DAVIDsTEA

Ashmanra’s Sipdown Challenge | February 2023 | An afternoon tea

I’m drinking this tea in the afternoon, therefore it is an afternoon tea! Faultless logic! XD

This is one of those days that is not REALLY cold at all, but because it’s grey and damp, the mid-40s temperature just feels kind of nasty. I’ve been chilled all day long!

This was today’s afternoon green tea of choice. I’m enjoying it alongside some dried (unsweetened) mango slices, which I consider the food of the gods. It’s a pleasant pairing.

I stand by my comments and rating from last time!

2023 sipdown count: 19/75

Advent Calendar from Kaylee: Day 9

Pure marzipan on a grassy green base — I’m always on board with sweet almond flavors, so this is right up my alley! It’s not sophisticated but it gets the job done.

The green base is getting a littttle bitter as it cools, but otherwise I have no real complaints here.

This was a lovely surprise win for me. I expected just another mint tea, but it’s richer, with some depth going on.

The mint is more forward than the other flavors. Aside from the color, I wouldn’t have even guessed a black tea base. But the aftertaste of ginger and the lingering peppery flavor are what’s really selling me here. I’m sad this one is gone because I want to play with it more.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 9

As if I don’t have enough advent calendars, I decided to pick up DT’s herbal advent when they had it heavily discounted recently. So I’m adding it to the rotation! The butterscotch chai is Day 1.

I had this both straight and as a latte. While I enjoyed it both ways, I think this is a particularly indulgent blend made all the more so in latte form. There’s a lot of sugar in the blend, but it’s hard to complain when it’s so effective. I wouldn’t have picked this up on my own because of the stevia in the ingredients, but I thankfully don’t really notice it in the brew. What I do taste is butterscotch. Very butterscotch, not very chai, but the butterscotch is so good that I don’t really feel like I’m missing the spices. Making it a latte helps here, because then it leans more towards being almost like a very subtly spiced butterscotch gingerbread cookie.

I took a peek at some of the other tasting notes before posting this, and it might be helpful to flag that I was really careful every time to get a little bit of everything into the steeper (there’s big bits and little bits in the blend, and they naturally tend to separate). I also erred on the side of longer-than-recommended steeps. So it might be less enjoyable with shorter steeps or if it’s not a perfectly balanced scoop.

I had such an intense migraine pretty much all day yesterday and I spent most of the day curdled up in bed with the covers over my head. However, I did at one point steep up a mug of this cup because I thought the caffeine and cooling mint combo might offer some temporary relief. It was a very nice, soothing cup of tea and the menthol of the mint and cardamom did actually make me feel a lot less tense/stressed. Didn’t get rid of the headache, but was a solid enough choice for some short term relief.

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.

I had a migraine for most of the weekend which was miserable as all get out. One of the few things that was helping me relax with mint teas. Mostly straight peppermint, but eventually I ended up deciding some caffeine was probably in my best interest and that’s when I pulled this tea out. The combo of all the different camphorous, menthol heavy ingredients did actually help and I felt some relief while enjoying this blend. Maybe that’s placebo from knowing this tea is meant to emulate fresh mountain air or maybe it was the caffeine. A combo of several factors, perhaps? Not complaining either way.

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.

Cold Brew!

Usually I drink this tea hot, but I had a particular craving for something crisp and cool on the afternoon I brewed this up. It definitely delivered. This method draws out a lot of those cooling camphor/menthol notes from the mint and cardamom and it really exaggerates that sensation of fresh mountain air that inspired this tea. The ginger and black pepper also seemed a little lighter, which made the mint more of a focal point without totally sacrificing the depth that those ingredients add to the blend.

I will definitely have to remember that this works so well as a cold brew for future times drinking it – I feel like it was so refreshing that I practically chugged the 24 ounces I’d infused!

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.

Adventaggedon Day Nine – 1/5

Today was another tea in this advent that I was just dying to get to! I was actually really surprised that it was so early on given that La Vida Coco, which is the other advent exclusive tea, was only a few days ago. As may be evidenced by the tea name, this one was inspired by Nepal!

The idea behind this tea was to bring together different ingredients with crisp, cooling and more camphorous notes (like the peppermint and the cardamom) to create a profile that was the taste equivalent of breathing in really fresh and chilling mountain air on a cool Spring morning. Obviously I’ve never climbed Mount Everest and I don’t even really hike, but the few occasions where I have done a short mountain climb the best part is always getting to the top and breathing what feels like the purest and more satisfying kind of air while taking in the view. So this is, in some ways, my love letter to that feeling.

