16891 Tasting Notes

Cold Brew!

Smooth, fruity, floral, and fresh with a great balance between jammier Saskatoon berry notes with just a little bit of fleeting tartness on the top notes of the initial sip that capture the pleasant burst of flavour you get eating real Saskatoons straight off the bush in the summer. At times I felt like I was getting a smidge of welcome cranberry, and the aftertaste was a little rosy with the honeyed sweetness of the rooibos. Made me feel just a bit homesick.

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Iced!

There’s a lot of different fruits in this blend and none of them specifically stand out as, like, a singular flavour you can taste. It’s sort of just a more mellow and refreshing tea that kind of tastes “generically pink”. I guess maybe mixed berry if you wanted to get specific, and if I was blind tasting I could see a world where I interpreted the notes as a more floral lean and less conventionally sweet/tart strawberry note??

But to be super honest I really think that my brain would go to strawberry more so because the aftertaste is sooooo fresh and basil forward? Just a really good clean, crisp herbaceousness from the tulsi. Why would that make me think strawberry? Simply just because strawberry and basil are a much more common pairing that really any other berries/fruits. But all that said I enjoyed this a lot! I didn’t need it to have a really clear fruity flavour direction to still be refreshing and balanced feeling with the white tea base and tulsi inclusion.

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97

Another tea enjoyed earlier in the week. It’s very, very good but I honestly don’t really have the energy right now to do a whole big tasting note on it. Basically, read my last tasting note and know that this time around I made it in a travel mug and it was just as delicious. Travel mugs do not make every tea shine the same way they would in a mug, but there was no compromise of flavour here. Only sweet, creamy lemon curd goodness with an accessible, grounding shou pu’erh base.

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I made a cup of this over the weekend and it was quite interesting because it was the sort of sweet, juicy candy-watermelon flavour that I know, love, and expect from this blend but the undertones and aftertaste were almost giving me this hint of brown sugar!? And I never would have thought of watermelon and brown sugar together as a pleasant combination of flavour but it fucking worked.

I should really check out Deb’s website again – I feel I’ve fallen off pretty hard on her new releases because the teas were starting to feel very repetitive to me, but it’s been long enough now that maybe there are some more distinct blends in the mix that might spark some curiosity. If anyone else has ordered recently and had a blend stand out, please let me know!

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90
drank Salted Caramel by Blume
16891 tasting notes

Iced Latte!

…and speaking of iced latte kicks, this was the one I started today off with. In hindsight caffeine may have been better, but I just adore this perfectly rich and gooey tasting toffee-like flavour with the subtle undertones of cocoa and, like, a caramelized sort of date note!? I made it with oat milk and I felt like that amped up a lot of the richness of the caramel flavour as well. It’s also a really good salt balance too. You do feel like it’s not just a plain caramel note, but it’s not too savory/saline either.

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71
drank Banana Matcha by 3 Leaf Tea
16891 tasting notes

Iced Latte!

It’s still so cold in Montreal right now, but despite that I’m on such a huge iced latte kick right now – and typically as my first tea when I get into the office each morning. This was something I’d been craving for a few days and it was so satisfying. Like liquid banana medicine but in, like, such a good way. I finished it off REALLY quickly.

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Brewed this one up today and though I did notice the lingering sweetness of the sarsaparilla a lot more in the aftertaste I still loved it quite a bit. Nice, warming cinnamon with just a bit of real heat to it and then a kiss of sweet orange as if it was freshly zested. I do go back and forth a touch on the sarsaparilla. It’s not that it’s a flavour I generally dislike, but it can be a little intrusively “root beer” tasting at times which conflicts with the other flavours in the blend.

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98

Cold Brew!

Sometimes you just want a reliable favourite, and that was exactly what I was feeling yesterday when I started up this cold brew. It’s so smooth and, well, jammy with a great balance of bold black tea with the ripe fruit notes. Just a smidge floral in the undertones without necessarily coming off as a floral tea. So much love for this blend!

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.

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82

Wow, such an old tea! I was just really craving it a few nights ago though, so I found my super old tin and prayed that it wasn’t funky from age. Shockingly still a really good brew with such an intense, sweet and creamy peanut butter sort of flavour. A little almond butter in the mix too, perhaps? I smelled the apple coming from the steeped up, but not as present in taste – which was good for me. I love the nuttiness of this one!

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.

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Y’know, when this tea released as a sneak peak in the 24 Days of Tea this past winter I fully said I wanted to write a more detailed tasting note when it properly launched, and then I forgot to do that. So, I’m doing it now…

There’s really just so much packed into this blend that it’s hard to even know where to start. I guess flavour is as good a place as any, and wow this is one heck of an intense tasting tea! At its most boiled down, it’s basically sour cherry. Think the Maynard’s Sou Cherry Blasters but less sugary/artificial. It’s sour, it’s tart, it’s in your face. That’s for a few reasons, as well. There’s the predictable inclusion of hibiscus, but also we’ve specifically used a variety of cherry called “tart cherry” that is, well, tart. And then lastly there’s also apple cider vinegar powder in the blend which adds to the zingyness of it all. That’s where the “cider” part of cherry cider comes from. Obviously that bold and punchy of a fruit flavour makes for a great iced tea and tea pop.

So I guess the next part is maybe the “why” of it all? The short answer is that tart cherry specifically is a functional ingredient that I’d been tracking/curious about for a while because it’s associated with all kinds of wellness benefits like gut health, immunity (very high vitamin c), muscle recovery and anti-inflammation, and also sleep as well. And it’s always great to work with wellness ingredients that actually taste good, because a lot very much don’t. Then the whole Sleepy Girl Mocktail trend/fad happened on TikTok and tart cherry very suddenly went from an ingredient that people were sort of loosely familiar with (sort of a “if you know you know” vibe) to selling out overnight in grocery stores and becoming VERY well known for as this sort of relaxing, sleep-friendly ingredient found in trendy brands like Poppi that all the girlies couldn’t get enough of…

And so I started playing around with it a little bit more actively, and we ended up with this blend that sort of folds together a bunch of different but complimentary wellness elements to capture the essence of that mocktail-trend while still being a delicious, refreshing stand-alone tea. We kept is caffeine free because of the relaxing element of the tart cherry that became such a recognizable benefit of the ingredient, and coupled it with the more gut-health oriented inclusion of ACV powder. And of course, when it comes to immunity, maintaining both good gut health and sleep hygiene can better boost your immune system too – so they all sort of comfortable click together.

Our final little “cherry on top” (pun intended) was the inclusion of willowbark, also called “nature’s aspirin”. Even though it wasn’t our primary focus with this blend, since muscle recovery/inflammation is an association with tart cherry, we wanted to take the opportunity to support that with this extra ingredient. Plus, there is something fun about the idea of an iced cup of as a sort of no-alcohol ‘night cap’ that can be enjoyed in the evenings on a long day with the duo of willowbark eases headaches/stress and the tart cherry providing some sense of relaxation.

So, yeah, a lot going on. But I think there’s sort of something for everyone to latch on to? You can 100% just enjoy the tea for it’s really punchy, boldly sour cherry flavour (and without added sweeteners!) or you can lean a little into the different wellness angle. It’s a flexible blend in that way!

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.

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Bio

Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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