DavidsTea’s Cinnamon Oolong

Cinnamon Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$14.98 for 50g

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

First Impressions

Cinnamon Oolong came in a light blue pouch, both sealed and resealable. The white text is easy to read, and it surprisingly smooth texture to the pouch material that is different from the regular silver ones.

Cinnamon Oolong is described as an “oolong tea scented with cinnamon”.

Cinnamon Oolong consists of tightly bunched up leaves, all with a mix of light green to dark green. The leaves are lightly cinnamon scented, and there’s the grassy notes in the background. It’s a pretty tea to look at with the light warmness of cinnamon.

Preparation

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

First Taste

Cinnamon Oolong steeps to a bright golden yellow. It has the warming qualities of cinnamon int he aroma, which overwhelms the other aromas. The flavour is primarily the oolong – grassy, creamy, with the warming qualities of cinnamon that lightly mingles in the background. It’s smooth, zero bitterness or astringency.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Cinnamon Oolong four times (five steeps with the same leaves), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep.

The flavour remained fairly consistent with each steep, with the cinnamon waning after the second resteep. There’s a creaminess to the oolong that comes through as the cinnamon goes away.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Cinnamon Oolong. I thought that the cinnamon was a nice complement to the oolong, but found myself enjoying the flavour of the oolong as the cinnamon. The natural oolong flavour comes through after a few steeps, and I’m finding that I wish that the natural flavour was more prominent at the beginning of the steeping session with this tea. The cinnamon does add something nice to Cinnamon Oolong though, so I find it pleasant to sip.

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

DavidsTea’s Roasted Chestnut

Roasted Chestnut by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Coming to me in a bright pink pouch with red chestnut illustrations, Roasted Chestnut comes in a tea that came out as part of the holiday collection (and was also found as part of the 2021 tea advent calendar). I did try it then, but I had also purchased a pouch of this tea because I hadn’t checked the list of teas that came in the calendar.

Roasted Chestnut is a black tea blend, which comes with plenty of other ingredients. Roasted Chestnut consists of: black tea, apple, candied pineapple, brittle, brown sugar, natural flavouring, roasted chicory root, honeybush, chestnut, and stevia extract. The aroma is a mix of apple and brown sugar. I don’t really smell the chestnut, or the black tea base, although I can see the black tea in the blend. There’s a lot of the apple and pineapple throughout.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Roasted Chestnut in 95°C (200°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Steeping Roasted Chestnut results in a deep brown tea. The aroma is sweet, lightly fruity. The flavour of Roasted Chestnut is primarily sweet lightly fruity, and I don’t get a lot of the roasted nuttiness that I had expected to find in the cup. It’s underwhelming compared to what I was hoping for based on the description of the tea blend, and the ingredients.

A Second Cup?

While I did attempt to resteep Roasted Chestnut, I found it underwhelming – even compared to the initial steep. I wouldn’t resteep Roasted Chestnut.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like DavidsTea’s Roasted Chestnut. While I had high hopes for the black tea blend, based on the ingredients, I was underwhelmed and disappointed by the aroma of the tea, and also the way it steeped. It was just lacking in flavour, and was primarily just sweet (thanks to the dried and candied fruit). The lack of nuttiness was apparent with the initial steep, so it really didn’t remind me of roasted chestnuts at all.

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

DavidsTea’s Unicorn Dream

Unicorn Dream by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I snagged a pouch of Unicorn Dream for one reason or another, it comes in a sealed, unsealed silver pouch with a bright yellow label. While yes, this is a fruit infusion and much more better suited for a spring or summer day, I’m drinking it in January because…. why not? The aroma of Unicorn Dream is sweet, lightly fruity with coconut and lemongrass. It’s really quite pretty to look at – what with the beautiful florals in the blend.

Unicorn Dream consists of: apple, hibiscus blossoms, coconut, lemongrass, artificial cotton candy flavouring, marshmallows, bean peel, heart sprinkles, candied pineapple, unicorn sprinkles, sugar pearls, butterfly pea flowers, candied papaya, mallow blossoms, dwarf everlast blossoms, rose, raspberries, sunflower blossoms, and stevia extract. The sprinkles are really fun though – hearts and unicorns – and the unicorns in particular are cute.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Unicorn Dream in 95°C (200°F) for 5 plus minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Unicorn Dream steeps to a nice purple colour. The aroma reminds me of cotton candy, and flowers. The taste is an interesting mix of sweet, fruity, coconut, lemongrass, and cotton candy. It has a fun colour, and because of the ingredients, it’s really quite sweet – almost too sweet. I find it has a slight aftertaste from the stevia that is noticeable when the tisane is hot (pouring it over ice helps temper that aftertaste though).

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Unicorn Dream, but it didn’t stand up to being resteeped with poor flavour the second steep. I would recommend steeping Unicorn Dream just the once.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Unicorn Dream. The sweetness and flavour of Unicorn Dream is fun, fruity, and has some fun cotton candy goodness in it. I would highly recommend this one as iced instead of hot, because the flavours just go better as an iced drink instead (plus, it helps with that obvious stevia taste…). The colour though, is fun, and I think if you have kids who like seeing colour change (hello, butterfly pea flowers) when you add citrus, it’ll be neat for them to see.

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