Tag: DavidsTea

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DavidsTea’s Phoenix Oolong

Phoenix Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$24.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Tiny disclaimer, I did get Phoenix Oolong for free via the DavidsTea Frequent Steeper program as one of my redemptions for the quarter (who else is happy that they removed the price cap on the redemption teas?!). Phoenix Oolong is a limited edition, online exclusive – which means that the tea is available online only and isn’t available at their retail locations, which is really unfortunate for anyone who just wants to try to tea because it means buying the full 50g or using a redemption on a tea that they might not like.

Phoenix Oolong came in a sealed, resealable foil bag with a printed label on it that gives some details about the tea. Phoenix Oolong is described by DavidsTea as having “fragrant lychee & plum” notes. When I opened the bag, I noted that the leaves are a dark, almost purpley-brown colour. The aroma of the dry leaf does remind me of a stone fruits, and it has a nice sweet floral fragrance that reminds me of lychee. Phoenix Oolong is a straight oolong tea from Phoenix Mountain in Guangdong Province, China. Phoenix Mountain is also known as Fenghuangshan (fenghuang is phoenix and shan is mountain).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Phoenix Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. My initial steep was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Phoenix Oolong steeps to a bright golden yellow with the initial steep. The aroma is a mix of fruity and floral, I find that the aroma of stone fruits (plum, apricots, peaches) is more prominent than the floral notes that I found in the dry leaf, although it is still present. The flavour is both fruity and floral in this straight oolong, I found that I can initial taste the plum notes, although part of it also reminds me of apricots. The floral sweetness is mostly at the end of each sip, and it mixes well with the fruity flavour to remind me of lychee. With a four minute steep, I found there to be zero bitterness or astringency. The tea has a bit of a thickened mouthfeel to it, which I found pleasant overall.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Phoenix Oolong eight times (nine steeps total), adding an extra 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the colour was darker for the first two resteeps and gradually became lighter and lighter. The floral notes got stronger as the colour deepened. By the third resteep, it was very well balanced between the floral and fruity notes, and it was delicious.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Phoenix Oolong. I’m pleasantly surprised and very happy that I did use one of my Frequent Steeper rewards on this. The oolong tastes great, I found the flavour to be fairly consistent throughout and really matched well with what DavidsTea had as the description. The leaves resteep remarkably well, and I think it’s definitely a must for resteeping over and over again. Yes, I do think that the tea is expensive for what it is, but given the quality (resteeping is a MUST for these leaves), it’s delicious and is just a very pleasant oolong. I think it’s definitely worth a try if you have the money in your tea budget or if you have a reward to use and you’re going to put in an online order anyways!

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DavidsTea’s Sunny C

Sunny C by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I picked up a little pouch of Sunny C at one of my local DavidsTea retail locations (yes, I am still very much aware of how lucky I am to have several locations within driving distance to me!). I first smelled this one in store and was intrigued because the aroma of Sunny C reminds me of Tang. If you’re not familiar with Tang, it’s an orange drink mix that smells sweet and chock full of artificial orange flavouring and colour. Sunny C is marketed as an “immune booster bursting with orange, carrot & a sunny dose of Vitamin C”.

If you’re not into drinking your vitamins, vitamin C is also found in many foods – including citrus fruit, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and strawberries. Vitamin C is also important in preventing scurvy and lengthening the duration of the common cold – although there isn’t a lot of evidence to support vitamin C in preventing the common cold. Either way, vitamin C is important.

