Tag: DavidsTea

Countess of Seville by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I was drawn to Countess of Seville in store when the salesperson told me that it was a green tea version of Earl Grey. Well, sign me up! It’s a green tea with orange and bergamot oil, so it does have an added twist from the traditional Earl Grey beyond the change in tea base. Countess of Seville has a strong citrus fragrance to it, it’s hard for me to differentiate the orange oil from the bergamot oil. It smells overall very fresh, light, and full of citrus flavour. The tea leaves are uneven in size, and the tea has dried blue cornflowers.

The ingredients in Countess of Seville are: organic green tea, orange peel, cornflowers, orange oil, and bergamot oil.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Countess of Seville in hot water for 3 to 5 minutes. “Hot water” is 75-80°C (167-176°F) on their product page. I opted to steep for closer to 2 minutes 30 seconds, as I loathe over steeping green tea.

First Taste

Countess of Seville steeps to a pale yellow, and it has a very light, fresh citrus scent to it. When sipping the tea, I’m happy to report that there is a nice sweetness to the tea itself, and I don’t think that any added sweetener is needed for this one. The green tea base is pretty much lost with the orange and bergamot oils. Countess of Seville is a nice light tea though, thoroughly enjoyable and a pleasant cup. I would not opt to steep this one to the higher end of the recommended time range (5 minutes), I would consider that to be fair too long for a green tea and you’re likely to wind up with a bitter cup of tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Countess of Seville and wound up with a muddled cup of tea that doesn’t have nearly the level of citrus punch as the first steep did. I wouldn’t recommend Countess of Seville for one more steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Countess of Seville.  I tend to really enjoy Earl Grey teas, and I did find Countess of Seville to be a nice cup of tea. I think it would be better if the green tea that was used as the base of this tea was more flavourful or stronger to balance with the citrus oils that had been added to it. Overall, I think that Countess of Seville is a nice tea and I would drink it again. It would be a nice tea option to have for a tea tasting party, I think, because not a lot of people would be familiar with a green tea version of an Earl Grey.

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Mao Jian Jade by DavidsTea
Green Tea / Straight
$9.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I am a sucker for straight teas, so I couldn’t resist when DavidsTea released this as one of their new straight teas. Mao Jian Jade is a pan-fried green tea, and Mao Jian is a well-known Chinese tea. The overall fragrance of this tea reminds me of seaweed, there’s almost this light saltiness to the scent of this tea, mixed in some salad greens. I love the look of it, the leaves themselves almost look like they’ve been twisted and left to dry. Mao Jian Jade is a pan-fried green tea from the Fujian province.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Mao Jian Jade in hot water for 2-3 minutes. Their website describes “hot water” as being 75-80°C (167-176°F). I used my Breville IQ Kettle‘s green tea setting which is 175°F, and steeped this tea for just under 2 minutes.

First Taste

Mao Jian Jade steeps to a very pale yellow. There’s a light salty, vegetal scent to the tea when I inhale it. On first taste, I’m surprised by the light sweetness in the tea which pairs very well with the salty vegetal flavours that remind me a lot still of salad greens. There’s just this freshness to the tea that’s delicious. It’s a very delicate tea, for sure and I find that there’s zero bitterness. Green teas are often fickle when it comes to being steeped. If the water is too hot or if the tea is steeped for too long, it can become unpalatable. If you’re having trouble with this one, I would recommend using cooler water with shorter steeping times. The result of a well steeped green tea is second to none.

A Second Cup?

Mao Jian Jade does very well for subsequent steeps. I got seven resteeps in before it became too watery. The second steep was the strongest, I found, with it being much deeper in colour. This tea does well without added sweetener, and I would not add a creamer or milk to it at all.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Mao Jian Jade. I’m a huge fan of any tea that resteeps well and holds its own, which Mao Jian Jade definitely rises to the occasion. I found that the tea was very tasty, it’s light and has a beautiful flavour to it. The complexity of the sweet with the salty really adds to the experience of drinking this. As a straight tea, especially one that tastes good, it’s moderately priced and isn’t going to break the bank. I would strongly recommend resteeping this one throughout the day to get the most out of it.

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