I did, however, want to make sure that there was a deeper connection to Nepal than just a clever name – so the black tea base is actually sourced from Nepal. It’s not the same tea as our Nepal Black (which was earlier in the Advent, and comes from Jun Chiyabari) but it’s similar in the sense that both teas are very full bodied/robust yet super smooth. I think it’s a really great canvas for the peppermint, cardamom, and hints of ginger and black pepper.

This was actually one of my earliest tea concepts and, when I first started bouncing the idea around in my head, it was actually more of a Chai. It obviously morphed a little bit over time to what the final blend ended up being, but I’m very happy with it. Also, this is a flavouring free blend which is pretty cool too!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl9pKW2Oh2i/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2JSCXN2zbo

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.

A strong win for me two days in a row on this calendar, and I’m quite pleased! This tea was a hit with me and with my partner, who took the rest of the leaf for a couple mugs of his own. We each steeped twice. I love that this is a mild vegetal flavor with no bitterness and a hint of something toasty. Both rounds were lovely, though the second was perhaps even lighter. I wouldn’t call it floral – that was something that genuinely surprised me in the description – but certainly fresh, and smooth as well. We’ll need to grab more of this.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 8

Day 8 of 24 Days of Matcha Advent Calendar. I have tried Blueberry Matcha before and I like it. David’s Teas Matcha’s are usually too sweet for me so I only used three spoons. I decided to make this matcha as a smoothie with oat milk, a banana, blueberries, blackberries and ice. Delicious this way. I like using extra creamy oat milk it gives it a creamy desert feeling. I still have one more serving in my small packet. I would buy this matcha again but I have a lot of matcha’s to finish first.

Been enjoying cups of this on occasion, but realized that the roommates have found it recently and are drinking it down. I did buy it with them in mind, but if I want more cups of this I need to drink it soon. Like tonight. It has such a nice fruity and sweet watermelon flavor to it! Great for when you want something sweet to sip on.

In other tea related happenings… we got a 3D printer recently and have been printing up a storm! I had been thinking for a while that I needed to design a caddy to hold the lids and steepers to my David’s tea mugs and I finally got around to it the other day. I’m super happy with the way it turned out and now my counter is tidier! I posted pictures of it on my IG. https://www.instagram.com/p/C2BxofMORL9/?img_index=1

I love the name of this tea, even if the two things don’t seem to go together. I don’t think I’ve ever thought of witches and then thought watermelon or vice versa. This cup is like drinking watermelon bubblegum. Or maybe drinking water in the first five minutes of chewing a piece of watermelon bubblegum. Watermelon Bubblegum would be a more fitting name, but that would have zero to do with Halloween aka the best holiday ever. I’m surprised that this is so fruity and doesn’t really fade into a sour finish like a lot of over fruit tisanes do. It pretty much stays the same flavor, just more faint in the finish. I kinda want to tell my tiny roommates about this blend, but then they are going to suck it all down and I’ll never get another cup. What to do, what to do.

One week in! This is absolutely my favorite from this advent calendar so far. I only learned about genmaicha last year, but I find it delightful and will need to get some into my stash.

At a 3 minute steep, this is just the right amount of toasted rice flavor; I can still get the green tea underneath while enjoying the warm toastiness most of all. This cup makes me feel both cozy and refreshed, which is a fun balance (and nothing feels cloying or lingers too long).

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 7

Cold Brew!

Trying to finish this one off before the coconut gets funky – thankfully it’s not there yet. Incredibly coconut forward profile but in a really buttery sort of water with the crisp, coconut water kind of edge to it. Light notes of red fruit mingle in with the rest, giving a loosely fruit punch inspired edge to this mellow, light and refreshing tea.

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.

Started my morning today with a mug of this! I’ve been getting really into beginning my day with a morning cup of mate – I just wish I had a few more options in my stash. If anyone has an recommendations for good yerba mate blends or companies that have a bunch of mate options I am all ears!

This one was a little more coconut forward than it usually is, but in a pretty delicious way. Still lighter and more mellow red fruit punch type notes but as a secondary flavour to a smooth, fresh coconut with a smidge of creaminess as well. Like a tiki drink shaken up with coconut cream liqueur instead of just the regular coconut water vibe I typically get.

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.

Iced!

Made this one at the office today as a refreshing little afternoon pick me up! I added an extra scoopity scoop of tea so make it a little bit punchier and even more fruit punch-like in taste (also bonus extra caffeine). Still plenty refreshing coconut, though! Definitely very thirst quenching. It was snowing so hard here today so it felt a little weird to be channeling more of a tiki vibe kind of mood, but I still appreciated the cuppa.

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.

Adventaggedon Day Six – 1/5

Cold Brew!

