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“So. I’ve been working on stats all night, so my “reward” is trying my new teas from Cavocorax. I’m super stoked, because she sent me a bunch of things I’ve been dying to try, and a bonus sample of...” Read full tasting note
“This really tastes grassy, with a bit of honey and caramel. It says there are tobacco notes too and that may be the case – there’s something dark and heavy amongst the other flavours, and the honey...” Read full tasting note
“Dry Leaf Nose: A rich aroma of honey and freshly plucked tea leaves, with just a touch of caramel. Liquor: Bright and clear liquor with a red-brown colour and sparkling appearance. Flavour: A brisk...” Read full tasting note
“Yum! Smelled like honeyed sweet potatoes it was straining into my mug! Upon first sip, I got the honeyed grass, with a little bit of a sweet finish. I did add sugar and milk after my initial sips,...” Read full tasting note
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From garden to cup
From the moment David tasted this rich black tea, he knew he had to have it. So he bought the entire spring production– and flew it to our shelves just days after it was plucked. From a small, family-owned estate in Sri Lanka’s legendary Ruhuna district, it’s a one-of-a-kind gem. What makes it so special? Perhaps it’s the notes of dark honey, pipe tobacco, caramel and bee pollen. Or the way it refreshes the palate, as only the very freshest teas can. Or the fact that it’s equally amazing on its own or with milk and sugar. You have to taste a tea this fresh to believe it. But act fast – it won’t be around for long. Limited edition! A DAVIDsTEA exclusive.
Ingredients: Black Tea from Ruhuna
DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.
So. I’ve been working on stats all night, so my “reward” is trying my new teas from Cavocorax. I’m super stoked, because she sent me a bunch of things I’ve been dying to try, and a bonus sample of a tea that had been on my list to pick up from DT for ages! Score! (Not this one, this was a request.)
Anyhow! I think I have maybe only had one straight ceylon tea previously, so all I was expecting here was classic black tea/iced tea flavour. SOOOOOOO wrong. Cavo is totally right – grassy but with crazy honey/caramel. Like, if you sniff it it smells massively like hay, but the flavour is crazy sweet, almost syrupy. I got an initial chocolate aroma from the bag, but am not particularly tasting chocolate at all. It’s really, honestly, malty honey on top of straw. Which sounds worse than it tastes, I’m sure. I’m actually rather enjoying it – I certainly expected something a lot different, and while I still prefer straight blacks with chocolate/raisin notes, the complete lack of astringency here lets all the other flavours out to play, and I’m quite enjoying them.
Thanks so much for letting me try this one, Cavocorax! And for sending a crazy generous sample! I’m going to enjoy it :D
ETA: Oops, oversteeped the second infusion, so it’s kind of astringent. Gone are the sweet honey notes, but the grassiness remains. Even oversteeped, it’s not terrible… but I’d certainly be hesitant to brew this one for 5 minutes in the first place, as recommended!
This really tastes grassy, with a bit of honey and caramel. It says there are tobacco notes too and that may be the case – there’s something dark and heavy amongst the other flavours, and the honey notes coat your tongue at the end of the sip. It doesn’t walk a fine line between bitterness and astringency; it dances along it. It teases. But mostly stays on the favourable astringent side.
I think this is a tea that would grow on you, until you find it absolutely essential for your morning routine, and then you realize with sudden sadness that it’s limited edition and you will never get any more.
Yeah. It’s one of those teas. Good thing I’ve got 40g. That’s better than 10g. Or 0.
Dry Leaf Nose: A rich aroma of honey and freshly plucked tea leaves, with just a touch of caramel.
Liquor: Bright and clear liquor with a red-brown colour and sparkling appearance.
Flavour: A brisk and lively flavour that is both refreshing and awakening at first sip. The zesty mouthfeel is indicative of it being absolutely fresh – less than 10 days off of the bush when it arrives at DT. Dark honey notes in the cup sweeten the rich flavours
Yum! Smelled like honeyed sweet potatoes it was straining into my mug! Upon first sip, I got the honeyed grass, with a little bit of a sweet finish. I did add sugar and milk after my initial sips, but it is still really tasty! Thanks for ShayneBear sharing a generous sample.
