Category: Review

Posted on

Davidstea’s S’mores Chai

S’mores Chai by DavidsTea
Pu’erh Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

20170920-davidsteasmores

First Impressions

When I first heard about DavidsTea putting out a S’mores Chai, all I could think was the fact that I really wanted to taste some marshmallows over an open campfire (huge fan of s’mores here!) so of course I had to get my hands on some of this tea. S’mores Chai smelled delicious in the store, the dry leaf honestly smells like a s’mores with the smell of chocolate and marshmallow. I don’t really smell graham crackers, but it’s forgiven because it does remind me of s’mores. The pu’erh base gives it a nice nutty aroma.

20170920-davidsteasmores1

S’mores Chai consists of: pu’erh tea, brittle pieces, cinnamon, sugar, marshamllow, chocolate chips, natural and artificial flavouring. The label suggests that the tea contains hazelnuts, but where? Perhaps in one of the flavourings.

20170920-davidsteasmores2

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping S’mores Chai in 194-203°F (90-95°C) for 4 to 7 minutes. I steeped it at 200°F (94°C) water for 5 minutes.

First Taste

S’mores Chai steeps to a cloudy reddish brown, with an oil slick on the top from the melted chocolate. The tea smells like s’mores, which is quite delightful. On first taste, there’s an oily mouthfeel (from the melted chocolate) and it tastes a bit chocolately with some nutty flavour. It’s a slightly watery version of hot chocolate, with the sweetness of marshmallows. I didn’t really enjoy the tea straight so I added it some sweetener, and milk to make it a latte. It’s delicious as a hot latte and would highly recommend it.

20170920-davidsteasmores3

If you’re interested in learning how to make tea lattes at home without the use of a fancy machine to froth the milk, check out my tutorial on how to make lattes at home using a glass jar (and a microwave).

20170920-davidsteasmores4

A Second Cup?

I steeped S’mores Chai a few times and found that the flavour wasn’t as rich as the initial steep. I would say that S’mores Chai is good for only one steep only.

20170920-davidsteasmores5

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked DavidsTea’s S’mores Chai. I loved how this tea smell, it smells just like s’mores! This tea is excellent as a hot latte, and would highly recommend it. However, this tea didn’t taste remarkably well as a straight tea and I didn’t enjoy it. The addition of milk helps temper the oily mouthfeel that was the result of the melted chocolate chips and make the tea more enjoyable. A s’mores-flavoured tea is okay in my books and I greatly enjoyed it as a treat. I think this makes a great dessert latte.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Yunomi’s Premium Shimane Sencha 2016

Premium Shimane Sencha 2016 by Yunomi
Green Tea / Straight
$8.50USD for 20g

20170918-yunomipremiumsencha

Yunomi has provided me with Premium Shimane Sencha 2016 for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Premium Shimane Sencha 2016 is a beautiful dark green, the dry leaf has small flat pieces. There’s a slight vegetal smell to this sencha that reminds me a lot of edamame and spinach smell to it. The sample package came with plenty of tea leaves, probably enough for 4-5 servings (in a 20g packet).

20170918-yunomipremiumsencha1

As per the Yunomi website, this is a “premium unshaded first flush sencha” that comes from the Takarabako Tea Farm. First flush means that it’s the earliest harvested leaves from the tea plant, harvested in the early spring. These leaves are often lighter in colour and more delicate, and often need cooler water to be steeped in and for a shorter duration.

20170918-yunomipremiumsencha2

Preparation

Yunomi recommends steeping Premium Shimane Sencha 2016 in 70°C (158°F) for 1 minute. I use my Breville IQ Kettle all the time when making tea, and it doesn’t have a 158°F setting (lowest is 175°F). What I did was heat water to the lowest setting, and once that was reached I allowed the water to cool in the kettle (with the top open) for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

After the quick 1 minute steep, I poured a cup of Premium Shimane Sencha 2016. The tea itself has a very light yellow-green colour, and the aroma that comes up from the tea is very much like the dry leaf – the tea still has an edamame and spinach aroma to it, with a slight salty smell to it. It tastes the way that it smells, with a nice vegetal taste to it. The saltiness adds to the umami flavour of the tea. There’s a slight astringency at the end of each sip, despite only having steeped it for exactly a minute. I think it could stand to be steeped for even a shorter length of time.