There are a lot of teas included in this advent that I’ve been excited to hear people’s reviews for, but this one in particular I’ve been really on the edge of my seat about. Why? Well, it’s actually exclusive to the Around The World advent!

The part of the world that this tea represents is Puerto Rico and, if you got the Ricky Martin reference in the name, that may have been a little obvious to you. When we’re working on new teas in R&D, not every tea starts with a final name in mind. Sometimes we start with a flavour or a mood and the name comes much later. That was kind of the case with this tea, where we wanted to convey something light and refreshing with sort of tiki drink or “cocktail you drink out of a coconut” vibes. Personally, I think we really nailed that last part. I was definitely listening to a lot of Ricky Martin when I came up with this name though, haha!

In terms of flavour, I think I would probably best describe this as coconut water meets nostalgic Hawaiian fruit punch. That sort of tropical red fruit note, if you will. Definitely more light and refreshing (and heavier on the coconut), and not the same level of saturated juiciness that the real 80s/90s Fruit Punch has. There’s also a little hibiscus in the blend but I wouldn’t compare this to our more overly hibiscus forward fruit blends like Hibiscus Splash or Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait. What I really like is that this blend doesn’t shy away from the yerba mate base, either. It’s definitely distinct and that clean, sweet grassy note adds to the more “mature” adult fruit punch/coconut water mood. I love it cold brewed or over ice.

I know I’m heavily biased, especially because organic blends are so much harder to develop, but this really was my favourite advent tea today.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl16y9KOY7N/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p47fEXGabaY

I mean, is there anything else to pick music wise!?

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.

I actually prefer the regular EG matcha, which isn’t what I was expecting. I think the cream flavoring was maybe a little artificial, and since it was there, I didn’t get quite as much bergamot deliciousness. The second time I had this, I tasted a lot more bergamot, and I didn’t notice the artificial flavor from before. I noticed a hole in this packet from the 2022 matcha advent calendar, so I had to go ahead and make it. The inside of the calendar was quite coated in a matcha mess. Two other matcha packages had burst open, so I had to throw the calendar away to avoid spreading the mess. I look forward to trying the many new matcha flavors anyway!

Let’s start this by saying that coconut and I are not friends. It’s close to a number one flavor to avoid for me, though I’m trying to remain open-minded about all the teas I approach here.

The dry scent was herbal, and I got something a little spicy. After a 4 minute steep, all I smell is coconut. When sipping, I do get fruit up front first – apple, and hibiscus comes through as well. But the aftertaste is once again all coconut.

I wouldn’t say it’s a bad tea if you’re okay with a coconut flavor, so it’s not a “not recommended” or anything. But I’m going to avoid it in the future for sure, assuming it is something that is or will be available outside the calendar.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 6

I’m resteeping the next day and I’m finding it a much better cup! The weird coconut soap in two quick sips thing is gone and the flavors seem more prominent. Cinnamon is the first thing I notice, but I get clear fortune cookie taste right behind it. It’s a more delicate flavor than what I normally go for in my teas, but I’m enjoying it much more today. Need to figure out how to get the results of this cup in my first steeping.

My advent tea is a honeybush, so I’m saving it for later and breaking into some of the tea from my latest order that just arrived.
It smells great in the bag. I notice big chunks of curled cinnamon bark in the mix and made sure one of them made it into my steeping basket. It’s a little hard to pick out the flavors when my cup is hot. It seems like the flavors are very light and delicate with a prominent sweetness that I have mixed feelings about. As it cools I get hints of what I’d call fortune cookie with some cinnamon. Every time I take two sips close together the second one ended up tasting more like the soapiness that coconut gets as it ages which doesn’t make sense since this is a brand new bag. The flavors are still really faint as it cools and leaves me searching for cookies and chai. I was expecting the flavors to be more bold with chai in the name. It indicates powerful spices in my mind. I’m not hating this, but I’m not loving it at the moment either.

I wrote this yesterday and forgot to post it – oops.

I’m learning from past mistakes and starting to steep these straight teas on the short end of their recommended timing, so this one was 200 at 3 minutes. I was startled by how the water turned immediately deep brown as I poured – very pour-over coffee vibes. Definitely could have gotten away with less leaf.

It’s a strong, black tea. I got astringency and bitterness right up front. I’ve been sipping while reading other tasting notes, trying to figure out where I might notice “malt” or “honey”, but it’s just – black tea to me. While it reminds me visually of coffee and definitely has that acidity in the flavor profile, it’s otherwise tea all the way.

I feel like this has more potential for me as an iced tea; I want something stronger for a black iced tea before I dilute with ice and fruit and other flavors. I was too cold today to try it that way though, and hot it’s just not working for me.

DAVIDsTEA Around the World Advent, Day 5