You’re very welcome! I LOVE Ceylon, and this is one of the nicest I’ve had in a long time. It’s extremely versatile, and difficult to make astringent (and I’ve accidentally abused it a couple different times, oops). I wish it hadn’t been a one-time thing, I’ll be so sad when I finish it off!
What an outstanding tea! I picked some of this up the day it arrived at DT, and as promised, it was wonderfully fresh, aromatic, and flavourful. The honey notes are surprisingly prominent, and there’s a really alluring smoky depth to the finish. This is easily my new favourite straight black tea in my collection.
Have you happened to try this iced? Thinking of picking up some yummy teas perfect iced.
I’m afraid I haven’t! When it comes to iced teas, I don’t usually do black teas, especially straight black teas like these. Maybe it’s just a preference thing, but I think lighter teas like fruit teas, white teas, peppermint tea, etc. lend themselves much better to making a refreshing, icy drink! Good luck with your hunt, though!
Delicious, sweet and tantalizing to the senses. When I heard about the new “Garden to Cup” campaign I had to admit this really had me excited to see how this idea would play out. The Ceylon Spring didn’t fail to deliver on the excitement. It tasted fresh and healthy straight up. The deeper notes are also well accented in this way.
When a bit of the hazelnut International Delights cream was added (I have a sensitivity to milk so alternatives are key for me.)the tea was given an extra level of richness. Balanced and exquisite. I liked it both ways and found a soothing quality to it as I sipped it during my dance break. My fellow dancers also raved about how lovely it was. Both to taste and to hear the story behind this special tea. Bon Appetite.
I keep opening my tin and smelling the tea. I usually only do this with flavoured tea’s. This one smells ridiculously fresh. I wish I had bought more-this is gonna be done in a couple of days. I have to get more. Not only is the smell fresh, but the taste is also really fresh. The honey tones are evident, but I really appreciate those fresh notes in this tea.
I tried this as a cup to go today. When I smelled it, it was very light and even sweet however, it takes on a completely different profile when steeped. I found the taste to be very bitter and I did detect a slight tobacco taste. I had this tea black as I wanted to really taste it on its own (and I don’t consume dairy) but I do see how it would also taste great with milk and sugar. I don’t think that I will be buying any of this tea but I would definitely drink it again. I am not able to rate this on my phone but I would give it an 80.
Hmmmm… this was a swap from Courtney ages ago, I just rediscovered it while taking inventory of my stash. Why not brew some up!
Aaaaaaaaand I’m definitely getting strong hints of vegetation and tomatoes?? Weird. Maybe I brewed this wrong, but it almost tastes like tomato soup. In a tea. Not that that’s a bad thing, just unexpected? Looks like I have enough for another cup in the future… let’s hope I brew it correctly
Glad to hear it!
I wish I had gotten the chance to try some of this when it was in, but it sold out sooo fast.
When I tried this one I think I probably oversteeped it cause it tasted like someone dropped a cigarette in my cup! I think I will give this one another try now after your description of it which sounds rather pleasant!
MooKiwi – I definitely oversteeped mine the first time – it was awful and I thought I’d wasted my money on limited time only tea, but it IS tasty if you make it milder.
Thanks Cavocorax- I got it in a to-go cup and forgot to take out the bag (oops!) usually I just leave it in and the tea is fine. This is the first one it has seemed to affect-probably because of the smokey undertones in the sweet flavour. At first it was really sweet and I did taste the honey undertones but it became so bitter and smokey I couldn’t finish it. Does anyone know how long this is out for? As you mentioned, it is limited time only and I would love to give it another go before it’s gone!
AFAIK it sold out very quickly and is now gone, but I think DT is planning to keep releasing these limited edition new teas every so often, so perhaps something similar will eventually come back?
Yes, they mentioned that they were going to do “garden to store” direct kinda thing more, but thus far, I have not seen anything.