Exotica

I made my own pad see ew for dinner last night (which I had again tonight and will make again tomorrow as I’m OBSESSED) so this is really reminding me of Thai…especially of tom kha gai soup. And some spiced cookies. And an orange with cloves in it. Jeez, this tea is complex.

I love love love companies that give out samples because I really would never think to try this.

It’s very lemongrass tasting, of course, but it’s actually sweeter than I thought it would be. I had a massive chunk of pineapple for this cup, so that probably helped…and I also ate it as soon as I was done steeping.

I don’t even know how to describe this but I really enjoy it. After the citrusy taste, there’s spice, there’s fruity sweetness, it’s just really kind of awesome. Who knew!

I DEFINITELY do not need anymore tea right now but one day…one day I will get more of this.

I have had Exotica twice now (does that sound dirty, because I really didn’t mean that). Anyway, I purchased some samplers last month and immediately became a little leary – there are peppercorns in it. I hate pepper in my tea. The only think I loath more is licorice root! So I went really easy with the sample and cold brewed it hoping the pepper wouldn’t be noticeable. It steeped in the fridge for 24 hours and it produced a very light but refreshing sweet lemony water, without the acid lemons will give you. No trace of pepper from what I could tell. Having done this, I knew I’d love it brewed the traditional way.

So my latest DT order arrived at my door today and in less than a week. YAY! I’m becoming more and more of a fan of this company! :) I bought 100 grams of this because if nothing else I can cold brew it and really increase my water intake, something I’m really bad at despite all the tea I drink.

I brewed 1.5 tsp of tisane in about 6 oz of boiling water for just over 7 minutes. I tried a sip of it while hot and it was very lemony! Again no pepper detected. :) Put in a couple rock sugar pieces a few ice cubes and it’s pretty awesome! I may have to rethink my disdain for pepper – at least pink peppercorns, let’s not get ahead of ourselves now…

I’m really glad I got the extra pouch because I’ll be having this year-round!

So for the last little while I’ve been relying heavily on my herbals. They really aren’t the same as my camellia sinensis teas but this one, well this one is special! It doesn’t give me that good tea glow afterwards but I do have a few moments of pure tea bliss when first sipping it and then some very satisfying ones after!
The nutty, spicy, coconutty flavours gel so well together I can hardly tell where one ends and the other begins.
Ok, well except for the nut part, I can definitely see that, but otherwise it’s seamless!
I think I may even buy some more once my caffeine free days are over.
Oh, one other thing- I’ve been having trouble finding the right time to have this one regularly. If you drink certain teas at certain times… this is a tricky one.
I feel odd drinking a savoury tea like this before bed, or with dinner and it’s just as wrong somehow as a morning tea. Right after lunch is the worst- when I’ve just eaten so I’m full but the tea makes me think of thai food so… yeah that doesn’t work! There is a midmorning period where I find it’s ok. shrugs

David’s Tea is quickly becoming my favorite online tea retailer. I’m pretty sure if there was a store nearby I’d visit every day, and drop hundreds, if not thousands, there!

This was a sample in my most recent order. I brewed it up last night, and added honey, as I’m battling a cold (already?!). This flavor is amazing! You can taste the spices and coconut flavor, which is unique and fun. I bet this is beyond delicious iced, but I finished up the sample last night when I brewed a larger pot of it, with the intention of sharing it with my husband…and promptly finishing it myself. Don’t tell. ;)

I will be ordering this one when I place the order for the fall collection.

Bottom line: LOVE IT! :)

I’m almost out of this tea and that makes me a sad panda.

I didn’t think a coldbrew would work very well with the ingredients in this tea, but I was VERY happily surprised! The coconut flavour comes out HUGE in a coldbrew, and that’s my favorite :D

No soapiness at all, which I sometime get with this tea :( (cardamom’s fault? I dunno!)
So yes, very enjoyable and refreshing!