20170918-yunomipremiumsencha3

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Premium Shimane Sencha 2016 four times (a total of five times), and started the first resteep at 60 seconds (and then increased the steep times by 30 seconds per subsequent steep). I found for the first two resteeps, the sencha had a strong vegetal aroma, with a heavier salty flavour. The third and fourth resteeps were a bit milder, the umami flavour was overall more muted, with less astringency of all the steeps.

20170918-yunomipremiumsencha4

My Overall Impression

rating4

I loved Yunomi’s Premium Shimane Sencha 2016. This green tea has remarkably tasty with a good umami flavour profile. I found it resteeped well, despite the slight astringency (although it isn’t overwhelming). This sencha resteeps well, and maintains its flavour. I would recommend being very light on the steeping time, especially if you’re a bit sensitive to astringent teas.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Teavana’s Peach Tranquility

Peach Tranquility by Teavana
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$10.95 for 44.4g (12 sachets)

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility

First Impressions

I received this box of Peach Tranquility from a friend who gave it to me and said “I thought you might like this”. Well, it’s a form of tea so chances are pretty high I’ll love the fact that someone saw tea and thought of me. That said, this isn’t one that I’ve tried before. Peach Tranquility comes in a fairly large box for the fact that it only contains 12 individually wrapped sachets (spoiler: most of the box was completely empty/filled with air).

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility1

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility2

Peach Tranquility came packaged in tea pyramids, and each pyramid comes in an individual foil packet. Not entirely the greatest for the environment, but what can I do about that? The smell is amazing, Peach Tranquility smells strongly of peaches with soft floral notes in the background. In reality, peaches are actually low on the ingredients list. Peach Tranquility consist of: apple pieces, candied pineapple pieces, rose hip peels, chamomile flowers, natural flavour, peach pieces, citric acid, and lemon verbena.

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility3

Preparation

Teavana recommends steeping Peach Tranquility in 96°C (205°F) water for 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for my initial steep of Peach Tranquility.

First Taste

Peach Tranquility steeps to be remarkably pale, with a light orange-yellow colour. The aroma that comes up from this fruit infusion is divine though, smelling sweetly of peaches and pineapple – it’s a nice tropical blend with a floral background, much like with the dry leaf. On first taste, I mostly taste the peaches. There’s a nice sweet pineapple flavour that lingers in the background, and the floral notes were mostly found at the end of each sip. Despite all the fruit in this tisane, and the fact that the pineapple was candied, it’s not as sweet as I was expecting.

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility4

I did try a cup of Peach Tranquility with a touch of sweetener added (I used agave syrup) and I found that the peach flavour was even stronger once boosted by some sweetness. I also poured out a cup to be iced and found the fruit infusion to be even better when iced than hot.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Peach Tranquility. I found the flavour to be lacking from the peaches, pineapples, and floral notes that I enjoyed in the initial steep. I would say that Peach Tranquility is good for one steep only.

20170916-teavanapeachtranquility5

My Overall Impression

3cups-2

I liked Teavana’s Peach Tranquility. I really quite enjoyed the first steep of this tisane, especially with some added sweetener and iced. I’m always going to be a bigger fan of fruit infusions iced over hot. I found that the peach flavours were quite refreshing, but it needed just a touch of sweetener to boost the fruit flavours. Unfortunately, this tisane did not do well for a second steep. Luckily, I’m not head-over-heels in love with this tea, as I suspect that I would have issues finding more of it as the Teavana retail locations are closing this month in Canada.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.