea! I think it’s perfectly on theme and, to be honest, sort of a direct response to a lot of the feedback from last year’s collection which was that it was “too serious” or “too wellness focused” and just not fun enough…

As long time Steepster friends know, I fucking love Halloween! The first year after I moved out of my parent’s house I went FULL BLOWN crazy for Halloween and decked out my front yard with TONS of decorations and was the house on my block that gave away full size candy bars, cans of pop, and handfuls of candy. You came to my house and you left with a bag a few pounds heavier than when you arrived. In the years since, I haven’t been able to go as all out because I’ve lived in condo or apartment buildings & there’s no one trick or treating in them. So this is nostalgic for me, big time.

As far as the taste of the tea goes – it’s really straight forward, honestly. Very sweet and flavourful juicy strawberry with a hint of tartness from the apple and hibiscus that support the flavour profile. Think Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait, minus the rhubarb and the parfait. The flavour will have some VERY SLIGHT variation depending on the gummy bears you get in the cup because they all have their own unique flavour – my favourite ones are the blue ones and the yellow. The yellow has a sort of banana flavour and I’ve dreamed of DT having a strawberry banana tea for ages now so I’ve definitely loaded up yellow bears into a steeped to try and achieve that flavour profile. It kind of works.

I guess the only things left to say are sort of the two main questions I’ve seen since this collection launched: the first is how many gummies are in the tea and the second is whether they clog the steeped/don’t dissolve well.

To answer the first, I think there’s a fairy substantial amount in this blend. Easily enough, if you get a 50g bag, for there to be one in each spoon of tea. I don’t know if this is just luck of the draw with the bag that I have, but I’ve noticed more red gummy bears than any other colour. They should be evenly dispersed throughout the bag though!? I guess that does sometimes happen with bags of candy though where you randomly get more of one colour than the others.

To answer the second, the gummy bears dissolve pretty well – especially if you tack on a couple extra minutes of steep time. However, if you want to be extra cautious I would just advise steeping in a fill your own sachet or washing your steeper of choice immediately after brewing. If they don’t melt entirely and then re-solidify it’s a pretty big pain cleaning them out after.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that this blend uses gummies from Squish!

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.