Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Adagio
Tea Description:
Sweet apricots, peach, lavender and white tea entangle themselves for a delicate fruit and floral tryst. Quietly pleasing, like softly whispered confessions of admiration that keep you wanting more.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a white tea from Adagio’s Love Petals collection. It’s a fruit-floral blend, containing sunflower petals and lavender buds on the floral side, and apricot and peach on the fruit side. The base tea is a white peony, composed mostly of brown-black stalks and leaves, but with a few downy silver buds in evidence. It’s not the best looking white peony I’ve ever seen, but appearances can be deceptive.
I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in water cooled to around 180 degrees. The resulting liquor is a medium golden-yellow, and the scent is mildly fruity. To taste, the fruit is the primary flavour, and the floral ingredients are mostly absent. I was hoping this would be the case, as (with a few rare exceptions) fruit/floral combinations usually strike me as rather odd. The main flavour I can detect is peach, and it’s a reasonably natural tasting approximation – mildly sweet, with that pulpiness that ripe peaches have. The apricot is present a little, but it’s definitely second fiddle here. As peach and apricot are reasonably similar flavours, however, it hardly seems to matter.
Although I can see lavender buds in the dry mix, they actually make no impact on the overall flavour, or at least not that I can discern. I imagine the sunflower petals are being used to carry the fruit flavours, so perhaps that explains their role in this blend. The white base is also strangely absent from the flavour of this blend. I usually find it possible to detect white teas in flavoured blends, particularly white peony as it can be quite thick tasting, with a floral/dusty flavour all its own. Not so here, which is another point in this blend’s flavour. The peach and apricot are allowed to shine, and shine they do!
This makes for a pleasant blend on a warm spring day, and I can imagine it would also work well iced. Adagio did well with this one.
Hard Candy Tisane from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Looking for a new way to satisfy your sweet tooth? This sweet and tangy tea is where it’s at. With sour cherries, kiwi and coconut, it has all the taste of a candy shop treat – at next to no calories. Brewed over ice, it’s a deliciously fruity, kid-friendly summer treat. And brewed extra-strong then topped up with sparkling water, it’s an unbeatably refreshing TeaPop. How sweet is that?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is part two of a five part review of the DAVIDsTEA Summer Collection.
This year I found myself relatively interested in all five teas offered from DT’s Summer Collection so I decided to do a review of the whole collection here on SororiTea Sisters. Not all the teas are going to be prepared the same way; I decided to go with my gut and prepare each in the way I thought that they were best suited for. Now, because DT has marketed/designed these blends to be prepared iced that does mean most of the five teas were tried in a cold preparation style.
This is not an exception; for my first taste of the summer collection I decided to cold brew this one. Based on the initial stream of reviews on Steepster this blend seems to be pretty well liked; as of writing my review there aren’t really any bad reviews of this tisane. That’s definitely unusual, and it has me quite curious especially since this is the blend I was least interested in initially.
Dry I think this has a really intense aroma, and it reminds me a lot of Lipsmacker’s Strawberry Kiwi flavour. It’s very over the top, and really candy sweet. And as long as this doesn’t mysteriously pick up a ‘waxy’ taste then I think that’s a good thing because candy is obviously what DT was going for. I’m not totally sure where I’m getting strawberry from though since that is definitely not one of the ingredients in this: but it’s distinctly strawberry and NOT cherry or cranberry.
Steeped up and strained this has a powerful flavour; it’s incredibly sweet with just a hint of tartness. The first thing I noticed was actually the absence of a flavor – coconut in this case. DAVIDsTEA is really heavy handed with coconut as an ingredient, in fact three out of five of this seasons blends have coconut as an ingredient! It’s only the returning blends that don’t, and I can’t help but wonder if they were maybe so popular because of the lack of coconut. I definitely anticipated the coconut to be strong though – and I’m not getting it at all. It’s really weird, actually. And thinking about it, I don’t remember seeing any coconut shreds in the measured out leaf either.
The first flavor I’m actually tasting though is the kiwi – it’s much strong than I thought it would be. It’s followed closely behind by very plump, juicy cherry, cranberry and – yes, strawberry notes too. It tastes A LOT like Strawberry Kiwi Lipsmacker, no matter how hard I try to shake the comparison. Another popular comparison with this one is Jolly Ranchers; both cherry and watermelon. I can understand the comparison, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. Although, it’s reminding me a lot of a summer cold brew favourite of mine: Prickly Pear from Tea Desire, and now that I’m thinking about it not only do both teas have intense kiwi flavour but Prickly Pear also has a rich melon flavour so maybe I am subconsciously drawing melon comparisons too.
I may be the first ‘negative’ review of this one though; while I didn’t think it was bad I did think that ultimately there was too much going on about about half way through my cold brew I was just getting really sick of the intense sweetness and artificial fruit flavours. I get why it’s getting good reviews so far, it’s different from a lot of other tisanes from DT; but I’d call myself neutral at best. It’s not going to be a restock for me.
Marco Polo Rouge by Mariage Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Roiboos
Where to Buy: Mariage Freres
Tea Description:
A wonderful secret tea will bring you to mysterious and distant lands. Flowers and fruits coming from China and Tibet give this rooibos a unique velvety taste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This was the first Mariage Freres tea I tried, and it’s still among my favourites today. It’s one of their most well-known and iconic blends, and it’s one I was initially most curious to try, having heard various opinions. I used 1 tsp of leaf for this cup, and gave it approximately 3 minutes in boiling water. No additions. The resulting liquor is a medium red, with little scent except a vauge sweetness. The dry leaf is similarly innocuous in this way, with its scent giving little away. I think that’s why I find it such an intriguing tea in many ways – its secrets are well hidden, and a true impression of this tea comes only through having tried it.
