17648 Tasting Notes
Sipdown (2991)!
Finished this tea off in the morning with my breakfast. It was smooth and chocolatey, but in the kind of more alcoholic-tasting and artificial leaning chocolate way. Definitely not a favourite of mine, and one that I was glad for the excuse to just polish off.
Just finishing a mug of this now with a little vanilla creamer added into it. It tastes a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal milk, which I am absolutely adoring right now. There’s just something really nice and relaxing about spending an afternoon writing tasting notes, stretched out on a couch (which I don’t have in my apartment at home) with a purring cat by my side…
Gongfu!
Sipping on this oolong with some sweet and juicy red grapes in between the steeps. This Taiwanese milk oolong is so fresh tasting, with massive and gorgeous full leaves and a smooth, creamy & medium-bodied liquor that floods the palate with highly aromatic florals, a hint of coconut milk, and so much buttery goodness. It’s really quite striking how much it tastes like freshly whipped or churned butter. The finish is a little sweet, with an aftertaste of sugared violet petals. I find this grape pairing pulls forward a lot of the floral notes while also spotlighting some of the fruit notes (which are a hint tropical) that might otherwise be missed!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOHd8kvknU3/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgPU-hy9wFM&ab_channel=BenjaminCarter
Sipped on this while working my way through my third Dandadan reread! While I love the soothing aromatics and floral notes of jasmine, green teas aren’t always my forte. However, today, this one is really hitting the spot. Not too delicate to come off as weak, but not too heavy or perfumey either. Just right!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOJ1NCPklsx/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KETUopnYr3E&ab_channel=OfficialLyrics-Video
Gongfu!
I enjoyed this session alongside some smoky tea eggs. I decided on this tea to drink with them because it’s so rich and full-bodied with a super thick liquor that leans into the pleasantly muddy earthiness of the shou pu’erh. Taste wise, I get a lot of chocolate notes. More on the darker and ever so slightly bitter side, with savory undertones and notes of petrichor, potting soil, and moss.
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOMSFcwiWmH/?img_index=1
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTTgcpiyAxU&ab_channel=SipperSipperSipper
Tea Eggs!
Before taking off for Calgary (and the SK) I had to finish off a lot of groceries, including about a half dozen eggs. So, I decided to use this tea to make tea eggs to snack on with my tea sessions for my last few days in town.
These were not the prettiest tea eggs I’ve ever made since I didn’t have too long to brine them, but that rich savory flavour still comes through along with a gentle smokiness and notes of the various spices, like cinnamon and black cardamom, that I had added to my brine in addition to the Sichuan peppercorns already in the tea blend!
Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOMSFcwiWmH/?img_index=1
So I am back in Saskatchewan for the next week or so visiting family for some vacation time!
My siblings new I was coming, but we thought it would be a really nice thing to surprise my mom. So, with their coordination I was able to get in from my flight last night, ring the doorbell for my mom to answer and then absolutely scare the shit out of her with the fact I’d randomly showed up from across the country!
It was very, very late at night but we still stayed up for a few hours to catch up and explain to her stuff like how long I’d be in town and just things like that. Of course, the first thing I wanted when I got in and the initial surprise had happened was to make a mug of tea. I went with the first caffeine free option I saw in her cupboards as it was 2AM. But I was happy with the mug I ended up with. Sweet, juicy candy-style mango with citrusy orange undertones. Very joyful, which matched the mood of the moment.
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.
This was the other tea available as “Tea of The Day” during the conference yesterday, though it was iced instead of hot. I adore this tea a lot, it’s very juicy and fresh but with a creamy vanilla finish. It reminds me of some of my favourite hard ciders as well, but without the hangovers that go with them.
I drank a TON of this because the room we were having the conference in was really, really hot and having something iced was the best way to cool down. However, I did constantly feel a need to go back and forth between this and Pumpkin Chai (the hot TOTD) because I also had a mighy, mighty need for caffeine in that moment. Sometimes I wish we had an apple tea like this one, but on a caffeinated tea base. I feel like that would be so perfect for me personally, aha.
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.
Yesterday was so busy, so I basically just stick with drinking the two teas that were available as “Tea of The Day” (ie. on tap) at the store location where the conference I was attending was being held. The hot tea was this one, and though I personally find pumpkin spice overhyped and just not quite my personal thing, I was very grateful for a caffeinated tea available to readily to me. Plus, I do like the touch of cozy caramel and clove in this blend. I mean, the rest is good too. But those are my favourite qualities.
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 Latte!
I basically always travel with a way to make tea, and for this recent trip I had my fancy kettle with me along with a bunch of matcha equipment and my hotel was literally across the street from a grocery store. So, I got to indulge in a freshly made matcha latte first thing yesterday before packing up all my stuff and heading to the conference that I’d travelled out to Calgary for.
I do so very, very much adore this matcha. It’s smooth and silky with those thicker vanilla-like notes but also has such a fresh lime flavour. I thought it was the perfect rich but bright feeling way to kick off what was a very, veeerrrry packed day before then flying back home to Saskatchewan to visit family for some vacation time.
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.
