Another new one from the Wellness Wonders collection!
In terms of flavour this is probably my personal favourite of the new blends in this collection. Elderberry can be tricky to work with since it’s pretty pungent and intense and can sometimes come off as medicinal. However, during the development stage of this tea, people were so consistently surprised and impressed with how pleasant and approachable the tart yet jammy berry flavour was. Just a bit of tangy, acidic and bright hibiscus at the top of each sip before relaxing into a deeper, “purple berry” sort of flavour with a mild floral undertone from the elderflower. I know kombucha can be polarizing because of its vinegar-y funk, but I think this is just enough of a nod to that flavour to be accurate to the namesake without going full funk. It’s just refreshing and balanced!
In terms of function the stars here really are the two namesake ingredients: elderberry for immunity and kombucha powder for gut health/digestion. With how prominent an ingredient elderberry has become for its association with immunity I found it weird we didn’t have a tea where that was the star ingredient, so that was the initial spark of this blend.
Just because that was the initial inspiration doesn’t mean it’s not also just a delicious tea regardless of whether you care about functional benefits or not. I’ve been drinking this tea a lot but hot and iced. Mostly iced or cold brewed, if I’m being honest. It’s got a rich and refreshing flavour and great natural sweetness. I also avoided using ingredients like candied fruit and stevia. Without getting into the stevia debate, I know that both can be polarizing for different reasons – especially candied fruit when it comes to blends meant to support wellness. Since I really believe this tea can be a good fit for all different types of consumers, I really wanted to develop it without either – and I think it came out great!
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.
Congrats on the new collection and the milestone :)