The initial sip is sweet, with the flavour of creamy strawberry. It reminds me initially of strawberry yougurt, only without the texture. The initial intensity soon fades, however, and leaves the woody, almost medicinal tang of rooibos behind. It’s a little jarring after the initial sweetness, but past experience tells me that a dash of milk can help to smooth this transition. I have none with me at the moment, though, so I’m proceeding without! Successive sips add to the creaminess, which seems to build and linger a little longer each time. The strawberry is prominent, if a little artificial, but the rooibos base pulls it back from being cloying. It’s not the gentlest of partnerships, but it does work in this respect. The aftertaste is mildly floral, although it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how. If pushed I’d say jasmine, but it doesn’t play a huge role in the overall flavour. Those who are wary of jasmine (myself included) needn’t fear! As the cup cools, the rooibos becomes a little scratchy and drying at the back of the throat.
Mariage Freres descriptions can be maddeningly vague, and this one is no exception. It’s a tea worth trying, though, for the strawberries-and-cream deliciousness if nothing else. It does seem a little heavy-handed in some respects, which is rare for Maraige Freres in my experience. A case in point here is the rooibos base, which can dominate the flavour after the initial sip, and which can become a little scratchy and drying on the palate. It tempers the sweet, syrupy strawberry, though, and for that reason I can’t really complain about it. For me, this is a tea that works best with a reasonably long brew time (4 minutes or more), and a dash of full-fat milk. It’s palatable without, but this is how it really shines in my estimation. It’s a good introduction to the world of Mariage Freres, and definitely worth discovering alongside its black counterpart – Marco Polo.
Honey, I Dew White from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
In Vietnam, melons are a sign of good luck. In Chinese medicine, they’re said to help cool the body down. Around here, we think they’re just about the tastiest fruit around – especially when you pair them with fresh, delicate white tea. With fruity hints of pineapple and mango, this melon-packed blend is refreshing, juicy and naturally sweet. The best part? This tea was named by our customers! Is there anything they can’t dew?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s very refreshing to see another permanent white tea blend on the DAVIDsTEA walls; I’ve been complaining for months about the dwindling amount of permanent white teas – I’ve even suffered some losses that were more emotional than I’d care to admit (Coconut Grove, Sweet Strawberry, and Big Apple…). At least a lot of seasonal blends for Spring featured a white base, and one of the Mother’s Day blends as well.
And not going to lie, the fact this was named by DT’s customers (and has such a cute name) is really appealing as well; I find I’m definitely more drawn in to wanting to try a tea when it has a unique name, even if the ingredients/flavor pairings aren’t that unusual. Let us put an end to the “Earl Grey Creams” and “Jasmine Greens” that every company seems to have a version of; give yours a neat name, and make it stand out!
I’m doing this one iced; yes, iced and not cold brewed. I don’t often have the means to do iced tea because I don’t actually have ice at my place. We don’t own an ice tray, and I don’t have the freezer space in my little apartment for larger bags of ice. I know it could be easily remedied by buying an ice cube tray but I always forget; so iced tea is a special treat for me provided by being in the right place (err, chef’s kitchen) at the right time.
My initial thought when I tried this was of Trident’s Watermelon Twist gum – the sugary, candy sweet watermelon top notes were pretty identical. I was expecting something both more mellow and, based on the name, more in the line of Honeydew so I was a little taken aback but once I got accustomed to the taste I found it really enjoyable. Contrasting that, the tail of the sip was a lot more natural tasting once the sweetness has subsided, and definitely a lot more honey dew than watermelon. I like the layers of melon that this one has. Almost like Trident Layers? That’s a bad pun, sorry.
The body of the sip is interesting too; somewhere in between where the watermelon eases up and the honeydew takes over there are a lot of very strong apple notes and some very vague mango and pineapple notes. I’d say they mostly create a tropical fruit vibe rather than make an impact as unique, stand-alone flavors though.
This was really enjoyable, and I think quite different from any other white blend that DT is currently offering, let alone any of their current blends. I really, really like the way they do Honeydew flavors; I’m thinking in particular of Honeydew Mate and Cool Cucumber (two seasonal blends). I loved both quite a bit (I still have some Cool Cucumber), and they definitely honed in on that awesome honeydew flavor. While DT’s watermelon can get too sweet or artificial, honeydew is a flavor they have successfully nailed. If you’re a fan of either of those two blends I absolutely 100% recommend giving this one a shot.
Nosy Bey Black Tea from Dammann Freres
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dammann Freres
Tea Description:
Black tea flavoured with vanilla and bush peach. Embellished with pieces of pineapple and sprinkled with flower petals. A successful fusion from sunbathed orchards and vanilla tropical scents.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One of my favorite flavors in tea used to be peach. When starting my disturbing obsession with tea, I started out with Celestial Seasoning’s Peach Blossom Green Tea. I moved on to other peachy teas, and I think down the road I just had one too many bad peach flavorings that I have been totally turned off by it. I was able to snag a little bit of this in a crazy huge group order hosted by a generous member of Steepster. I heard good things about this tea, and I wanted to give peach a chance!
The scent alone of this tea is pretty magical. The notes of vanilla and peach invade my senses and take over my brain. The rose petals and chunks of pineapple are a bit of a head scratcher, I can’t seem to see the reason for it.
Brewing this up, it produces a strong black tea base with a good supporting cast of smooth and creamy vanilla and bright fruity peach. Incidentally, that combination tastes exactly like peaches and cream instant oatmeal. Which does not sound like a compliment, but there was an entire year in life where I ate nothing for breakfast except off brand peaches and cream instant oatmeal. Man, that stuff is so good… I still crave it sometimes.
This tea brews up nicely, and the flavor stick its out in the resteepings. I have yet to have tried this tea iced, but I can tell it would be a winner!