Thank you TheTeaFairy for this Sample

TheTeaFairy wrote a note on this sample that said “very good and refreshing iced”, so I did just that!
I made a strong brew…and when finished I put my nose to the brew basket and loved the scent so much that the lightbulbs in my head started to activate…bing…bing…bing…in the creative cooking section.
I ignored the lightbulbs.
All of them extinguished…but one.
The “heat up some coconut milk and infuse the tea in it” lightbulb stayed on and I couldn’t resist the urge and gave in. I did what it commanded me to do.
Back to my original plan, the brewed tea that was ready to pour over ice…was now plopped and in the frig.
I heated coconut milk, put the brew basket in and let it sit for awhile to steep. 10 minutes later, done.

30 minutes later…here is the review!

Iced Tea:
This is indeed delicious! There is a creaminess and natural sweetness from coconut and honey. The spices are pretty tame but lend an air of exotic (as the name implies) richness that makes me think “Indian Food” and of “Curry”. I almost want to add curry powder to this or steep rice in the tea! Which leads me on to why I had the lightbulbs going ping in my head!
Heated Infused Coconut Milk:
The steeped hot version is fabulous! I took a sip and am saving the rest to cook with later. I think that this tea would be best used by me as an addion to my Indian Spice Box. Steeping Coconut Milk for Rice Desserts and Curry would be sooo good. Even a bread pudding with regular milk would be fantastic! OK!
There isn’t an overwhelming amount of lemongrass flavor to me. Even the cardamon is not strong. The bite comes from cloves.

I really like this soooo much! Getting some for myself!

P.S.
I ended up using the infused coconut milk for a tasty curry risotto that was so good alongside a cold curried pea salad with smoked almonds. Must be curry day!

Thank you Fiddling for this sample. :)

This herbal tisane has everything (bar the clove and cardamom) that I want from a drink when it comes to ingredients. I drink most of my herbal tisanes at night time so anything unique and interesting peaks my interest.

In raw form this consists of large ingredients which all look natural and fresh. It has a spicy and citrus aroma, rather sharp and almost made me sneeze.

Once steeped this tea is yellow in colour with a sweet lemongrass and spicy pepper aroma. Yummy.

The first sip reveals a delicate but sharp clean lemongrass, spicy pepper with a touch of cinnamon and a slight refreshing tone which may be from the clove or the cardamom. There is a little sweetness but not overtly but more in a grassy/herb sort of way. Rather mild considering it’s steeping time and it has a misty strength type quality to it.

I cannot taste the pineapple or orange peel per say but there is a slight sour after taste. I’m half way down my cup and already I have a warm tingly sensation inside. It still tastes clean and fresh so very easy to drink and still very pleasing. The lemongrass and pepper are really the main stars of the show but it makes for an interesting and exotic drink.

Overall you can colour me impressed.

Exotica has a lot going on. A lot. I’ve had teas/tisanes in the past with a lot of ingredients, but were ultimately not that complex, but this. This has character.

The scent of the tea is a labyrinthine aroma of spices, sweetness, and lemongrass. At first I smell the cinnamon, but wait, then there’s the lemongrass taking over, and the coconut is flying all over the place.

Actually, that pretty much describes what goes on with every sip too. Although the only difference is that I’m experiencing the heat from the pink peppercorns. Also, the sweetness is hard to describe. Some sips are sweeter than others, and while I can tell that it’s partly due to the coconut, it’s still a little mysterious. It actually kind of reminds me of the sweetness you get from licorice. It’s that same feeling.

The aftertaste reminds me of a kind of Thai curry. And now I want Thai curry.

This is a very complex tea. On the top there’s a strong lemon flavor that I think is almost cleaner like and not entirely pleasant. Under that there’s a nutty spicy note that calms that astringent lemon flavor, and under that there’s a spicy creamy flavor that leaves a nice after taste.

It’s a very interesting tea and was fun to drink. I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was offered to me I’d surely have another cup! :)

Thanks DAISYCHUBB

There’s something about this one. It’s not even really all that especially good. Most people probably know that I tend to think of DavidsTEA as a ‘teaware only’ shop for the most part, with now and then trying out a tea of theirs if my curiosity is piqued.

But this is one I keep coming back to. Something about is comforting. I like how creamy the mouth feel is, and the soft lemon. I like taking good long sniffs of both the dry leaf, and of the steeped cup.

That said, it’s not really something I would rave about, nor do I think this is something that everyone needs to try or anything.

Yet something about it keeps bringing me back.