Tag: DavidsTea

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DavidsTea’s Organic Hojicha

Organic Hojicha by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$9.98 for 50g

DavidsTea sent me Organic Hojicha as part of a complementary Garden to Cup subscription package, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

Hojicha is one of those teas that I tend to enjoy, so finding Organic Hojicha in some mail that DavidsTea had sent me. Organic Hojicha is described as a “cozy, roasted & classic” green tea. The packaging for this green tea is not in the standard silver packaging, but it’s a light green instead with a navy blue (almost black) print across the front while the back of packaging is a white with a pearl sheen and a black print.

Organic Hojicha consists of organic green tea from Japan. The leaves themselves have a beautiful roasted aroma to it that’s subtly nutty. The dry leaf is pretty to look at, and a milk chocolate brown colour with hints of a browny-green. Hojicha typically has little bits of stems throughout, which this Organic Hojicha has as well.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Organic Hojicha in 80°C (175°F) water for 1 to 2 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Organic Hojicha steeps as to a light orange, with little bits of tea leaves that escaped my stainless steel infuser. The aroma is grassy, nutty, with roasted notes. The tea itself has a smooth mouthfeel, with zero astringency or bitterness. The flavour of the tea isn’t as full bodied as I expected, based on the aroma, but it does linger with a sweet aftertaste after each sip.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Organic Hojicha four times (five steeps total with the same leaves), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour of Organic Hojicha was strongest with the first resteep, and then started to get weaker in flavour after that. I would resteep those leaves to get more tea out of it.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Organic Hojicha. The aroma of the dry leaf, to steeping and drinking the tea. The flavour of the roasted green tea was what I have come to expect from a hojicha, and this one did not disappoint. I would recommend resteeping it, and perhaps even preparing it as a hojicha latte to add an extra layer of creaminess to it.

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

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DavidsTea’s Korean Sejak

Korean Sejak by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$12.98 for 50g

DavidsTea sent me Korean Sejak as part of a complementary Garden to Cup subscription package, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

Korean Sejak is a Korean green tea that is also known as dumul-cha. Sejak means thin sparrow, while dumul-cha translates to second flush tea. This tea came as part of Garden to Cup subscription package from DavidsTea – their option that features primarily traditional/straight teas.

Korean Sejak is an organic green tea that is both steamed and roasted in the tea production process. The tea leaves are thin, wiry, and pops of bright green to dark green. The aroma is nutty, grassy and just lightly floral.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Korean Sejak in 85°C (185°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of Korean Sejak for 2 minutes.

First Taste

Korean Sejak steeps to a bright yellow. The aroma is nutty and lightly floral. The green tea is smooth, has both roasted and nutty flavours to it, and a little something to it that makes me think of roasted asparagus, as well as just a light umami in the background. It has a nice salty-seaweedy quality to it, which makes me think of walking along the beach and getting to smell the ocean. The tea is easy to drink with a pleasant mouthfeel.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Korean Sejak a total of seven times (eight steeps total), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The flavour remains full of umami, nutty, and asparagus-y. The vegetal notes are pleasant and add a great savoury quality to the tea.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Korean Sejak. My first chance to drink a green tea from Korea, and it did not disappoint! There were a lot of qualities to Sejak that remind me a lot of a sencha – those umami flavours make it a treat to enjoy. The savoury qualities of Korean Sejak make it easy to drink, and it pleasantly resteeps over and over again.

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

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DavidsTea’s Nepal White

Nepal White by DavidsTea
White Tea / Straight
$21.98 for 50g

DavidsTea sent me Nepal White as part of a complementary Garden to Cup subscription package, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

Nepal White came to me as part of a complimentary Garden to Cup subscription package from DavidsTea. The pouch is silver, sealed and resealable. The label is light blue with tiny print across the bottom portion of the label.

Because it’s such an airy tea, the pouch size is larger than the usual pouches used for 50g portions of tea. Nepal White is an organic tea from Nepal. The leaves long, wiry, with a mix of cream to green – there are feathery bits to the leaves. The aroma of Nepal White is very floral and light.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Nepal White in 90°C (195°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to do do an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Nepal White steeps to a clear yellow. The aroma is floral and sweet. The flavour of Nepal White is sweet and floral. The tea itself is smooth, but it also has a quite the drying mouthfeel to it. Nepal White’s drying notes leaves me to wanting to drink more of it to wet my palate a bit more, which results in a cycle of taking a sip, and needing to take another sip of tea.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Nepal White a total of six times (seven steeps total), adding an additional thirty seconds for each subsequent steep. The tea got sweeter, a bit more floral, for the first two resteeps. After that, it got a bit less weaker in flavour. Even by the sixth resteep, the tea was still quite flavourful.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Nepal White. Nepal White smells lovely, is pretty to look at and steeps (and resteeps!) really well. I find it was easy to drink, as long as you don’t mind the drying mouthfeel. I enjoyed Nepal White both hot and iced, which is a great way to continue to enjoy the tea’s repeated resteeps (and a great way to fill a big pitcher for the fridge!).

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