New Tasting Notes
Iced!
Doubled up on the stick packs once again to be able to make a very large tumbler worth of this. I’m getting quite close once again to finishing it off, and now I have to decide whether I want to repurchase for a third time. The tangy, deep red flavour of the pomegranate and punch of ACV is so satisfying and I feel like I always am in a better mood after finishing a cup of this off. Plus, I do really like having it as a probiotic source.
Just… so expensive.
I got an order from Volition earlier this week with Qing Snake (their lunar new year tea) and their third gin barrel aged white, and this was included as a small sample with the order! I’m not sure when I’ll be ordering from them again because, even though I adore their teas, the shipping amount to Canada is about as expensive as the teas themselves and with the impending tariff situation I feel like it might get worse…
So, all that said, it was nice to get a little bit of a top of for my tin of this tea, which I already owned from buying the whole Trapped In Amber series last year. I made a mug Western-style for my commute home from work yesterday. I have to say that, while this probably is a tea better brewed gongfu, there was something deeply satisfying about sipping on the smooth vanilla, maple, and oak-y flavours of this brew while trudging through feet worth of snow on the streets. A cup of something hot with a little bit of whisky is in a lot of ways exactly what you want to come home to after such an extreme Canadian cold, but having that comfort during the commute? Yeah, very nice for the soul.
If anyone remember the older ceramic latte mugs from DT (like, the 30-ish ounce ones), I have one of those in my office at the tea lab and I’ve been using it quite a lot lately to make a big amount of one tea at a time when I know I won’t have a chance to get up and make another mug for a while…
I ended up doing that with this one earlier in the week, but primarily because I wanted to pick out a tea I’d like to finish off sooner rather than later. This is a fine blend overall with a thicker kind of cream note and a bit of sweet almond alongside (primarily) cardamom. Maybe a few other spices, too. However, it’s probably one of the more underwhelming blends I have from Magic Hour and something about the mouthfeel kind of bugs me in a way I struggle to describe.
It made for a fine tasting cup, but I was mostly just glad to have finished a large chunk of the bag off. Not quite a sipdown – but soon, I think!
Sipdown (2791)!
For the most part I’ve finished off these samples from the Plum Deluxe advent, but I have a small amount of straggler samples that I want to focus on finishing off. I vaguely remember being somewhat unimpressed by this tea when I first tried it, but I thought this mug was pretty solid! Not mind blowing, but smooth with a gentle roast and minerality from the oolong that suited the sweeter marzipan-like nuttiness of the almond and the sort of creamy undertones and finish. At times it gave cherry, as almond is want to do, and I didn’t mind that at all.
Cold Brew!
I drank so much of this on Thursday. Someone recently gave me what is essentially one of the big Stanley Cups (but not Stanley brand) and I’m honestly not super sure how I feel about it. I decided to make this cold brew in it to give me something to drink throughout the afternoon while I was working and turns out that 40oz of one tea is just a lot. Maybe too much?? I mean, I adore the smooth and buttery coconut notes of this oolong on its more delicate, floral base. Like, a lot. But I was prettttyyyy sick of it by the time I’d finished it off.
I’m gonna give it another go or two, but right now I’m not suuupppeerrrr sold on the vessel. Maybe I just need to try it with a different flavour direction of 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.
Speaking of big insulated metal mugs… I just have to admit, whether drinking tea or coffee (or frozen daiquiri), I don’t enjoy the beverage as much from metal as I do from porcelain (or glass). It’s probably in large part to do with how the vessel feels in my hand, but somehow I feel it just tastes better. I don’t know why. Do you think a similar effect may be at play here? I mean, long ago I began to simply refuse martinis unless presented in a stemmed martini glass! The experience matters to me.
I’m drinking it Western style today in a big ol’ mug, and it’s been interesting. A little bit of a lighter body than expected, with top notes a little on the more dark and fruity side but with a bit of molasses in the mix, too. Raisins, dates, fig jam, and jujube. The body is smooth almost to a fault, with clean earthy notes and a woodiness that makes me think of the pine-y sawdust smell of my grandfather’s workshop. It’s not bad at all, but I am finding it just a little bit flat. The fruit could be richer or more syrupy, and the earth and wood notes more dank or mineral-rich. Instead, everything comes off a touch too polished. Perhaps it’s the brewing method, or maybe it needs to keep chilling for a while before it’ll come into its own. For right now, though, this ripe pu’erh is really just leaving me rather “whelmed” feeling. Has anyone else tried this? What were your thoughts?
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGRRdTaSmlF/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1MzpV1XcI&ab_channel=IndiETrap
Gongfu!
