Tag: DavidsTea

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DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong

Silver Bell Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea, White Tea, & Green Tea / Flavoured
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

One of the reasons that Silver Bell Oolong made its way into my online shopping cart because the reviews compared it to a previous blend (Monk’s Blend). This obviously meant that I needed to give it a try. But when I first unboxed the order, I was subjected to this label. I’m not sure who decided teal was easy to read on a medium shade of blue, but it isn’t (at all). Silver Bell Oolong comes in a sealed, resealable pouch.

Silver Bell Oolong consists of: white tea, milk oolong with natural milk flavouring, and jasmine green tea pearls. It’s a beautiful blend, and has a great aroma to it. I can smell the jasmine and milk from the milk oolong. Silver Bell Oolong is really pretty to look at and admire the different leaves. Silver Bell Oolong has identical ingredients as Monk’s Blend (a retired blend), with a slight change in price  ($12.98 versus $11.50), but comes with a different name that makes me think that it’s a holiday or seasonal tea (so keep that in mind if you’re wanting to get some).

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Silver Bell Oolong in 90°C (195°F) water for 4 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the temperature recommendation, and did an initial steep of Silver Bell Oolong for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Silver Bell Oolong steeps to a beautiful yellow colour. There’s a strong aroma of jasmine and milk. Silver Bell Oolong has a smooth liquor. I find that the flavour is floral, milky, and grassy. Silver Bell Oolong has a certain level of creaminess to it, that I would attribute to the milk oolong. It has a nice mouthfeel to it, with zero astringency or bitterness.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Silver Bell Oolong two times (three steeps total), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I find that the flavour stayed fairly consistent to the initial steep, with the milky flavour waning as I resteeped the leaves. It is quite tasty though.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Silver Bell Oolong. I still find this oolong, white tea, and green tea blend to be tasty. It has a great mouthfeel, flavour profile, and resteeps decently well. I think that Silver Bell Oolong coming back is nice for fans of the original Monk’s Blend, and I think it’s very similiar (if not identical?) to the original blend. I wish I still had some in my tea stash so I could do a taste comparison between the two. I would highly recommend resteeping this blend because it does hold up to resteeping, and Silver Bell Oolong has a great flavour. The creaminess of Silver Bell Oolong would lend itself well to being paired with a meal or dessert.

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

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DavidsTea’s Eggnog Matcha

Eggnog Matcha by DavidsTea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$10.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Eggnog Matcha was an addition to my online shopping cart… on a whim. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it came in a specially designed package with a mix of bright and dark greens. The pouch itself is sealed and resealable, and I got it mostly because hey, who doesn’t like having something with eggnog around the holidays?

Eggnog Matcha is a light spring green colour, with a bit of a sparkle to it (I believe from the cane sugar granules). It has a very milky aroma with hints of cinnamon throughout, which makes it intriguing. Eggnog Matcha consists of: cane sugar, matcha green tea, dry whole milk powder and natural flavourings (for eggnog and cinnamon roll). Who knew that there was flavouring for egg and cinnamon roll? Certainly not me. It smells great though!

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends preparing Eggnog Matcha with 85°C (185°F) water and a whisk, and suggests having it hot or iced. I opted to follow the preparation instructions, but I used a handheld milk frother to speed things up a bit.

First Taste

Eggnog Matcha blends up to a light spring green. The aroma is a mix of cinnamon and a grassy matcha. I don’t actually really smell any of the eggnog (flavouring). It does have a nice creaminess to it, and find that the flavour is nice. Eggnog Matcha tastes more of cinnamon and matcha than anything else to me. The fact that Eggnog Matcha contains whole milk powder adds a level of milkiness to it that doesn’t rely on you adding milk to it to make it into a latte, it’s almost like a matcha latte mix. The flavour of the matcha base is not strong enough to really shine on it’s own though, unfortunately, because the cinnamon is overpowering in comparison.

A Second Cup?

As Eggnog Matcha is a suspension, there are no second steeps with the same powder.

My Overall Impression

I thought that DavidsTea’s Eggnog Matcha was just okay. I had a lot of high hopes and expectations for Eggnog Matcha in regards to expecting more of the flavour of the eggnog to shine through. The cinnamon flavour does come through, and there’s a light grassy flavour from the matcha. I do like the addition of the whole milk powder, I think if you’re wanting a cinnamon bun matcha on-the-go, Eggnog Matcha would really fit the bill. If you wanted more of an eggnog flavour, I would suggest preparing Eggnog Matcha with heated eggnog instead of water.

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

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DavidsTea’s Magnolia Oolong

Magnolia Oolong by DavidsTea
Oolong Tea / Straight
$12.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Part of an online order from DavidsTea, Magnolia Oolong comes in a familiar silver pouch with a familiar label – blue for the fact that it’s an oolong tea. The packaging lets me know that Magnolia Oolong is an oolong tea from the Anxi region of Fujian Province, China, and the tea leaves have been scented with magnolia and jasmine blossoms.

The tea leaves are a beautiful range of green – from a light spring green to a dark hunter green. The leaves are tightly bunched, with a bright floral aroma to them. They truly smell lovely and inviting – almost as if you’re enjoying a small bouquet of flowers and they’re bringing you in for a whiff.

Preparation

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

First Taste

Magnolia Oolong steeps to a light golden yellow after the initial steep of the leaves. The tea itself is quite aromatic, with a light floral fragrance. The flavour of Magnolia Oolong is delightfully floral, the texture is smooth. There’s a floral sweetness, floral flavour, with a light creaminess at the tail end of each sip. The mouth texture is pleasant with a way of coating the mouth, and zero astringency with the water temperature that I used to steep it.

A Second Cup?

Resteeping Magnolia Oolong was a joy. I resteeped Magnolia Oolong a total of six times (seven steeps total), and added an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour of this tea deepens to a lovely golden yellow with a nice floral aroma and flavour. The creaminess of the tea is present through all the steeps, and becomes more buttery in flavour by the second resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Magnolia Oolong. The experience from smelling the leaf to steeping to drinking was a nice journey, which was capped off with the many resteeps of the same leaves until I couldn’t drink anymore. The leaves resteep beautifully and the flavour of it was excellent throughout all of the steeps. I find the combination of magnolia and jasmine to be just a pleasant experience, because it made for a light, sweet floral cup of tea.

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