There are some huge dried fruit pieces in this fruit infusion blend that DavidsTea has put together. Sunny C consists of: apple, carrots, pineapple, orange, hibiscus, lemon peel, pink peppercorns, safflowers, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and natural flavouring. For something that smells incredibly like Tang, which is the most fake-smelling orange drink  item that I can think of, I’m surprised that orange is the fourth ingredient in the blend and not somewhere higher up.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Sunny C in 95°C (200°F) water for 5+ minutes. My initial steep of Sunny C was for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Sunny C steeps to a dark reddish pink – a colour that I primarily attribute to the presence of hibiscus flowers and possibly also the safflowers as well. It still smells like Tang, but not as sweet as the dry leaf smells like. The flavour is surprisingly not as sweet as I expected it to be – and doesn’t taste as artificial as I remember Tang to be. Sunny C has a nice citrus flavour, which a pleasant acidic mouthpucker that I am attributing to all the acidic ingredients in the blend. It is a very pleasant fruity infusion that is very pleasant hot – I think it would also make for a nice iced tea as well, given the blend of ingredients, but it’s November and I really don’t want to make iced tea right now.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Sunny C once, but honestly the flavour was just not there and I would recommend only having one steep with this fruit infusion.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Sunny C. For a fruity blend, it has a pleasant flavour and smells like a drink that I drank far too often when I was at my neighbour’s house after school when I was waiting for my parents to get home. If your main purpose in drinking it is consume some vitamin C, it isn’t that bad – as per the DavidsTea product page for Sunny C, this fruit infusion contains 15% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C per cup. That said, there are less expensive ways to get in your daily vitamin C (for instance, an average orange can contain approximately 88% of your daily recommended vitamin C intake), but it is fairly tasty.

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DavidsTea’s Chai Matcha

Chai Matcha by DavidsTea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$16.00 for 80g

First Impressions

Chai Matcha from DavidsTea comes in a prepackaged format both online and in stores. While some of their blended matcha products are accessible via smaller increments from the wall of tea in their retail stores, they made the decision to release Chai Matcha only in a prepackaged format of 80g bags. It comes sealed and the bag is resealable, which is always a nice touch. The preprinted bags have stickers on the front and the back to showcase which tea it is inside.

The aroma of the dry green powder is mostly that of the spices, and just sweetness. It does smell sweet, which is no wonder considering the first ingredient listed for this matcha blend… Chai Matcha consists of: cane sugar, green tea, and natural chai flavourings. I’m really disappointed that sugar is the first listed ingredient in this product, but there is only 6g of sugar per serving which isn’t nearly as bad as some other products I’ve tried previously. The chai spices that I can smell include cinnamon and cardamom, ad maybe a bit of ginger? Whatever is in the “flavouring”, it does smell like a chai spice mix.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends whisking 4-5 perfect matcha spoonfuls in 120mL (4oz) of water (85°C/185°F) and then topping up with warm milk or water to make a drink that is 475mL (16oz). I don’t own a perfect matcha spoon, so I used 1 spoon from the Perfect Spoon into my matcha bowl and whisked, and then transferred to a larger cup.

First Taste

I whisked 1 perfect spoonful of the Chai Matcha, which is equal to 2½ teaspoons. I used my Thinktea Matcha Set for this step since it’s the only matcha bowl and whisk that I own. The whisking process didn’t take very long. In full disclosure, I did not sift the matcha into my bowl – this is a step that I will often do for more “fancier” matcha varieties, but I don’t usually do it for blends.

When having the Chai Matcha straight (topped up with water and not milk), I found that there was more spice flavour than matcha flavour. I’m not overly surprised since spices can be a bit overwhelming compared to the delicate nature of matcha. It is quite sweet, but I don’t really like it all too much straight because I’d rather be able to taste the matcha.

I did whisk another bowl of Chai Matcha, and then added it to heated soy milk (I use organic, unsweetened soy milk). I found that the flavour was greatly improved as a latte. The spices weren’t as strong, but the matcha flavour did seem better balanced as a latte.

A Second Cup?

No second steeps with Chai Matcha since all of the powder is suspended and mixed into the first preparation.

My Overall Impression

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I both didn’t like and loved DavidsTea’s Chai Matcha. As a straight tea (made with only water), I thought Chai Matcha was really nothing to write home about. However, when made as a latte, the flavours were really much better balanced and it honestly tasted a lot better. I like the idea of a straight Chai Matcha, but the taste wasn’t delicious (to me!). Since determining that I do love Chai Matcha as a tea latte, I finished my original bag and bought more (Chai Matcha is a limited edition product, unfortunately, and is already sold out in some stores and online).

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