I’ve been really into Taiwanese teas lately, and Ruby-18 was one of the first styles of black tea I truly fell in love with, so it’s been especially nice surrounding myself with them as of late. This is an exceptionally smooth and full-bodied one that practically feels like it’s dripping with that hallmark refreshing and ever so slightly cooling wintergreen note. It makes for such a round, mouth-coating brewing experience with carefully interlocked notes of sweet malty breads, candied yams, lush but darkly sweet red fruits, and just a hint of carob after the initial wintergreen passes. I do very much love though that, because of the lightly cooling menthol finish, you really get this sort of “wintergreen sandwich” that bookends the sip. I’ve purchased from Cha Gloriette the last few years, though usually oolongs. This is the first black tea of theirs to make it home with me, and I am nothing short of impressed!
Also, I know I’ve had a lot of TO Tea Fest posts lately, but I’m really committed to sipping my way through everything I picked up, which was, frankly, a lot! So thank y’all for coming along on the post-festival tea review journey!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGT6vb8yrsT/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHtkrEwk8ps&ab_channel=ToneTreeMusic
Gongfu!
Such a soft, silky mouthfeel with a flavour that sits on the line between creamy fresh churned butter, White Rabbit candy, and coconut milk and more cooling, crisp cucumber pulp and skins. With a bit of age on it now, I find this brews up with a bit more body and some deeper, slightly brown sugar tinged peachy and nectarine-like stonefruit notes in the mid sip. It’s still that irresistibly smooth and milky flavour that stays with you post swallow, though, and makes for such a calm way to ease into the day. But seriously, how has it been four years already!? It feels like just a few months ago that this white tea was pressed…
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DGWhDJ3SSQy/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrkAfTz2iYk&ab_channel=CoolBand
2024 Advent Calendar #9
Hmmm looks like my prior tasting note didn’t save. Bummer.
I was kind of surprised that when I took the sachet out of the pouch it smelled of apples. My nose may have been playing tricks on me as there’s no apples in this blend. It is a mildly floral black tea. I don’t believe I’ve had catnip in my tea before. I wish I had woken up sooner to enjoy a bit of tea meditation but alas the rest of the family is up and they are never quiet. Enjoyed this mug but not on the must buy list
Flavors: Apple, Floral
Preparation
Cha Cha Tea is a little tea shop in Kingston, Ontario, run by a lovely Japanese lady (Kaoru Sato Miller). Most of what she sells is from Metropolitan Tea Co, but she does have a small collection of fresh Japanese green teas that she orders in directly from a Japanese tea garden. So this is one of those.
The dry leaf is gorgeous. The tea leaves are small, thin, a bit broken, and dark green. There is a generous amount of brown roasted rice. The scent of the dry leaf is sweet and fresh. After the hot water hits it, that’s when you get all the toasty aroma (I turned away to do something else while it was steeping, and suddenly noticed the toasty scent several steps away from where my mug was sitting on the counter).
Now. The brewing method listed on the package is as follows:
“Use 1 1/2 – 2 tsp/6oz cup. Pour boiling water. Steep for 1 min. Can be reinfused 2-3 times consecutively.”
I like to brew my tea in a 300ml mug with a brewing basket. I measured two “tea spoons” (the kind that actually hold 1.5 tsp) into the basket and that came out to 12g, which seemed like plenty, so that’s what I went with. Brewing green tea with boiling water is a bit taboo, but it totally works for this tea. I’ve done two steepings so far, first for 1min, second for 2min. The leaf expanded to half-fill my brewing basket after the first steeping and about 3/4 full after the second, so I don’t think I’ll try leafing any more heavily, at least not with this brewing method.
The tea liquor is golden in colour and has a light toasty/grassy aroma. The flavour is very smooth, almost no bitterness or astringency. The toasted rice flavours are nicely balanced with the sencha, which is grassy and vegetal, almost spinach-like. Very warm and comforting. Definitely recommend.
Flavors: Grass, Spinach, Toasted Rice, Vegetal
Preparation
The moment you open the package you know this one is a big-time winner. The grind is so fine the the electrostatic properties are super strong! When I opened the package the matcha went poof. And not wanting to waste any of the fine powder I, looking like an idiot in hindsight, started trying to lick the air. ^^;
Feel: So smooth it is almost like you aren’t touching it.
Aroma: The newest grass shoots. Sweetgrass. Bits of umami. Fresh grated, cold, high-quality parmesan cheese. If you don’t believe me go pull parmesan out of the fridge and grate it.
Color: Amazing. Vibrant green. Shamrock. Wow.
Flavor: SO FRESH! Some might call this bland because of the lack of facial punch you receive like some matcha but I quite enjoy the incredibly subtle notes this holds. Also I highly enjoy that the marine attributes slowly sneak up if you sip it longer.
Mouthfeel: Air. It’s like sipping air. Liquid air? That sounds weird but it’s the freshest air with spring qualities added. It’s so smooth it’s like the purest water with the essence of pure ocean water. As you let it settle a bit more on your palate the marine attributes come out more.
2025 sipdown no. 7
Thanks Martin for sending this!
I had the first two cups of this at home and found it to be floral-bitter, like a lower quality Darjeeling perhaps. The last two cups I had at work and found it to be milky in taste. Neither version was for me!
I tried boiling and 200°F at both 3 minutes and 2.5 minutes.
